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Jed Boal ReportingPlenty of Utahns plan to hit the road for the long holiday weekend, but the sting of higher gas prices will affect a lot of plans.
Many travelers are already on the road for the Independence Day weekend. Higher gas prices don't seem to slow us down yet, but may keep us closer to home.
The Independence Day bash won't fizzle over higher gas prices, even though we'll pay more than 25-percent more for our fuel than last year.
Bear Lake, Lake Powell and the mountains are favorite destinations.
R.J. Nestman, Holiday Traveler: "Heading up to Bear Lake. Taking the wave runners out, camping."
According to AAA, more than 356-thousand Utahns plan to travel 50 miles or more. That's about 1.7-percent more than last year.
If there's a price at the pump that will truly cramp our style, we haven't hit it yet, but people are making adjustments.
Rolayne Fairclough, AAA Utah: "People are really looking at their budgets, cutting back on the distances they're going, maybe trying to scale back on their vacation plans."
Across the state you can expect to pay around $2.90 a gallon for regular unleaded, not far from our all-time high of $2.92 set about a month ago.
Our price is close to the national average, but nearly 70-cents more than we paid a year ago when it was $2.22.
Krystle Kendrick, Holiday Traveler: "I'm planning on going with friends. A lot of the money goes towards gas, which kinda sucks."
So most of us adjust and save.
Ben Boyd, Holiday Traveler: "We tend to take shorter trips or different vehicles because of the gas mileage."
Gasoline is simply a bigger budget item on vacations, up there with food, lodging and entertainment.
Rolayne Fairclough, AAA Utah: "We've been paying these high prices for so long that it's really a cumulative effect on our budgets."
AAA expects to see this travel trend continue. We'll still take our vacations, but enjoy them closer to home.
