MANY TRAVELERS TURNING TO HIGHWAYS

Missouri drivers are enjoying dropping fuel prices as they take more weekend drives and vacations than before. According to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, gasoline prices in the state are five to eights cents lower than in June and as much as 15 cents below the national average.

Most Cape Girardeau stations are charging $.979 to $.989 for regular unleaded, which is the average price level across the state. The price is around $.999 in Perryville and $1.019 in Jackson The national retail price averaged $1.145 at last report.

Kenneth Bender of Jackson Oil Co. predicts that moderate fuel prices will remain for awhile since crude oil prices have stabilized.

The price descended although demand ascended, ignoring the law of supply and demand. According to the American Automobile Association, motorists drove 12.5 percent more on vacations the first part of the month than in 1990, partly due to the four-day July 4 weekend for many. They estimated one out of 10 Americans took a trip of more than 100 miles by motor vehicle over the weekend.

Many visitors targeted Cape Girardeau for a weekend visit. Cathy Crites of the Convention and Visitors Bureau reported a high number of visitors locally, especially on July 5. "There was an unusually high number of people on the riverfront Friday," she said. "I met people at the river from Michigan, Wisconsin, Alaska, North Dakota and Florida." The Delta Queen steamboat made a scheduled docking that morning and the its sister ship Mississippi Queen made an unscheduled stop that evening.

Crites added that the bureau had an increased amount of requests for visitors packets in June.