The Wandering Disciple

  If you’re a motorsports fan—or simply love Americana—few places deliver the nostalgia and grit of stock car racing quite like the Darlington Raceway Stock Car Museum . Located in Darlington, South Carolina, this understated museum offers a front-row seat to the origins of NASCAR and the evolution of one of its most iconic tracks. The History of Darlington Raceway Opened in 1950 , Darlington Raceway was NASCAR’s first paved superspeedway and instantly became known as one of the toughest and most unique circuits in the sport. The track’s famous “egg-shape” was the result of founder Harold Brasington’s agreement to preserve a minnow pond on the property he purchased to build the raceway. The result: one end tight and narrow, the other long and sweeping—forcing drivers to adapt with every lap. Over the decades, Darlington became known as: “The Lady in Black” — a nickname referencing the fresh coat of asphalt sealant applied before race weekend “The Track Too Tough to Ta...

For years, the Lady in Black has been pushing NASCAR stars to their limits on one of the toughest tracks on the circuit. Darlington Raceway features a unique egg shape thanks to a neighbor who refused to relocate a pond when the track was built. This configuration has given crew chiefs the difficult task of setting up a car that can handle both ends of the race track. Each year this challenge proves the Lady in Black is just Too Tough to Tame. (Photo: November 3, 2021)

This Ford Thunderbird helped NASCAR star Bill Elliott win a $1 million dollar bonus from the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company during the 1985 Winston Cup season. Elliott won eleven races that season including three of the big four earning him the Winston Million bonus. Today the car sits on display at the Darlington Raceway museum, site of where he won the Southern 500 to collect his big payday. (Photo: November 3, 2021)

Cotton, the cash crop of the South from the late 18th century through the 20th century. Fields of white cotton like this on in South Carolina can be found throughout the Cotton Belt. The money from the cotton industry fuel the South but this came an a heavy expense to the slave labor used to manage the cotton plantations. The Civil War and the abolishment of slavery combined with crop damage from boll weevil and soil depletion, the cotton industry suffered a major loss in the 20th century. While you can still find cotton fields throughout the South, many of the former fields have been replaced with other types of agricultural farming. (Photo: November 3, 2021)

When you think of a squirrel, the first vision that comes to mind is the bushy tailed gray eastern squirrel. The fox squirrel is another common squirrel species found in the United States and it is has a variety of color combinations (gray, black and brown). This black fox squirrel was found in rural South Carolina. Black fox squirrels make up a quarter of all the fox squirrels found in South Carolina. Even rarer is the brown fox squirrel which accounts for 2% of the population. (Photo: November 3, 2021)

Greensboro, North Carolina:  As we wake up from sleep, we enter into the final day of our Fall road trip.  This is mainly a travel day, but we had a few things planned on the day as well as that daunting 11 hour drive home.   We packed up the car and checked out of the hotel and began our day. It was a chilly 41 degrees this morning, the coldest day of the trip.  The remaining two items we had on our list of things to do were outside attractions.  Based on the drive before us, the fact that one of them did not open for another two hours and we didn't have time to let it warm up a bit before going hiking.  We decided to pass on them and conduct a quick driving tour of downtown before hitting the road south. Greensboro was a great city.  For being the third largest city in North Carolina, it never felt like it.  You were not overwhelmed with people or traffic, felt out of place as a tourist and there was tons of things to do.  We filled o...