Slowing down for summer
weekend, the price of gas isn't going to ever exceed that,” she said. “Then, obviously, things changed.”
Although some travelers are content to avoid states with the most expensive fuel, such as California, Nevada and Illinois, others have made the choice to save money by parking in one spot for months at a time, working freelance gigs and waiting for fuel prices to drop.
Berkeley Martinez and Monica Ourada have been parked in Bellingham, Washington, on Bureau of Land Management property, and living in their 1991 Dodge B250 camper van, since December.
“We weren't planning on staying for very long, and then all of a sudden, gas prices skyrocketed to about $5 a gallon,” said Martinez, 29. “We just realized that it'd be better if we stuck around for a bit. Now it's been half a year.”
The pair plans to remain parked through the summer, avoiding the most popular and expensive travel season of the year and hoping September brings cheaper gas prices across the country
“Our goal is to leave after Labor Day,” said Ourada, 26. The couple will assess the gas prices, she said: If they “are $4, or hopefully under $4, then we will probably travel quite a bit faster, staying four to five days in one place at a time before leaving. If prices stay where they're at, then we probably will find one place to explore for a month or two.”
Navod Ahmir, 28, is driving more slowly. The finance associate has been chronicling his travels in his 2018 Ford Transit online as navodthenomad since 2020. Last year, he landed a job that allowed him to work completely remotely while driving from his home state of North Carolina to California. Now the challenge he faces is budgeting for another cross-country trip.
“I just got back from California, and the gas prices on the East Coast are just what California typically felt like,” he said. “But once I go back across, I'm thinking about going slower to save money. Typically, I drive across a state in two or three days, then spend a day there before moving on. Now I'm considering staying in each state for two or three weeks.”
Ahmir, for one, remains hooked on the freedom and opportunities that the nomadic lifestyle provides, regardless of the pricey fuel.
“Before the pandemic, I hadn't traveled far outside my surrounding states,” he said. “This has opened up so many doors to do a lot of different things and do it whenever I want to.”