Eric Parsons / Star staff Truck driver Bud Smith enjoys the early morning scenery as he hauls rocks from a quarry near Lake Cachuma along Highway 154 into Santa Barbara. Skyrocketing fuel prices have made it difficult for owner-operators like Smith to make a living. At top, the cost of nearly 114 gallons of diesel was just shy of $453 at Macvalley Oil Co. in Oxnard on Tuesday.