Sunday NY Times
Oct 25, 2026 · 1 hr · 15 segments
Sunday NY Times
Oct 25, 2026 · 1 hr · 15 segments
Sunday NY Times
Sea views so spectacular, you may not mind $10 gas.
Gorda is the sort of place that one stumbles onto while headed elsewhere.
Although it is in Big Sur, that romanticized ribbon of California, where the highway is carved into the mountains and the cliff walls plunge into a glittering sea, it is a modest hamlet that sits on a less prominent stretch There is no cell service for miles, so Gorda materializes without warning.
It is not an actual town, but an outpost that consists entirely of a restaurant, three mini-marts, and cabins for rent, along with housing for about a dozen employees in the back of the complex.
Even the people here will tell you this place is not a destination.
Perhaps the most popular request of travelers is to code to the restroom.
In the spring, however, Gorda and its fuel station of four pumps received a smattering of attention.
A gallon of premium unleaded gas was going for Gorda.
nine point nine nine nine dollars, the highest number many pump displays allow.
Gorda does not sell diesel which would be even more expensive because truckers avoid the area.
It was an outrageous figure, even in a state where the average price per gallon at the time hovered around $6, the steepest in the nation.
$10 unleaded seemed to be a symptom of war, the affordability crisis, and the shriveling California dream all at once.
The owner of the station, Leonardo Vargas Flores, was not bothered.
Most patrons headed only to the mini-marts anyway, where the inflated cost of a small bag of chips, $5.99, never caused a stir.
It wasn't long after that Mr. Vargas Flores, 61, decided to call his fuel supplier based in Fresno and ask for help.
Someone from the company soon arrived and updated the software that runs the gas station's meters.
The decimal point on the display could finally be moved to the right.
By the end of summer, Mr. Vargas Flores had pumped the price up to $10.49. Gorda has, in fact, often sold the most expensive gas in the contentious United States.
It has to do with its dependency on tourism and its remote location, 27 long and winding miles north of Hearst Castle on the iconic Pacific Coast Highway.
Hmm.
When it's busy, I save a little bit of money to put me through the winter, Mr. Vargas Flores explained on a recent Wednesday morning as Gorda stirred to life.
It's a good feeling if you can make it work.
Wearing a Dickies shirt, jeans, and boots, he scuttled about as a ring of keys jangled on his belt loop.
Employees walked down from their no-frills quarters, which consist of single rooms with the shared bathrooms.
Customers trickled in to order coffee.
Sea views so spectacular, you may not mind $10 gas.
Gorda is the sort of place that one stumbles onto while headed elsewhere.
Although it is in Big Sur, that romanticized ribbon of California, where the highway is carved into the mountains and the cliff walls plunge into a glittering sea, it is a modest hamlet that sits on a less prominent stretch There is no cell service for miles, so Gorda materializes without warning.
It is not an actual town, but an outpost that consists entirely of a restaurant, three mini-marts, and cabins for rent, along with housing for about a dozen employees in the back of the complex.
Even the people here will tell you this place is not a destination.
Perhaps the most popular request of travelers is to code to the restroom.
In the spring, however, Gorda and its fuel station of four pumps received a smattering of attention.
A gallon of premium unleaded gas was going for Gorda.
nine point nine nine nine dollars, the highest number many pump displays allow.
Gorda does not sell diesel which would be even more expensive because truckers avoid the area.
It was an outrageous figure, even in a state where the average price per gallon at the time hovered around $6, the steepest in the nation.
$10 unleaded seemed to be a symptom of war, the affordability crisis, and the shriveling California dream all at once.
The owner of the station, Leonardo Vargas Flores, was not bothered.
Most patrons headed only to the mini-marts anyway, where the inflated cost of a small bag of chips, $5.99, never caused a stir.
It wasn't long after that Mr. Vargas Flores, 61, decided to call his fuel supplier based in Fresno and ask for help.
Someone from the company soon arrived and updated the software that runs the gas station's meters.
The decimal point on the display could finally be moved to the right.
By the end of summer, Mr. Vargas Flores had pumped the price up to $10.49. Gorda has, in fact, often sold the most expensive gas in the contentious United States.
It has to do with its dependency on tourism and its remote location, 27 long and winding miles north of Hearst Castle on the iconic Pacific Coast Highway.
Hmm.
When it's busy, I save a little bit of money to put me through the winter, Mr. Vargas Flores explained on a recent Wednesday morning as Gorda stirred to life.
It's a good feeling if you can make it work.
Wearing a Dickies shirt, jeans, and boots, he scuttled about as a ring of keys jangled on his belt loop.
Employees walked down from their no-frills quarters, which consist of single rooms with the shared bathrooms.
Customers trickled in to order coffee.
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