So well you may wonder why in this cold winter wonderland am I asking you to pretend you're at a beach. It's not just to escape the 20 inches of snow, the wind blowing through the trees or that fact that it is just plain cold. Walking on a dirt road the day after a snow storm is like walking on the beach. If you have ever walked on a beach you know how tiring it can be. It seems like more effort. Your foot goes down into the sand and you have to push through the ball of your foot to keep moving. It is almost as if the sand is trying to hold your foot so you can't move forward. Dirt roads are like that after a storm.
When dirt roads are plowed they don't try to scrape all the snow off. A layer is left of compressed snow about 1/2'' to an inch thick. Now the road underneath this snow had pockets and ridges from tires and such. Then the snow fills in these ridges. And on top of this, a layer of sand is thrown. All of this is fine to drive on as long as you have the appropriate vehicle but walking on it is like the beach. Its basically loosens up and shifts as you walk. So it feels like walking on the beach.
The other thing about dirt roads in the winter is you realize different they are to drive on. While a paved road will probably be back to pavement in a day or two after a storm. It might be weeks before the dirt road completely reappears from under its layer of snow and winter sand. After all, it is a dirt road.
The first year we lived on this road we had a red 4 wheel drive truck. I don't know what kind it was all I know is it was a standard and I learned how to pop a clutch with it. Anyway, another feature about dirt roads is they usually don't have shoulders to them, instead there are ditches or trees. And a lot of roads are just barely 2 car widths wide. Which if you are a 'flatlander' like me can make life rough. There are certain 'rules of etiquette' to dirt road driving. The first and foremost is if the road is narrow and two vehicles meet, the one closest to a driveway pulls into that driveway or backs up to that driveway. If there is no driveway then it is whoever is closest to the widest part of the road pulls over or backs up to that part. In my case, I spent most of the first winter on this road in a ditch. I had a hard time accepting there was no shoulder on the road. So I would be polite (being a truck usually gives a car the right of way) and would pull over to let a car pass me and viola! into the ditch I would go. Luckily we had a friend who would come and pull me out. It was embarrassing but I learned eventually about the proper use of 4 WD as applied to getting yourself out of a ditch. Most of that consists of making sure your vehicle is not hung up on anything. That no part of the frame or body is sitting on a rock wall or tree stump. Carry a shovel with you, you may have to either dig snow or dirt out away from the tires. According to which direction you are going to try to go, make sure your front wheels are pointing in that direction. Get in, make sure you are in the appropriate gear, that the 4 wheel drive is engaged, pray like hell and hit the gas. Some times you will actually make it out. But most times you won't. So make sure you either have friends with trucks or tractors that can help. Or a 'come a-long' is always a worthwhile investment. Don't forget chains or straps. I never said living on a dirt road was easy. And having a dirt driveway? Well that my friends is a whole 'nother story.
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