The backyard barbecue might win out over the road trip this Memorial Day weekend, thanks to skyrocketing gas prices.
That's what KUER heard from some Utahns when asked about how the cost of fuel is impacting their travel plans.
"Because of high gas prices, I can't afford the 45-minute drive to my parents' house for a barbecue or the hour drive to my sister's grave," Lindon resident Staci Chase wrote in. "I am going to have burgers at home with my spouse."
They both work in education, she said, and have been "tight-fisted financially." She said to fill up her car costs almost triple what it did before the war in Iran.
Since President Donald Trump started Operation Epic Fury at the end of February, the Middle Eastern country has shut down the Strait of Hormuz — a critical waterway that typically handles around 25% of the world's oil supply. So far, the U.S. has spent approximately $29 billion on the war, and fuel prices have soared across the United States. In parts of Utah, the lowest grade of fuel is nearly $4.70 a gallon, with premium and diesel well over $5.20. Just a year ago, the average cost per gallon was $3.31 and $3.43, respectively.
For small business owner and self-professed car enthusiast Kerry Simon, it's true that gas prices changed his road trip plans this weekend. Beyond that, the reality of another Middle Eastern war has changed the way he thinks about using oil and gas altogether.
"There is a true human cost to it," he said.
On Memorial Day weekend in particular, he added, he sees a "weird juxtaposition" in honoring those who died in wars where oil played a central role, only to commemorate the holiday by filling up the car with gas for a road trip.
Simon is originally from Texas and was in college during 9/11. He said, like most Americans at the time, he was very patriotic about the country's role in the Middle East. Soon after he moved to Boston, where he said his perspective on U.S. politics began to change. He's since made a choice to limit the amount of gas he uses.
"For a couple years now, it's starting to feel like, you know, a heavier burden than just I have to spend a couple extra dimes at the gas pump per gallon," he said.
To limit his carbon footprint, he bought a bike and uses it to travel anywhere within a 5-mile radius of his house.
"I've put like 1,800 miles on that bike since I got it, and I'm sure I could do more," he said.
The war in Iran has been going on for months now, after Trump initially declared it would only take weeks. Since then, multiple peace deals have been pitched, and an agreement has yet to be reached. Currently, Iran is reviewing the White House's latest proposal for a ceasefire. Negotiations for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are currently underway.
Against the backdrop of these political moves, the average price of premium gas in Utah has jumped by around $1.50 per gallon in the last year. Even so, many Utahns will still brave the price at the pump and get out for the holiday weekend anyway.
The Utah Department of Transportation advised travelers to prepare for significant delays on U.S. 6, as well as more moderate slowdowns on I-15 from Spanish Fork to Nephi and U.S. 89 from Logan to Bear Lake. At the Salt Lake City Airport, officials are expecting slightly higher numbers than last year, and tens of thousands of people could come through the front door on peak days.
For Simon and his family, the money they would be spending on a tank of fuel to go down to Moab is going elsewhere.
"As far as this Memorial Day, we're going to buy a grill and we're going to stay home," he said.
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