My siblings and I have all developed a love for exploring mountain roads. It's something we learned from our dad. If there is a dirt road heading off somewhere he's going to follow it and find out where it leads. As children we all spent hours and hours exploring with him and now as adults we take him exploring. He still loves it and so do we.
Last summer while camping, my brother's family and I decided to go on an afternoon excursion. We buckled the little kids into car seats and piled into their four-wheel-drive truck ((required equipment for mountain road exploring) although I have been known to drive my little white car through some pretty treacherous places, relying on the fact that the rest of my family own four-wheel-drive trucks or SUVs and could help me out if I were to get stuck.)
The road we explored took us along a mountain ridge for a while and then began the switchback process that would deliver us into a valley of bright yellow wild flowers and straight quaking aspens. We stopped on occasion to take in the scenery or to let another truck pass.
Most of these mountain roads are only wide enough for one vehicle and, for as long as I can remember, navigating a way for two trucks to safely pass has never been an issue. Most of the time, the driver who recognizes that they have the safest spot to pull off the road will do just that. Sometimes, it requires one truck to back up a little - or a lot. Often, when a safe place to maneuver isn't close, the drivers will get out and discuss options. They look at the road and talk about how far back there was a possible turn out and agree what to do next. This is kind of the unwritten rule of mountain road exploring.
That afternoon we passed a couple of trucks on our way down the switchback and were able to navigate just fine. After we turned around and were making our way back up a major incline to begin following the switchback to the top, a big white truck with an extended wheel base came around the bend. There was a steep incline on the right and a sharp drop-off on the left and no where for either truck to pull off. My brother stopped his truck expecting to discuss with the other driver how to navigate safe passage. We were all surprised when the other truck kept coming and made no attempt to slow down or stop.
When the truck got close enough, we could see that the driver and his passenger (I'm guessing his wife) were waving their arms wildly, motioning for us to back up. My brother began backing slowly, carefully trying not to get too close to the edge. We knew he was going to have to back for quite sometime to find a spot wide enough to accommodate the extra width of the other truck. But as we backed, the driver and his passenger continued to wave their arms. And then, the driver, not happy with the speed my brother was going, stopped his truck and got out in a rage. Red faced he came over to our truck and started yelling.
I was so impressed with my brother. He put his hand out, palm down and said very calmly. "Now hang on. We can work this out." He then explained that there was a ledge a ways back down the road that might possibly accommodate the two trucks. The driver pretty much expressed that my brother was an idiot and then got back in his truck. As we backed to the ledge the other driver and his wife continued to wave their arms motioning for us to back up, and as soon as we pulled off the road they sped past.
We hadn't noticed that there was a guy riding an ATV behind the truck. He pulled up next to my brother's window and said, "Can you believe that guy? He thinks he owns the road."
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