John Avila of Salt Lake City plans to visit family and friends in St. George. A tank of gas in his full-size car costs $50, and he can drive down on a half tank. Avila moved from South Salt Lake to downtown Salt Lake City to be closer to work, and that helps him save money.

He said doesn't feel guilty for the trip to St. George. "It's Labor Day, come on," he said. "We've got to have some fun."

Mike Morris of Salt Lake City would love to get away but can't afford it. He's a single dad working during the days at his new landscaping business and at nights at a Chili's restaurant.

"I can't even afford to drive to Moab or St. George," he said.

Utah's high prices in comparison with the rest of the nation prompted Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to announce two weeks ago that he wanted to keep a "laserlike" focus on gas prices.

The Department of Agriculture and Food normally has three inspectors dedicated to keeping tabs on Utah's nearly 28,000 gas pumps. Yet, at Huntsman's prompting, the agency reassigned five other inspectors to the task — they'd normally be at grocery store delis or bakeries to verify weight scales.

The day after Huntsman's announcement, the state's commerce chief said she received multiple reports that gas prices had dropped 6 cents, hinting at the power of the governor's bully pulpit.

Since then, however, the state has received only a handful of price-gouging complaints that amount to "just grousing," said Francine Giani, director of the Utah Department of Commerce, who said she had little power to lower prices. She urged motorists to strike back.

"I tell my friends who complain, 'What kind of car are you driving?' They've got the big old Suburban," Giani said. "I sold my Suburban last year, and I take fewer trips to the grocery store. We need to change our habits, and stay the change."

Dale Kunze, a weights and measures inspector for the state, laughed when he was asked what weights and measures inspectors can do to curb high gas prices. All they can do is make certain that whatever high price stations charge, they dispense the correct amount of gas, he said.

Pump accuracy is no worse now, inspectors say, than during times of lower prices. The team of inspectors say pumps work to motorists' favor 97 percent of the time.

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Contributing: Paul Foy, Associated Press

E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com