Maybe I've missed something, but is there any real reason for why gas prices have risen so high?

I know that over the years there have been plenty of reasons given, most of them temporary. In California, there's usually the "transitioning to summer blend" shortage. And then the "transitioning to non-summer blend" shortage. Then there's the universal price increase for higher summer travel demand. There's the reduced output from our suppliers.

The one thing these all have in common is knowing that there is a time in the not too distant future when the situation will be resolved and prices will go down again.

But I don't recall any real excuse for why it's so high, which doesn't give us much hope that it's going down and certainly no end in sight.

I hope I've missed something - will someone enlighten me?