Forum Discussion

Roy_Lynne's avatar
Roy_Lynne
Explorer
Nov 08, 2016

Hwy 97 in Northern Oregon - No gas

So we were heading north on Hwy 97 this past weekend and as we left Madras there was this tiny green sign "No gas for the next 94 miles". This sign, of course is after you pass all the gas stations in town and if you need to get gas, you must find a place to turn around. I saw there were lots of space between towns on the map, but there were towns and my tank was fairly full and I thought I could 'probably' make it. Amazing, there were no stations in any of the towns for 94 miles until we got to Bigg which is on I84.
As it turned out, we had plenty of gas and no worries but I found myself checking the tank often and I was concerned. If I had seen that sign before I passed every gas station in town, I probably would have filled her up.
I just couldn't believe that in this day and age there was any 94 mile stretch of road without a gas station. LOL
Roads and Routes
  • Tom_Barb's avatar
    Tom_Barb
    Explorer
    Nov 08, 2016
    Town of Marblemount Wa. the sign says " no Gas or services for the next 86 miles" and it's true. Next gas is Windthrop Wa.
  • romore's avatar
    romore
    Explorer II
    Nov 08, 2016
    The placing of the signs is a mystery to me too. The same is done at Revelstoke and Golden on the Trans Canada highway which are 85 miles apart. That is no place to run out of gas during a snowstorm.
  • Islandman's avatar
    Islandman
    Explorer
    Nov 08, 2016
    With the EPA and other regulations of today and many other factors, it's quite expensive for a person to open and operate a fuel station (or to provide fuel at an existing establishment),the limited traffic probably will make it impossible for the investment to pay. Stations are very expensive to operate unless you have high sales volume, and since we're always looking for cheaper prices we tend to fuel up only in areas where there is competition and volume to keep prices down. We therefore tend to not get fuel at the low volume, higher priced outlets and a person would be crazy to open up a station out in the middle of nowhere.
  • Roy_Lynne's avatar
    Roy_Lynne
    Explorer
    Nov 08, 2016
    korbe wrote:
    So let's see. If the sign was placed along the highway before the final gas station in town, it might read, "No gas for the next 0.25 miles"

    LOL well I guess that is true
  • korbe's avatar
    korbe
    Explorer
    Nov 08, 2016
    So let's see. If the sign was placed along the highway before the final gas station in town, it might read, "No gas for the next 0.25 miles"
  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Nov 08, 2016
    Reminds me of my first time driving in California. The family was on some scenic winding mountain road, somewhere between LA and Frisco, and there was a gas station with a large sign last gas for the next 100 miles. This was before the days of the ubiquitous smart phone... maybe my sister had a black berry, but there was no gas buddy back then.

    So we filled up, at around $6/gallon. Only to continue on, and find plenty of gas stations not more than thirty miles further ahead, at a much lower rate.
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Nov 08, 2016
    There's a stretch of a little over 100 miles with no gas on I-70 in Utah, between Green River and Salina.
  • kalynzoo's avatar
    kalynzoo
    Explorer
    Nov 08, 2016
    I seldom let my tank go below half. Even if there were to be a fuel stop there is nothing to say it will fit an RV with a toad or an towable RV. At half a tank I'm ready for a rest stop and walk around anyway.
    Happy Trails
  • jmtandem's avatar
    jmtandem
    Explorer II
    Nov 08, 2016
    I just couldn't believe that in this day and age there was any 94 mile stretch of road without a gas station. LOL


    Apparently you have never been to Nevada's rural areas. And any gas is often open only during the day, not open at night. You don't get out much, apparently.

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