Today I drove from Arizona to California on I-40. Between Flagstaff and the Colorado  River there is only one town of any size, Kingman. Then there is a Pilot truck stop just a few miles before the Colorado River, the border to California.

This shows the gas price at the truck stop: $3.09.

Sorry about the picture quality. The sun was right behind the sign.

After I drove just a few miles, over the river, into the town of Needles, the price for gas everywhere was $4.39.

Needles is more than a hundred miles from any civilization in California. The next real city is Barstow, where gas is “normal” again at $3.69.

The unsuspecting motorist driving eastbound, hitting Needles with an empty tank, will fill up, of course, not knowing that there is a truck stop right on the other side of the river. The difference to fill up an average take is $20 with this price gap.

I am sure the inhabitants of Needles drive over to Arizona to fill up their tanks.