A few weeks ago, I returned from the Bay Area (Walnut Creek and Lafayette) where I was shocked to find regular grade gas prices on just about every corner at $4.15 and more. On the outskirts of Petaluma I bought a tank for $4.09 and then discovered that up here on our isolated coast, Fort Bragg prices are no higher. This past week, prices hit over $4.50 in the Bay Area. I no longer shocked. It seems like high gas prices are hear to stay. For some, like the French tourist I met at a motel in Santa Rosa, U.S. prices are wonderful. Said he: “they are half the price of gas in France and here you have big roads and parking places. It’s wonderful to drive a car in the U.S.

On your drive here, the best buys:

Santa Rosa – Costco, Santa Rosa Avenue ($4.31) and Rotten Robbies at Todd Road and Highway 101 ($4.31).

If you come as a tourist, let me suggest where to buy and where to avoid:

Boonville – on Highway 128, the road to the coast: the only gas station in Boonville was charging $4.89. Other stations in the valley are $4.84 (Navarro) and $4.88 (Philo). Obviously prices are subject to change daily.
Mendocino – avoid the Chevron in Mendocino (our only station). The price recently was more than $5.15 for regular. Better yet, drive six miles to the USA Station between Fort Bragg and Mendocino where it will be on a par with Bay Area prices; in some cases slightly lower.

Fort Bragg – several stations are in the $4.50 range. So when you visiting, gas up here and then, if you’re a member, stop at Costco on the way home and save another 5 to 7 cents a gallon (with long lines, no doubt).

It was the thirst for whale oil that nearly killed off the Sperm Whale in the 19th Century and it is the world’s thirst for oil today that may make touring just too expensive for Miller. “I just did my taxes and I spent $9,000 on gasoline during 2007. I can’t imagine what it will be in the future.” When you earn just $75 for a one-hour performance, you can quickly compute the economics. And they aren’t good. Here’s a man who gives you a little history lesson with the music, and sings his heart out. He appears to be having so much fun, it’s hard to believe he has done this thousands of times. Among his performances around the country are cowboy songs and ballads, women in folk song, songs of the American labor movement, songs of Woody Guthie, Halloween songs, and railroading on the Great Divide to mention a few. What a shame it would be to see this talented man go the way of other extinct species all because of our seemingly endless thirst for oil.