I don’t honestly remember what we did last Monday, although I seem to recall talking Denero into giving Borderlands another try. In the afternoon, we took Scott with us on a hike to Evans Creek Preserve. It’s close by, has numerous loop trails, and has some nice forest and meadows. As an added bonus, I actually helped build some of those trails as part of a WTA work crew, back when the park was first established. Denero and Scott took off together, so I didn’t see much of them, but they had fun, and I enjoyed the hike.
Tuesday was the first day of school. Denero woke up around 3 am, perhaps just a little excited (and/or anxious). I went out with him to the bus stop (not until around 7 am!), and we were dismayed when a school bus drove by without stopping. We went back to get the car, so I could drive him to school. When we got back to the corner, however, we spotted a second bus. This one stopped for him, and he was off on his first day.
The first part of the day was orientation, and then Denero got his schedule: Intermediate ELL (English Language Learning), Physical Science, Foods 1, Weight Training, Algebra 1, and English 10. The two electives are single-term classes; next term he’ll have World History 1 and 3D Design 1. Should be a pretty decent mix of classes.
Sports and clubs are a big part of the High School experience, and Denero decided to join Cross Country. He’s already a runner, and his friend Scott is on the team. Unfortunately, because Denero was not in school for a while last year, he won’t be able to participate in any school meets (he has to have been a student for the previous 6 months), but he can still run in open events.
I found it a bit ironic that the first event he went to, which was on Saturday, was hosted by Tahoma, my own high school, and was held at Lake Wilderness Park, right next to where I used to live. I had a dentist appointment I couldn’t get out of, so I wasn’t able to go to the event until afterward. When I got down there, I realized this was a much bigger event than I had anticipated, with apparently 40 high schools competing, some coming from as far away as Oregon. The place was a madhouse, and parking would have been impossible, except that I had a free pass to park at the Ikolas’, next door.
Jacquie and I wandered over in search of Denero. We got lucky, and passed Scott’s dad, Steve, on his way to get something from his car. Steve told us where we might find the group from Juanita. The running event was already over, but the group was just getting ready to start their post-event potluck barbecue. I had the opportunity to meet the coaches and some of the parents, which was cool.
On the way back to the Ikolas’, I ducked in to take a look at my old house. It’s looking pretty nice. The area around it has reverted even more to forest than it had been when I was there, back before the surrounding property was sold to the county. 
This was a first week for me, too. I’m now an assistant supervisor at the Einstein Elementary YMCA after-school program, and I’m also a substitute teacher with Kelly Services. A few of the kids at Einstein remembered me from when I was there last year, before going off to Pohnpei, and a few others had been in summer camp at Ben Rush. The rest were new to me, and I’ll need to learn a few names.
On the substitute side of things, I spent Tuesday as a 4th grade math & science teacher at St. Thomas, and Friday morning as a helper in the YPK (preschool) program at the French-American School. I’d been to both schools before, last school year. I was thrilled to discover that St. Thomas now has a full-service complementary cafeteria, and also that the read-aloud book for Advisory was The Lightning Thief. It is, perhaps, a bit awkward to be a sub on the second day of school, but it worked out okay. Helping with YPK was a bit more challenging, because I don’t understand much French, but it was just for the morning.
We probably should have gotten some work done around the house on Sunday, but the weather was so beautiful this weekend that I decided that Mt. Baker was calling. I showed Denero a list of hikes in the area, and he picked Skyline Divide. The 12-mile-long dirt road up to the trailhead was a bit challenging for my car, and a new warning light came on (one I don’t even recognize). But it would turn back off again, too, and the car didn’t otherwise seem to be having trouble, so we pressed on. (I now have an appointment for the car on Wednesday.)
The hike was amazing. It starts out going rather relentlessly uphill through some very nice forest. Then you pop out on the ridgeline, with a stunning 180-degree view of mountains. We stopped to admire the view and eat some lunch.
The hike progresses along the ridgeline, with occasional options to bypass the higher knolls, until it reaches a series of stream crossings. This time of year, they were easy enough to cross. On the far side, which apparently is farther than most people go, huckleberries abounded, and I couldn’t resist picking them for a bit. I would have stayed to pick longer, but the group of women we ran into were encouraging us to head back, because it was getting late (it wasn’t, really), and Denero was getting cold. 
As I was getting my stuff together for the trip back, Denero said, “Do you see that cloud?” referring to the darker cloud that was starting to enclose the higher peak across from us. I said, “Yes. Hopefully, it doesn’t snow on us.” He responded, “Take your sticks. I’m out of here.” He handed me my walking sticks, and was gone. I had to laugh. The cloud never got closer, and the weather was fine for the trip back. I picked a few more berries along my way, and shot some more pictures.
I caught up with Denero again at the place where we had eaten lunch. We stopped for a while to eat a bit more, although this time there were numerous flying insects to harass us as we ate. The view was still wonderful, though.
Finally, it was time to descend back through the forest to the trailhead. We really probably should have spent some time on a bit of Denero’s math, but I have to say I think it was a day rather marvelously spent.
Randomness & Life 