From the Travel Desk: Don't let gas guzzle up your vacation budget

Gas prices reached well above $4 per gallon last week, and they will hover there, comparable to what it costs in the far-off Hawaiian islands, until June. While prices are expected to dip some, Minnesotans may be thinking twice about their summer road trip. Given the importance of family vacations — the immediate joys, the lasting memories, the sunburns, the back-seat fights — I hope not.

So I was happy to uncover a USA Today/Gallup poll — even if it is two years old — that showed Americans holding fast to their Rite of Summer despite high fuel prices. A different Gallup poll last year revealed that prices would need to rise to $5.30 or $5.35 per gallon before Americans would cut back on spending in other areas (think vacations).

Of course, no one wants to leave all their cash at a gas station on the way to their destination, whether that is Yellowstone or Brainerd. There are the tried-and-true ways to diminish a car's guzzling tendencies. Keep tires at the proper pressure. Roll up windows on the highway, lest the drag burn more fuel. Tune up the engine. Drive the speed limit.

Finding the station with the lowest prices is one of the best ways to save, though. That's easy to do at home, where you spy prices as you move around the neighborhood. But on the freeway, you can feel like a captive customer to the high-prices stations just beyond the off-ramps. Fortunately, there are smartphone apps that can act as a price sleuth for you. GasBuddy's app lists gas stations by distance and price, and it's free. MapQuest (free) and Fuel Finder ($2.99) are two others that can track your location and direct you to the cheapest gas around — which may be just three blocks off the interstate.