In Washington, the gas pumps work like this: you approach the pump, the display says 0 gallons/0 dollars, you swipe your credit card, pick the grade, and start pumping. At least at all the gas stations I've gone to.
But last week when I bought gas in Montana, I was confused - the display read something like x gallons/y dollars, where x and y are NOT zero. So it kind of looked like the pump hadn't been cleared out and I was paying for the person who'd last used the pump. I went inside to double-check, and the lady said that she didn't think that's what was happening, but she could run my card and see if anything had been charged to it. It hadn't. So I went outside, ignored the current "transaction" on the pumps, swiped my card, and pumped my gas.
All of the other gas pumps I've encountered outside of Washington have worked this way. I'm used to it at this point (I don't think it's an underestimation to say that I have bought more gas on this trip than I have in the past year of driving my car) but I would like to know why the pump behavior is different depending on where you go. Maybe Washington has more high-tech pumps? We stopped for some gas at the Spam museum today and the pumps didn't even have credit card readers - I had to pump and then pay inside. (What is this, THE DARK AGES?!)
Anyway, just so you all know - gas pumps can be crazy!
Showing posts with label gas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gas. Show all posts
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
"Short" day
Drove from Helena, MT to Rapid City, SD today. We left around 9AM (keeping with the hour late trend) and arrived at Coyote Blues B&B at 6. We're also staying here on the way back (but in a different room). They apparently have 2 cats, who I should go upstairs and meet. But first we're sitting in our room, being antisocial for a while. (What!? We're from Seattle...)
Breakfast this morning was delicious, if cheeeeeesy - a cheese and veggie omelet with fruit and a warm slice of rhubarb bread. Mmm. With OJ and coffee, plus a mug of coffee to go for me.
My car's engine took a few seconds to start - I don't know if it's this dumb 91-octane gas (Seattle 'super' is 92) or the crappy Montana gas (no Chevron, no Shell, not even a Mobil or Exxon, my last-resort gas choices. Yes, I'm a savvy consumer...) sold at the stations with the dinosaur logo. Though I do like the fact that they're selling something made from dinosaurs! HAH.
We're having the last of our sandwiches for dinner tonight, which leaves us with a cooler full of salads, veggies, hummus, and protein bars. And boiled eggs. Lots of snacking will be in order, apparently. The stuff in the cooler is still pretty darn cold, so that's good. Did I mention how much I love the chicken and bacon sandwiches? It's just chicken, bacon, and chopped tomato and lettuce in a whole grain wrap (not those 250-calorie monsters, either; think flatbread) so it's got lots of protein and won't make me fall asleep at the wheel from eating too many refined carbs.
The southeast corner of Montana is chock full of deer - we were passing through around 5:00 and there were huge herds of them on either side of the highway, hanging out in the cow/horse pastures and eating. It's funny seeing huge crowds of them, but they're all standing as still as possible because there's a busy highway next to them. "Maybe if I stand real still here next to the 4-lane highway in broad daylight, no one will see me!" Even though they're all small and white, not HUGE and brown or black like all the cows. EXCEPT we saw this awesome all-white steer. Cool!
Breakfast this morning was delicious, if cheeeeeesy - a cheese and veggie omelet with fruit and a warm slice of rhubarb bread. Mmm. With OJ and coffee, plus a mug of coffee to go for me.
My car's engine took a few seconds to start - I don't know if it's this dumb 91-octane gas (Seattle 'super' is 92) or the crappy Montana gas (no Chevron, no Shell, not even a Mobil or Exxon, my last-resort gas choices. Yes, I'm a savvy consumer...) sold at the stations with the dinosaur logo. Though I do like the fact that they're selling something made from dinosaurs! HAH.
We're having the last of our sandwiches for dinner tonight, which leaves us with a cooler full of salads, veggies, hummus, and protein bars. And boiled eggs. Lots of snacking will be in order, apparently. The stuff in the cooler is still pretty darn cold, so that's good. Did I mention how much I love the chicken and bacon sandwiches? It's just chicken, bacon, and chopped tomato and lettuce in a whole grain wrap (not those 250-calorie monsters, either; think flatbread) so it's got lots of protein and won't make me fall asleep at the wheel from eating too many refined carbs.
The southeast corner of Montana is chock full of deer - we were passing through around 5:00 and there were huge herds of them on either side of the highway, hanging out in the cow/horse pastures and eating. It's funny seeing huge crowds of them, but they're all standing as still as possible because there's a busy highway next to them. "Maybe if I stand real still here next to the 4-lane highway in broad daylight, no one will see me!" Even though they're all small and white, not HUGE and brown or black like all the cows. EXCEPT we saw this awesome all-white steer. Cool!
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