Barstow's only CNG fueling station is owned by the city and used mostly to fuel the city's alternative-fuel vehicles. It's a 24/7 operation. There is no convenience store and no attendant, but the station did have a restroom.

I swiped my credit card in the familiar-looking pump, and nothing happened. I tried several more times before realizing the pump had a problem and wasn't going to take my credit card. I still had the phone number of the city office that managed the pump but was left to wait until 9 a.m. when someone was actually there to answer the phone before I could get help.

The person I reached on the phone was mortified I had been waiting so long. She had spoken with me the day before when I was doing my trip planning. She had a city building inspector dispatched to help me with the pump, and he arrived within five minutes. Turns out the pump wasn't talking to the state's database. The inspector used a city authorization code, and the pump started to whistle and buzz as it fueled my car.

CNG for vehicles is measured at a gallon equivalent, and in Barstow it cost $2.60 per gallon. I got out my calculator and made my first calculations. The first 149 miles of the trip cost $11.77.

My next stop was in Las Vegas. Vegas is known for wanting to keep visitors in town for as long as possible, and the process of getting CNG for the car was no exception. I had to fill out an application to buy fuel, which included coughing up my bank account information and Social Security number. Then I had to buy a prepaid fuel card and drive to a separate location where the pumps and fuel are. It took almost an hour before I was actually putting fuel in the car.

Next stop: St. George. I was now in Utah, which has the cheapest CNG in the nation — 73.6 cents. It was right there on the pump. I can't remember the last time I was excited to see the price of gas listed on a filling-station pump.

The only complication with this stop is that the person at the filling station I spoke with when planning the trip didn't tell me that what was listed as a Texaco on my Department of Energy list was now a Shell station. It didn't take too long to figure that problem out, and it was nice to be at a regular gas station that had traditional gas-station amenities.

On to Cedar City. Another regular gas station, and my fill-up came to an even $2. It seemed weird to use a credit card for a measly two bucks, so I bought all of the snacks I could carry and still left the station for under $10.

I didn't need any more snacks when I stopped in Fillmore, so I did something I haven't done in decades: I paid my fuel bill in cash. A whopping $3.38.

Springville was the next stop, where the CNG stop is at the Flying J truck stop. The truckers in line in front of me to pay for fuel were signing credit slips for hundreds of dollars apiece. I got change back from $5.

I topped off at a city-owned station in Murray at the end of the trip just so I could tally my expenses: 680 miles for $33.65. Snacks not included. This is going to be fun.

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E-mail: sfidel@desnews.com