Down Then Up

As you may know, the teachers in British Columbia are embroiled in yet another battle with the provincial government.  I won't climb onto my soapbox for very long, but suffice it to say the teachers are involved in rotating strikes as we seek improvements in learning conditions for our students.  And yes, a raise would also be nice as our current salaries are less (in today's dollars) than a decade ago.

On Friday, the teachers in the Sea-to-Sky school district were out walking the picket lines in front of their schools.  We had lots of vehicles honking in support.  Families stopped by with drinks and doughnuts; home-made muffins and handwritten notes of encouragement.

Halfway through my shift, a car slowed down in front of us.  The old man inside rolled down the passenger window, leaned towards us and yelled, "YOU'RE JUST A BUNCH OF OVERPAID BITCHES!"

Our jaws dropped.

That ignorant comment was certainly a punch to the gut.

My colleagues are some of the hardest working, passionate, compassionate and caring professionals I am privileged to know.

How dare he call us down like that?  Disagree with us.  Fine.  Go right ahead.  But let's have some intelligent discourse on the subject, not yelling misogynist insults from a moving car.

THAT was the downer of my day.

But have no fear.  It went up from there!

Later that evening I joined a couple of friends at a Squamish Valley Artists fund-raiser.  We sat out on the sunny patio of Match Eatery under the watchful eye of the Stawamus Chief and enjoyed a delicious burger and beer.

I even had the winning bid on a beautiful painting of the Stawamus Chief!

Stawamus Chief by Wanda Doyle

Things were looking up!

And things continued to ascend today.

This morning Joe and I decided to take the Sea-to-Sky Gondola up to the summit lodge and hike the backcountry Sky Pilot Valley Trail.  We threw some hummus, crackers, nuts, apples, water and beer (gotta have beer) into a backpack and off we went.

Sky Pilot and Co-Pilot Mountains, our destination 

Don't look now, but I think our destination is moving further and further away from us.

After a 2 hour uphill climb, we're almost there!

Looking down Sky Pilot Valley from the headwaters of Shannon Creek

When we hit the snow line we decided it was definitely time to stop for lunch.

Happy hikers

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!  

And if you happen to run into any teachers, please give them a hug and let them know you appreciate the great job they're doing.