gas can cause headaches too?

Okay, maybe not gas related to what you ate, but the gas that goes into my car is giving me headaches. Then today, AAA Arizona admitted that gas prices will not go down as fast as they went up.

So, if the gas prices went up quickly in reaction to Katrina, why will it take so long to get the prices to where they were before Katrina? I know that the refineries are just coming back online, and it will take about three weeks for the oil from other countries to arrive, but speculation was a big reason for the sharp increase, why can't we drop the prices just as fast when the immediate crisis is over? Who's making all the money (and I know it's not the local gas station owner)?

The source of my headache - prices around the state of Arizona. Most of Tucson was at or above $3 on Friday (there was one station that was $2.86 with a line out to the street) for regular unleaded. But I had enough gas to get me to Toltec, and paid $2.99. That got me all the way to Prescott Valley, avoiding a stop at I-17 and SR 69 (usually one of the most expensive stations around). Driving through Dewey and Mayer on Sunday, gas was $3.45! The saddest part was the number of closed stations around Camp Verde. Most look like they recently closed, but I don't know why. We paid $3.09 just outside Camp Verde Sunday night, which was the cheapest in the area (we had looked on the trip through, and stopped at the cheapest on the way back). I guess I got lucky that I still paid $2.99 at Toltec again on my trip back.

But as my best friend put it - we can't keep up our driving habits at those prices. While I did notice that there were quite a few fifth wheels, RV's, and trailers on the roads this weekend, I think it was more because people didn't want to cancel their trips at the last minute. So they grinned and beared the cost of the higher gas. If Katrina hit two or three weeks ago, it is possible that the number of recreational vehicles on the roads would have been significantly less.