Where are gas prices the highest? How does your area stack up to its surrounding towns, counties, states or the national average?

The Baltimore Sun and GasBuddy.com (as oxymoronic a name as you can get) bring you this fascinating map of national gas prices by county.

Zoom in and find the cheapest gas down to the individual stations in your town. Zoom out far enough and see how the whole U.S. shapes up.

We’ve focused on the Northeast here because it’s where this site and most of its staff is based - and to highlight a surprising fact: Connecticut rivals California with its unbelievably high taxes on the state level…

When driving into Connecticut on I-84, one sees a sign welcoming travelers and proclaiming that the Constitution State is “Full of Surprises!”

One could certainly classify $4.33 for a gallon of gas as such.

We love Connecticut, but the state’s motto may as well be changed to “the only state in the union that makes Massachusetts taxes seem reasonable!”

As you plan your summer road trip, you may need to plan where you stop carefully. Click on the photo above to find the cheapest gas prices in your area - and see what states are still hovering under the “cheap” $4/gallon threshold.

The recent surge in gas prices leaves us conflicted.

While no one likes to pay more money, this kind of explosion in prices is the only thing that will get many Americans to reassess our dependence on foreign oil - not to mention the urgency of global warming.

Let’s face it, most people don’t care about polar bears, nor do they make the connection that cutting back on fossil fuels is good for national security and the environment. Their bank accounts? That’s another story.

Sadly, it will get worse before it gets better, and (despite what a pair of pandering candidates and their stupid gas tax holiday tell you) the already-strapped middle class will disproportionately bear the burden.

The cartoon below, entitled “Hitting the Road,” tries to capture the current mood of the energy crisis causing widespread economic panic.

NOTE: This political cartoon was created by and is property of journalist, cartoonist and friend of Donkey Dish, Andrew Wahl. Visit his blog, Off the Wahl, for more!