What a stud...

For those who have never seen studded tires, here's a photo of mine. Those little white spots are little metal spikes in a sort of plug within the tire. There are a few 100 on each tire. And they help keep me on the road. At least they prevent most undesired sliding.

In the winter, because the temperatures regularly dip below 15 degrees, salt is not so effective for melting snow on roads. So it is not used in Alaska. Instead, they sprinkle small gravel pellets on the roads and parking lots which become embedded in the packed snow and ice. This is the Alaskan driving surface for 7 months of the year or so.

This works out fine, except when you work at a place where the parking lot lines are spaced with Geo Metros in mind and no one drives anything smaller than an SUV. In the summer months, you can easily see that you’re expected to park 6” from your neighbor. But once the snow/gravel layer covers up the yellow lines, everyone seems to forget this. The result is, tardy folk generally end up without a spot. I try hard not to be one of these folks. And when I arrive in time for my early shift, it’s usually not a problem.