On the road with state wrestling

Things started this morning with me getting up bleary eyed at 5:30 a.m. to the sound of my rather poor choice in radio stations for my alarm clock. Now most people would have packed the night before and made sure they had everything in order, however I decided to just throw everything together while still half asleep. I'm sure people were a bit startled that I was dressed in flip flops and track suit when I showed up to the B-C state championship, but it seemed the most appealing choice that early in the morning.

By the way, Town Pump's choice of energy drinks and coffee drinks is top notch, although I don't think it was healthy for me to have one of each before 7:30 a.m.

Strangely, since moving to Polson eight months ago, I had yet to go to Missoula. I've been there for Griz games before moving here, but that was about it. Now, I didn't really stop in the city but I did get flipped off - so Mission Accomplished.

The drive down to Hamilton for the state B-C tournament was scenic, and I'm now convinced that every small town in Montana comes complete with it's very own mountain range. Holy cow, I love the Mission Mountains but these were different and simply stunning. I have no clue what they were called but hey, that's why I'm a journalist and not a... map maker?

By the way, if you're wondering what vehicle I'm driving, it's a 2000 red Chevy Cavalier. I have nicknamed it "Lebron" and if you ever find yourself stuck behind a car of that kind going about 50 instead of the normal 70... that's me.

After a long day of shooting (photos coming soon, just waiting for them to upload), I headed to Butte, which at around 8 p.m. seemed a long ways away. When you see the dreaded "Butte 116" marker, it's pretty intimidating, considering there is absolutely nothing (Sorry Anaconda, Deer Lodge and Drummond) between Missoula and Butte.

And to make matters worse, my blinker light popped out after a bump and rattled around causing me to freak out like Vin Diesel in Fast and the Furious 5.

Now, I'm at the Butte Hilton (Super 8) watching some NBA highlights and about to plow into these photos and edit them. Tomorrow should be a great day of Class A wrestling. Woo!