Hotmail'Gas Challenge': Follow the Pletcher family
We stopped at Old Town Museum in Burlington, Colo. It's an amazing place and really cool. The things you can walk up and touch are 100 years old; normally you would see these things behind glass or something, but you could actually walk up and touch them. We played piano in the saloon and danced. We had the whole place to ourselves.
We have to get out of the car a lot to stretch. We bought some karaoke discs and have been singing in the car today. We interviewed our son Spencer on tape, just to see if he understood what we are doing on this trip.
An accident happened right before us on a Kansas highway, so we helped the driver and calmed her down. We called 911 because the driver was shaking and traumatized; we stayed with the driver until help arrived.
Saw our first sub-$2 gas in Abilene, Kan. — it was $1.95 a gallon but we didn't need gas so we didn't stop. The cheapest gas we bought today was $2.09 a gallon in Wakeeney, Kan. — Brian Pletcher
Days 1 to 4: Los Angeles to Kansas City, Kan.
Total amount spent on gas
Rileys (SUV): $290.98
Fowlers (Midsize): $151.72
Pletchers (Hybrid): $99.84
Gas mileage
Rileys (SUV): 17 mpg (estimate was 15 mpg)
Fowlers (Midsize): 28 mpg (estimate was 25 mpg)
Pletchers (Hybrid): 39 mpg (estimate was 40 mpg)
The trip: Pletcher Family (Hybrid)
Days 1 to 3: Los Angeles to Grand Canyon to Denver
Today show
Day 1
May 16: Three families driving across the country in different cars talk with "Today" hosts Matt Lauer and Katie Couric about how gas prices are affecting their vacation.
The Honda Civic Hybrid was a lot bigger than we thought it would be. I fully expected to have to leave a bag or two behind, but we fit everything in.
Los Angeles traffic was awful. It took us 4 or 5 hours just to get to Barstow; the first "Are We There Yet?" from the kids was logged in Covina, Calif.
We stopped in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and got swarmed by stinkbugs — we got bit by one of them and named it Burt.
It was only $20 to fill up the tank in Lake Havasu City. We arrived at the Grand Canyon around 2 a.m.
Day 2
We took a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon with Papillion Helicopter. Brian and the kids had never been on a helicopter ride. It was a 50-minute tour through the canyon — words can't describe how breathtaking it was.
We left the Grand Canyon in late afternoon, filled up the tank with another $20 and headed towards Denver. We stayed in Durango at an amazing Victorian-style hotel called the Hotel Palmer.
Day 3
We spent some time in Durango in the morning. There were lots of steam engine trains blowing their horns — it was very quaint.
We stopped at the visitor’s center in Silverton. It snowed while we were driving through the Rocky Mountains — it was very exciting for the kids. My husband brought a John Denver CD with us and we played it while we went through the Rocky Mountains — it was very emotional for me.
We arrived in Denver around 8 p.m. and stayed at the Burnsley All-Suite Hotel. So far, we've been averaging about 40 miles per gallon, which is what Honda told us we would get. — Brian Pletcher
Total amount spent on gas
Riley Family (SUV): $194.13
Fowler Family (Midsize) $114.22
Pletcher Family (Hybrid) $60.41
Gas mileage
Riley Family (SUV): 17 mpg
Fowler Family (Midsize): 27 mpg
Pletcher Family (Hybrid): 40 mpg
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