This is what happens when everyone gets the same idea at the same time.

I have made countless trips to the Mesa County landfill over the years, but I have never encountered this. It was a line of vehicles exiting the landfill that stretched from the weigh and pay station all the way back to the dumping area.

Saturday Is A Busy Time At the Landfill

When I need to go to the landfill, it's typically on a Saturday - and I think the same is true for a lot of people. It was late on a recent Saturday morning when I had to make a landfill run, and by the looks of things, quite a few other people were doing the same thing at the same time.

It's really not uncommon to get to the unloading area and have to wait a few minutes for a spot to open up. When that happens, the wait typically isn't that long. But, on this occasion, I actually had to wait to leave the dumping area because of the line of vehicles that were exiting the landfill.

When I was able to get into the line, I counted no less than 30 vehicles lined up waiting to get weighed, pay, and exit the landfill. Again, it wouldn't be unusual to be in a line of five or six cars, but, in my experience, 30 vehicles was unprecedented.

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How Long Did It Take To Get to the Pay Station?

Initially, the sight of the long line was a little overwhelming and it felt like we were going to be there all day trying to get out.  Of course, that wasn't the case. It took us about 30 minutes to move from the dumping area to the pay station. It seemed like a super long time only because I'm so accustomed to getting in and out pretty quickly.

To their credit, the landfill folks know what they are doing and do their jobs pretty efficiently. The line wasn't moving unusually slow. There really isn't anything they could have done to make the situation better. Besides, plenty of folks are certainly used to waiting when they are in line for a chicken sandwich.

A Word of Advice

I don't have any idea what the coming weekend holds, but, I would offer some advice if you are making a landfill run. For starters, give yourself plenty of time to make your run. You might get there at a time when it's not crazy busy, but if you go with the mindset that it's going to take a while it will help you to be patient. And that is the second thing. If you find yourself in a long line, just put on some tunes and take advantage of the chance to relax and chill for a few minutes. We're always in such a hurry. A little wait time could actually be a blessing in disguise.

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