As we get ready for the last big trip of the summer ( . . . deep sigh), I’m starting to think about getting prepared for the drive and everything that goes into a care-free trip.

The beautiful Wrights Lake

Also because we are going to one of our absolute favorite places in the world – Wright’s Lake (in the El Dorado forest, south of Lake Tahoe), I want to be ready.

So what is my little secret?

Well, as you know one of the games of RVing is paying the absolute cheapest you can for a tank of gas. And although we’ve had some relief from the worst per gallon prices of last summer, it still smarts every time you pull up to the pump ($2.80 per gallon on average in Northern California).

So this is what we do to get the cheapest gas we can.

We do all our grocery shopping at Safeway (we live in Northern Cal and Safeways are everywhere). They have a rewards program that let’s you rack-up money for up to 20, 30 and some times 40 cents a gallon cheaper when you fill up at a Safeway Gas Station. Sounds great right? Well there is a little bit of a gotcha. Safeway gas stations are far and few between.

Luckily we have one close to where we store our travel trailer in Gilroy, CA. So we have a routine when getting ready to go on a trip. Before I pick-up the trailer I always fill-up at the Gilroy Safeway gas station. The cheapest I’ve gotten there was $1.71 a gallon back in May.

Check-out their program at: Safeway PowerPump Rewards