Utahns hit the roads for Fourth of July getaways

ALPINE — One group departed from Utah County, another from Colorado Springs and another from St. George.

The finish line is at Lake Powell. It's a race, but they're not racing each other.

The roughly 30 members of Shari and Quayle Dutson's family are hoping to beat hundreds of others to the perfect spot to park a houseboat — a private, shaded rock cove.

Coves are coveted at Lake Powell because they limit daytime heat, block the sun's damaging rays and provide a little shade for swimming.

The Dutsons left Tuesday for the Fourth of July holiday in hopes of docking at a good one.

"The water temperature there is 75 degrees," Shari Dutson said. "In a few days, it will be 80. We've been doing this for about 15 years now on the Fourth of July. I'd rather go there than Hawaii."

It's astute planning on the Dutsons' part. This weekend, an estimated 2.75 million residents from the Mountain West are projected to travel 50 miles or more from their homes, according to a new AAA survey, a 19 percent increase from last year's holiday. The Mountain West states in the survey are Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Nationally, AAA expects about 34.9 million people will travel 50 miles or more, a 17 percent increase from last year's holiday.

Memorial Day 2010 saw 4.7 percent more travelers from the holiday in 2009 in the West. The reason, AAA officials say, is that the economy is improving. While jobs continue to be shed from the Utah economy, beginning in April, fewer jobs had been lost, meaning layoffs are slowing down and that some employers are even hiring.

"When people are feeling threatened, they're not going to take off and stay in a hotel," said Rolayne Fairclough of AAA Utah.

The Fourth of July is one of the busiest American holidays for travel.

"I think having it on a weekend is good, and (travelers) can stretch it to a Monday because we're getting Monday off," Fairclough said. "People might take Friday, too, thinking, 'I can take one day and get a four-day holiday out of it.' "

In Utah, the average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline is $2.89. Two weeks ago, it was third highest in the United States. Now, it is eighth highest. The national average is $2.76.

Dutson anticipates she will spend $100 on gas for their pickup, which tows a boat the family uses for kneeboarding, waterskiing and tubing. To keep that boat's tank full, Dutson anticipates it will cost about $200 a day.

Her daughter, Michelle Knebel of Colorado Springs, has seven young children and has to save money to take the Lake Powell trip and tow her family's boat, which is a bit smaller than her mother's.

"We figured for this trip it will cost us about $1,000," Knebel said. "But that's because the gas at Lake Powell is super expensive."

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