Last night I drove from Seattle to Kamloops for perhaps the 50th time, returning from a three-week holiday visit.  The 300-mile trip now feels like a routine for me.  I can tell you ever twist in the road, every ascent of a mountain, and every spot that is prone to being foggy or snowy.  This is my commute; a byproduct of my choice to pursue two paths in life.

I have been traveling back and forth to Seattle since I began training with Coach Bondarchuk in August of 2005.  Throughout law school I would visit Kamloops at least once a month to touch base with him.  I moved north after finishing law school in 2008, but now am making the reverse commute back to Seattle so I can work occasionally, as well as to visit family and my girlfriend.

The route from Seattle to Kamloops

To drive from Seattle to Kamloops, you head north for a little more than an hour before exiting the freeway and turning northeast in Bellingham.  From there, you travel another three hours, cross the US-Canada border (remembering to gas up first as the prices are much higher in Canada), summit two passes, and drive through a national forest.  During most of this time, there is not a city, house, or streetlight in sight.  After about four and a half hours of driving, the city of Kamloops emerges out of nowhere, nestled in a valley at the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers.  When driving in the evening, as I have been doing too often lately, you can see Kamloops’ bright lights rising up behind the horizon as you approach in the pitch black night.

A view from the Coquihalla Pass on the drive to Kamloops

Rather than being dull, the drive has actually become more interesting throughout the years. It is an incredibly scenic drive, but that’s not what intrigues me.  I’ve seen all the sights before and now find myself overlooking the breathtaking winter views.  Instead, the drive is where I can find some solitude.  It is just me, my thoughts, and perhaps some music.  There are no roadside advertisements or bright lights to distract me.  Throughout the years, I have studied for law school classes and the bar exam during these trips by listening to podcasts.  More recently, the trips have been a great source of ideas for articles and ways to grow the Evergreen Athletic Fund.  As I drive to Kamloops, I know I will have some free time to finally work on a few projects and my mind always starts racing with things I should do.  I keep a notepad handy so I can write things down before I forget them and get to work quickly once arriving.

You will have to wait and see what big projects I have lined up, but you can already take a look at the new content I’ve been adding to CollegeHammer.com recently.  Just this morning I posted the latest in our popular series of season previews.  CollegeHammer.com is now the Evergreen Athletic Fund’s top site, receiving more than 200 visitors a day since I have dedicated more time and energy to promoting the hammer throw. That may not seem like much, but the hammer throw is truly a niche sport and I think it is making a difference.