We get mail delivered three days a week to a box 3 miles away, if you are in town, you can pick up the mail 6 days a week. The postmaster will call if you have packages to you can meet the delivery man. UPS will come out here, most of the drivers have either been pulled out of the mud, snow or given rides from us when they break down so we get to know them really well. If it gets real bad now they will try to call and meet us somewhere or leave things at the post office or the church for us. FEDEX is a whole different story, they try not to leave the pavement even if the package is prepaid and paid for return like a semen tank. They won't even wait five minutes for me to transfer the semen to my tank because I have to call it in to schedule pickup. When you do that the operator will tell you that you have to return the tank to Billings as there is no FEDEX service in our county. When you tell them that that is 65 miles away and costs more in time and fuel and it is already paid for, you just get stupid questions about how could anyone live that far from town?
As for the vet, it is 40 miles to the closest, sometimes we drive, sometimes he does. We try to schedule things like bangs vaccinating at the same time as neighbors and split the mileage charge with the neighbor. But things happen so we keep a supply of things on hand to handle most emergency things. Besides, the 40 miles at 2.50 a mile adds up in a hurry :!: :!: