Jig-A-Loo and gas prices

We made it up to 34 here today, after an overnight low of 17. The first part of this week we were enjoying 85, so I am frozen. The irrigation man yesterday wanted to know how I got so sun burned in Kansas. He said I was unusually red faced for this time of year, and I had to admit that I had just returned from Arizona.

So it is only natural that I hung around inside today, not wanting to poke my head out into temps that were barely above freezing. By mid afternoon, I did venture out to Wal Mart over on 159th street. I was in search of a can of Jig-A-Loo.

What the heck is Jig-A-Loo? It is a lubricant that is not oil, grease, wax,or detergent.It is colorless and will not stain or drip. It protects against rust and is an excellent water repellent. I am copying from the side of the can as I type. I bought it after seeing it on a web site, and totally out of curriousity. Basically if it needs lubricated, but can not be wet, oily or stain a fabric, this is the product of choice.

Now I must admit that the can was on the close out counter at Wal Mart, meaning that it didn't sell too well or at all, and doesn't even warrant sending back to be redistributed to another store that did sell the stuff. I may have the only can that I will ever get. Lol. But the stuff is certainly slipery enough. I plan to use it as a water repellant, to seal some boots that I use in rainy and snowy conditions. Time will be the teller of this story in the long run.

I also noted that crude oil has dropped to the mid 40 dollar range in price. I think that will give us yet lower gas prices. Thinking about the prices I personaly saw this past three weeks, I do not understand how these prices could be so different in the parts of the country I drove thru.

When we left Kansas, three weeks ago, gas was 2.03 to 2.05 here. It was 1.95 over in Missouri. When we got to Oklahoma City, it was 1.89, and I saw a 1.79 for cash with a paid car wash. That was the low point of our trip. Once in Amarillo, it was back to over 2 dollars.

Travelling West, to New Mexico it went up in a hurry. At Clovis, I paid 2.45, and when we stopped overnight in Roswell, it was 2.59. How can a product vary that much in only 300 miles?

When we came out of the mountains and crossed white sands desert, it was suddenly 2.35 in Las Cruces. Out in the middle of the I 10 corridor just before you cross into Arizona, it was 2.27. I filled up everything there as I knew that would not be the case in Arizona.

We got to Benson, and got off the Interstate at the camp ground exit and saw a station for 2.99. Oh my! Up town thou it was back to 2.59. Forty miles farther West, we had 2.35 in Tucson.

Phoenix had the same 2.35 when we arrived, but during the week that we were there, it went down almost every day. We filled for 2.15 when we left for home. Amazingly, we saw 2.59 in Flagstaff. We drove past that opportunity.

On the way home it got cheaper every town we came to, with the low being 1.75 in the middle of the turnpike in Kansas. I haven't bought any since.

This is certainly much better than the 4 dollar prices from summer, and I will not complain at all. But I do not understand how there can be such a variance in seemingly short distances. Different taxes in different states yes, but 45 cents different from Phoenix to Flagstaff, how does that compute?

Prices have always been higher than heck in California, but they seem to be high any time you get into the mountains as well. We found that to be the case in Colorado this summer as well.

Dillon and Vail were still well over 4.25 when the rest of the country was back at 3.50. If you are in the mountains and at a touristy location, hang on to your wallet, you are going to get charged.

Once the demand for fuel becomes higher this spring, I would bet we will see a sharp increase in these low low prices. But for now, enjoy the brief respite while it lasts.

The OPEC nations have said that they will not finance the US financial troubles. One good news item is that this also curtails Iran's ability to sink spare cash into nuclear ambitions. At these oil prices, they have all they can do to feed their people.

Just some of the things we learned from this latest trip.

Retired Rod