Mountain Delivery Driving
Delivery driving
Delivery driving is always exciting. Any person who has ever delivered anything can tell you that. If you always look at it as a positive thing, many good things can come out of it. For instance, if you love to drive, hey, deliveries got you covered. You are constantly meeting new people. As a delivery person, you are forever getting to go to new places. And, there are things that always keep you on your toes. I would like to share some of my personal and somewhat scary mountain delivery accounts with you.
Here are my stories……..
Account number 1: 1000 abandonedville Lane
For obvious reasons, of course I will not post people’s real addresses. My first encounter was during the daylight hours. The delivery was near Woodland Park, CO., also known as the city above the clouds. Back in the middle of a thick forest, a home was tucked. A dirt road to the place was about 1 mile long and extremely steep. I couldn’t tell you what grade it was, but it was similar to the slope of a kid’s mile-long slide.
When I finally reached the top, and knocked at the door, the place appeared abandoned. It was so hauntingly quiet, you could have heard an ant snore. I looked inside the windows and the home was trashed. There were torn mattresses, bedding, stuffed deer heads, broken ax , and empty beer bottles. I saw a statue of a buck on the rear steps. Something rustled, and suddenly the statue jumped off the porch. I jumped back and hollered “holy crap!” It was a live animal! I heard a gunshot and knew it was time to take a hike and split the scene.
Account #2: 1000 Boondocks Road
As delivery drivers we all rely on our GPS system. But, what if it crashes on you? H.E.L.P. That’s all I can say. This route was also near Woodland Park, CO., but this time at night. My GPS crashed. The phone number of the recipient on my ticket was “dead.” I was on an extremely dark, narrow, gravel mountain road. The only thing I could see was my car headlights. Rolling my window down, I could hear a heavy stream of water somewhere a distance below me. I, very carefully, did a 4-point turn around. Inching the car backward and forward until I was facing the other direction. I finally saw a faint light beaming through the evergreens. I drove very cautiously towards that dim light to knock on the door of a complete stranger.
This person was not the recipient of the package. How would they react to an unknown vehicle and person knocking on their door at night? Now I was hearing animal noises. All I could think of was bears, mountain lions and coyotes. This was their prime time to be out and stalking. A deer ran across the road. Where there’s deer, there are mountain lions. As it happens, I got lucky. A nice couple lived there, knew who the recipient was, and directed me to the correct home. Made it out alive……lol….but a bit shaken up.
Account #3: 1000 middleofnowhere drive
This time was somewhere on the far west side of Woodland Park in the daytime. This path started as a 6 mile paved, curvy road. There were no homes in sight the entire drive. Of course the road led to a higher, curvy gravel road. GPS said I was 3 minutes to my destination, but there was only one way to go. Up a very steep, curvy dirt road, that showed signs of major wash-out. It began to rain. “Holy Moses!” I declared, shaking in my boots. “Face your fears now,” I told myself. Put the Xterra in first gear, and slowly crept up the side of the mountain, carefully dodging the washed out areas.
All I saw were 6 old, rusted out, broken down vehicles. Four large dogs were barking at the top of their lungs at me. A man appeared in his front door wearing very soiled, expired clothing. He wasn’t smiling. I rolled my window down slightly and asked if he could come grab the delivery for him. He sauntered out towards me and said, “I din’t know they let the ladies drive by themsels deez dayz.” His hands were stuffed inside his dungaree pockets. His cheeks were dripping with tobacco chew juice, as he rocked from heel to toe.
I launched into survival mode. I slipped the ticket through the tiny window slot for him to sign. Got on my knees, and unlocked the back door of the car. I quickly opened the door and set his delivery on the ground, and immediately re-locked the doors.
I was sweating like an aerobics trainer. I was very grateful to slowly edge my way down the steep drive and high tail it out of there, in the rain.
So, have any of you encountered any similar situations? I would love to hear about them. Whether or not you are driving deliveries in the mountains, they are always exciting in one way or another. This is the reason why I, personally, admire all delivery personnel who arrive at my front door. Believe me, they go through a lot to get you your packages.
Hope you enjoyed the stories and have an incredible day!!!