Daytona 500

I've never really been a NASCAR fan, but it always amazes me how many people enjoy watching the sport. Every year when the Daytona 500 comes along, I always hear people start to talk about the huge event. A lot of people may be upset because they haven't had football to watch on Sunday for the best couple of weekends. NASCAR brings along another pastime for bored men on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I wondered why so many people in America watch the races on Sunday, so I sat back and thought for a moment. Then it struck me, there's nothing better than sitting back in the lazy-boy with a cold beer watching 43 drivers trying to prove they're the best. There's tons of key American ideas in NASCAR. First, it involves loud, powerful cars which have been a symbol of Americana since the World War II. Second, it involves fierce competition. While it may look boring, the drivers are constantly battling to gain position. Finally, according to Wikipedia, stock car racing originated with moon shine runners racing there cars to see who could deliver the shine the quickest. Moonshine is considered by many to be a huge American tradition. The roots of the sport make many Americans take even more pride in it. Most people think that NASCAR is strictly for rednecks. While this is probably a rather accurate assumption, there are plenty of "high-rollers" that enjoy the sport as well. My uncle is a software engineer in Richmond and he is the biggest NASCAR fan I know. There are however plenty of fans that make most people view the sport as white trash. I personally don't watch NASCAR, but I don't think people are "rednecks" just if they enjoy watching the sport. This years Daytona was postponed until tomorrow due to rain according to ESPN, so we will have to wait until tomorrow to find out who this years champion is.

Snow in Blacksburg!

One of the things I was looking forward to when I decided to come to Tech was the snow. My cousin always talks about how much it snows here so I was expecting it to snow a good amount at least five or six times throughout the winter. According to the National Weather Service, the average annual snowfall for Blacksburg, Virginia currently hovers around 20 inches. Surprisingly, today, February 19th, was the first day out of the season that we got a significant snow accumulation. Some may blame it on global warming, some may say its just a coincidence. Whatever the case, my first snow day in Blacksburg was quite adventurous. I woke up around eleven this morning and was surprised to see that it was already snowing a little bit outside. I was expecting rain all day and then a crossover to snow tonight. The snow started out only sticking to the grass, but it didn't take long for it to start covering the sidewalks and roads. The snow was getting pretty deep, so my friends and I had decided to go make a snow man and play in the snow. Just as I was getting my warm clothes on, another friend called and said his car was overheating on the side of the interstate. I checked the Virgina 511 website to see how the road conditions were and learned that even the interstate was covered with snow. Not wanting to leave my friend stranded, I hopped in my car and headed for the interstate. After stopping at Advance auto to pick up a jug of antifreeze, I finally made it to his car on the interstate. We filled up the radiator and were able to limp the car back to Tech. Even with 4-wheel-drive, the journey was quite treacherous. We saw two fender benders as well as two cars in the ditch on the way back. We were finally able to help the rest of our friends finish building a snowman and participate in a snowball fight. After a long day we headed to Owens to fill up. My first snow day in Blacksburg is definitely one that I won't forget anytime soon.

Hiking in Blacksburg

When I was a younger, I enjoyed going to Massanutten and exploring some of the mountains there with my father. I remember one time we took a day trip to the Appalachian Trail and hiked a few miles. I really enjoyed hiking, but it wasn't really a hobby I could pursue in my bay side hometown. The other day I stumbled across some pictures of my friends on top of a mountain near JMU. The thought struck me that now that I'm living in Blacksburg, there's probably numerous places to explore and hike. After doing some research, I found a website called weasleworks.org. The name may sound very strange but the site is actually very informative. It shows the location of numerous trails near Blacksburg and features detailed topographic maps of most of the routes. After browsing the site for a while, I decided that I would try out the Pandapas Pond trails. This system of trails is a short, easy drive from Tech. I hopped on 460 and headed North over Brush Mountain. After passing over the ridge, Pandapas Pond is on the left. After parking, I examined the trail map at the parking lot and decided to try out the trail called, "Horse Nettle". Yes, the name seems very strange, but the trail was actually very nice. I brought along a friend because I didn't want to venture out into unknown territory on my own. We had a great time on the trail and passed a few other hikers along the way. We headed back to the truck but there were still a few hours of daylight left and neither one of us had any homework to do. I decided to drive up one of the Forest Service Roads on Brush Mountain. I had actually found out about the road on the U.S. Forrest Service website. They have a map of all the different service roads in the National Forests. This particular road went to a cell phone tower but also linked to some of the trails from Pandapas pond. The road was very steep in some places and had some small washouts, but it was a fun drive in my truck. The view at the top was amazing, we could see Lane stadium and Cassell Coliseum. After driving back down the service road, we headed back to Tech. I enjoyed my small hiking trip and I plan to explore more of Blacksburg's trails in the future.

I-81 Traffic

Anyone that has ever traveled up and down Interstate 81 in Virginia can tell you it's almost always a major headache. The interstate connects numerous locations in Virginia including: Christiansburg, Roanoke, Harrisonburg, and Lexington. In theory, the interstate's route is very efficient, but with only two lanes in each direction, it gets backed up very easily. The main problem lies behind the large quantity of tractor trailers on the highway. Since 81 is the only major highway that runs North to South in western Virginia, its about the only option for truckers. The truck drivers often try to pass each other, making it impossible for cars to get by. This forms a chain reaction which makes it hard to even achieve the speed limit. Since the interstate is often clogged with traffic, the number of traffic accidents is obviously going to be high as well. Whenever an accident occurs, the backups only get worse. At least one lane is usually closed to clear the accidents and allow emergency personnel to get to the scene. This causes major backups since two lanes of traffic have to merge into one lane to get past the wreck. Sometimes, both lanes of traffic have to be closed for larger accidents. In this case, detours are used to route the traffic around the accidents. These usually involve small back roads and backed up exit ramps. Sometimes these detours can cause backups on the interstate for as much as 10 miles. Last Thursday, not just 2 lanes were closed, but the entire 4 lanes of I-81 were shut down around milepost 167. This was a result of a tractor trailer pileup when one truck crossed through the median and hit another. One trailer was carrying a toxic chemical which leaked and had to be cleaned up. According to WDBJ7, the interstate was closed down for 13 hours on Thursday and was backed up for as far as 11 miles at times. The driver of one tractor trailer was killed but the other driver was not seriously injured. My mother was traveling to Blacksburg at the time for Thursday nights basketball game. According to her she moved 8 miles in 3 hours once she hit the backup. Although Interstate 81 is an ideal road for getting to various cities in Western Virginia, the accidents and backups seem to be getting worse everyday.