AAA officials say more than 500,000 fewer Americans are expected to take to the roads and skies this holiday when compared to last year. But they also say the Western part of the country should see the largest number of travelers.

For the first time this decade, AAA is projecting a drop in Fourth of July travel of over 1 percent nationwide. And many of the almost 4.5 million Americans who do intend to travel say they will stay closer to home.

AAA's daily Fuel Gauge Report showed Tuesday's national average price for regular gas at 4.09 cents per gallon. The average price in Montana was 4.14 cents, or about 5 cents above the national average.