Does this author live near an interstate, or does she have to take the wagon trail?
Assuming she can take an interstate, or at least a decent 4-lane state road, let's assume she lives 180 miles away from a PP. At freeway speeds (~60 mph), even at a paltry 25 mpg, she'll use about 7 gallons of gas. At the current $3.25 or so, she'll spend a bit over $23 on a one-way trip. You wouldn't want to make that trip every day, but I wouldn't consider that "a lot of money in gas."
abstinance is free....