Hooked on gasoline

Every time gas prices soar, Americans get a reminder of how dependent we are on oil. Case in point: the Shenandoah Valley, where Interstate 81 serves as a speedway for 18-wheelers, the truck stops are the size of small towns and even your basic crossroads gas station can have as many as 20 pumps.

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A large percentage of the traffic on Interstate 81 is truck traffic. It's considered by both passenger-car drivers and truckers to be a somewhat dangerous stretch of highway.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Lots of trucks pass by the roadside attraction called Dinosaur Land on Route 340 in White Post, Va., because the huge Virginia Inland Port terminal is nearby.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

There's no sense in driving around some parts of Winchester to look for competing gas prices as the Shell and Exxon gas stations are both selling regular unleaded for just under $3.76 per gallon.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Bill Coleman, 56, a truck driver from Covington, Ga., thinks that President Obama is being unfairly blamed for high fuel prices. He said market forces and Wall Street have much more impact on prices than anything the president might do. It costs $700 to fill his truck.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Dale Omps often fills his truck several times a day with millions of small plastic pellets brought in by train. The pellets are taken to a nearby factory and made into plastic bins.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Glenn Wolfe, 88, could only put $100 worth of gas at a time in his motor home, as that's the maximum allowed per transaction on his credit card. He re-swiped his card to finish filling his 38-foot vehicle, which gets about eight miles to the gallon, at the Flying J Travel Plaza en route from Florida to Pennsylvania.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Wolfe said Obama made a mistake by capping the blown-out BP well in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago: “Why ... didn’t they use it instead of capping it?”

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Mark Omps checks the top-loading hatches on his truck. Americans have dealt with with ups and downs of gasoline prices for decades. But in the end, we drive because we have a fossil-fuel-based transportation system.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

James Billingsley stops at the Flying J Travel Plaza for a windshield cleaning. He was returning from Florida en route to Pennsylvania, and the trip cost nearly $600 for fuel. His motor coach gets about nine miles per gallon.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Tammy Collis drives to the Winchester Flying J Travel Plaza from her home in Inwood, W.Va., because the prices for gas are about 10 to 15 cents per gallon less in Virginia.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Jack Zdziera, left, 65, of Hedgesville, W.Va., uses his hand to shield the sun as he checks for a gas pump readout at the Flying J Travel Plaza. He thinks that the United States should do more oil drilling to bring prices down.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Addison Collis, 6, poses for a photo as her mom, Tammy Collis, goes inside the Flying J Travel Plaza store to pay for a fill-up. The family is from Inwood, W.Va., where gas is 10 to 15 cents per gallon more expensive, so they cross over into Virginia to save money.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Ed Gray of Gerrardstown, W.Va., waves goodbye after gassing up his truck at the Flying J Travel Plaza. It costs him about $100 to fill up his pickup.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Stephanie Adkins and Michael Allen of Springfield, Mass., stopped off at a rest stop on I-81 near Winchester for some lunch. They were en route to Mississippi and expect to pay about $375 for gas, each way, for the trip.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

Tim Vaught, leaning on a gas pump at left, has been pumping gas all of his adult life. He works at Pure Oil, which is one of the few gas stations in Virginia that still offer full service. Most of his customers are older and have never taken to the self-serve stations, he said.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

“What really hurts the gas prices is the stock market,” Vaught says. “Speculators.”

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

A view (through a sun-screen-covered window) of trucks and truckers looking out from inside the truck driver's lounge at the Flying J Travel Plaza just north of Winchester, Va.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington post

Crystal Kagey pumps gas as her dog Copper checks out the scenery. She's changed her routine in several ways because of the recent gasoline increases. She pays cash to get a 2 cents per gallon savings, and she consolidates trips. She also made her son start taking the school bus instead of giving him a ride to school every day.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

A hitchhiker waits for a ride on Route 340 near White Post, Va.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

There's always plenty of windshield wiper cleaning fluid at the Sheetz food and gas station near Boyce, Va.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

The Sheetz gas and food store can be seen for quite some distance as it glows in the dusk of the evening in a rural area near Boyce, Va.

Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post

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