That brings little comfort for Justin Tanner who is staying put for this holiday weekend. Tanner says lower gas prices don't mean much when the recession has him looking for extra shifts at work.

"Honestly, they're too high. I'm trying to put as little gas in the car as possible and scraping by as much as I can," Tanner said.

Unlike last year when gas prices were flirting with the $4 a gallon, representatives with AAA say the recession is having more of a stronghold on driving habits.

According to estimates by the Federal Highway Administration, Americans drove 123 billion fewer miles in 2008 than in 2007. That's the equivalent of taking roughly 8 to 10 million drivers off the road.

Wave Dreher of AAA Colorado says the "staycation" is popular this year.

"I can certainly understand why people aren't feeling as positive this summer compared to the past," Dreher said.

There is a bit of good news for people living in Colorado. Dreher says compared to the rest of the nation the Mountain States Region, which includes Colorado, is seeing steady level of travel. She points to the regions relatively strong economy, its easy access to attractions like the Rocky Mountains and the lower gas prices (Colorado's gas price average is about 8 cents lower than the national average).

Those prices are expected to fall even further.

"Gas prices should bottom out between now and the end of the year. It should hit $2 a gallon, we don't expect them to go lower than that," Dreher said.

Gas prices may be coming around and many are waiting to see if the economy will do the same.