Here's Something You Haven't See in a While

That, my combustion engine loving friends, is what I paid today for a full tank of gas in my SUV. Truly.

Of course I had to wait in line to do it...

Unlike a gas line of the 70s (oh how the environmentalists want to see those again) people were happy to wait. E85 (85% ethanol) was $1.85 a gallon and regular (10% ethanol) was $2.50. Who wouldn't wait for that???

My wait wasn't too bad, though... I was close to the front. We were only there for about 25 minutes.

Of course a cheap gas event draws a lot of people. There were plenty of police on hand to manage the traffic.

This lucky guy got to point people to the back of the line. All the way back. After a while I don't think he could actually see it...

Here's a bit more evidence of the police presence...

The deputies were actually standing at the pumps. As were people to pump your gas, run your money and swipe your card. It was all about volume and traffic. The event was incredibly well organized, though. They even "tagged" your car if you were getting E85. Don't worry, it was a magnet. (Now it's a frisbee that can stick to the fridge.)

We were prepared. The girls had snacks and sippies. And "CARS" was in the DVD player. (Yes, it was fitting as this whole thing was a promotion for the Iowa Corn Indy 250. Yes, it's a real event.) And while you waited there was Edgar, the "E" Man, to entertain the kiddos. (And if you visit their Flickr slideshow you will see me in photos 56 (our truck being visited by Edgar), 62 & 63 (I got a high-five for using E85).

Caelan was less than thrilled when he visited our truck.

Like I said, the event was very well organized and the line moved quickly. With one way in and one way out

there weren't too many traffic problems. Well, except for people who had to back in to their pump and almost hit others. I'm not saying that happened to me, but I'm not not saying it, either. The gal who pumped our gas was incredibly kind and talked to the girls while the nearly empty tank was filled. For $31.01.

Not that I'm rubbing it in or anything...