Just when gas prices were getting back into a more palatable range, they've shot up in Colorado more than 16 cents in just a week.  

Experts say rising oil prices, reduced refinery capacity, and Middle East tensions are to blame for what's being called the biggest weekly jump in nationwide prices in the past two years.

So how are drivers dealing with the ups and downs and pain at the pump?  Well, it hasn't been easy.

"It's been about a hundred dollars a week," explained Daniel Thayer, sharing the cost to fill up his large pickup, its V8 engine emptying his wallet almost as quickly as it empties its gas tank.

Those costs have been almost as dizzying as prices themselves lately.

"Yeah, it's been going crazy," said Clarence Southall, a Grand Junction driver.  "They're up and down and up and down, but they've never been consistent."

Those inconsistent prices have jumped to an average of $3.13 a gallon in Colorado, up more than sixteen cents in just the past week, and nearly a quarter higher than a month ago.

The ups and downs are making it tough to budget for prices that are anything but predictable.

So how do you budget for something like this?

"You can't," said Southall.  "It just gets passed on to customers."

Comments like that are familiar to Mike Rathbone, the GM of the Shell station on 1st and Grand in Grand Junction.

"They've gotta drive anyways," said Rathbone of his customers. "But trust me, you hear about it working behind the counter.  You definitely hear about it."

Rathbone says he hopes customers realize that gas stations aren't out to slam consumers.

"A lot of people walk in thinking that I as the manager am the one that determines what we're charging, and it's what the guy delivers the gas for what we have to charge," he said.

But like so many who rely on their car or truck for work Thayer doesn't have a choice.

"...I have a V-8," said Thayer. "So it's real hard to pay for that every week."

And while a lot of people may be changing some of their driving habits as they continue to watch gas prices rise, people like Thayer are changing what they're driving altogether.

"I'm gonna buy a smaller truck just so I can cut those costs," he explained.

If you'd like to track gas prices in our area, or anywhere for that matter, log onto http://www.gasbuddy.com.