Feb 25 - Breaking Wind and a new Gas Buddy
I was committed to leaving RoVers Roost near Casa Grande Arizona on Sunday morning, yesterday. My reasoning?... well, traffic would probably be lighter around the Phoenix Megaplex as a lot of folks sleep in on Sunday mornings. That and I'd really had my fill of Casa Grande. During the five days we were in the area, two included high winds... strong enough to darken the skies with clouds of brown dirt from local cultivated farm fields. Also, unless you're willing to drive some serious distance, there's really not much to do or see around the CG area. No sir... I think it'll be a while before we itch to get back here again.
Unfortunately, Sunday morning was one of those days with the high winds. I wanted to go but the Safety Director pushed back a little. Eventually, (and I'm not sure why), she backed off and agreed not to lay down in front of the bus-house. So before I could say "blow me down..." we were on the road.
I usually don't report here on the price we pay for diesel fuel. But today I'm going to break my rule. I think it'd be safe to say we felt pretty good about snagging diesel at $3.939 when the average in this area is well over 4 bucks... maybe a full 25 cents over 4 bucks. I don't know if it's just me, or is anyone else noticing the differential in diesel prices between the big truck-stops (Loves, FlyingJ, Pilot) and the smaller in-town stations? Surprisingly, the big guys are as much as 20 or 25 cents higher than much smaller stations in many places. Perhaps my awareness is a result of a new-found BAF (best app forever) for my Android tablet... GasBuddy. This thing really works and, in my experience, is quite accurate and up to date. The data is collected and reported by users of the app... people like me. But there must be an army of folks out there reporting on all those stations for the information to be so timely and up-to-date.
The drive up I-10 was challenging (due to the wind), but manageable. There was no rush so we just poked along. While traffic was steady there was enough room for fast-travelin' folks to get around the big old bus-house. Don't think we caused anyone to be late.
From I-10 we caught the 101-loop up through Glendale and around the western side of Phoenix, followed by US-60 through Surprise Arizona (no surprises in Surprise..) which was our route to Wickenburg. We're at the Escapees North Ranch RV Park... plan to be here for at least a few days, perhaps as long as a week. There are at least three days of excursions on the docket which, combined with a couple days off for chores, gets us almost to a week.
TTFN
Unfortunately, Sunday morning was one of those days with the high winds. I wanted to go but the Safety Director pushed back a little. Eventually, (and I'm not sure why), she backed off and agreed not to lay down in front of the bus-house. So before I could say "blow me down..." we were on the road.
I usually don't report here on the price we pay for diesel fuel. But today I'm going to break my rule. I think it'd be safe to say we felt pretty good about snagging diesel at $3.939 when the average in this area is well over 4 bucks... maybe a full 25 cents over 4 bucks. I don't know if it's just me, or is anyone else noticing the differential in diesel prices between the big truck-stops (Loves, FlyingJ, Pilot) and the smaller in-town stations? Surprisingly, the big guys are as much as 20 or 25 cents higher than much smaller stations in many places. Perhaps my awareness is a result of a new-found BAF (best app forever) for my Android tablet... GasBuddy. This thing really works and, in my experience, is quite accurate and up to date. The data is collected and reported by users of the app... people like me. But there must be an army of folks out there reporting on all those stations for the information to be so timely and up-to-date.
The drive up I-10 was challenging (due to the wind), but manageable. There was no rush so we just poked along. While traffic was steady there was enough room for fast-travelin' folks to get around the big old bus-house. Don't think we caused anyone to be late.
From I-10 we caught the 101-loop up through Glendale and around the western side of Phoenix, followed by US-60 through Surprise Arizona (no surprises in Surprise..) which was our route to Wickenburg. We're at the Escapees North Ranch RV Park... plan to be here for at least a few days, perhaps as long as a week. There are at least three days of excursions on the docket which, combined with a couple days off for chores, gets us almost to a week.
TTFN
Comments
Just wondering, does it show if the stations are big rig friendly? My 40 ft MH and toad are hard to get in/out of some smaller stations.
Also does it show pure diesel vs diesel with bio mix? My Cat doesn't like biodiesel over 5% and now more diesel pumps say they have biodiesel with w mic between 5%-20%. Cat only recommends no more than 5% for my C-7 (model year 2006) and after having to change my fuel filters twice, I try to stay away from biodiesel.
Paul... no big rig friendly info on GasBuddy, but there is often a photo of the station. I've used Google Maps (satelite-view) to check out fuel stops... not perfect but it might provide some additional help. If you see semi-trucks it's a safe bet you'll get in there too. The "app" usually has a phone number for the station, so that would be a third way. And no, there's no info on bio-diesel. That'd be another phone question.
BJ; John and Nan... thanks for the comment.
T