Jana Botkin | Cabin Art

I’ve only seen the scarlet monkey flower in my favorite wildflower book but never in person until this year along the Mineral King Road.

Some days Sawtooth looks particularly captivating, but I’d rather photograph it than climb it.

HEY LOOK! The new Mineral King Bridge has a railing! It is definitely different than the old, but it is easier and more comfortable to sit on than the old one.

The Park Service (AKA NPS, Sequoia, and SNP) has used its Mineral King corral quite a bit this year. That is Timber Gap in the not so distant distance. It is much further if you are huffing and puffing your way up the trail than if you are standing beneath it with a camera.

There was a pair plus Mama, but only this fawn paused long enough for me to get my camera. There’s nothing quite like a blue tarp, a piece of my dusty car and a little bit of marmot fencing to set off a wild animal shot.

That’s my friend Jee-um. (He’s from Texas, so he says “Jim” in 2 syllables.) We met at the Silver City Store in 1986, and it was a thrill to see him on the road. Aren’t you glad you didn’t meet 4 wide vans like this on that little winding narrow road?

This was the view from the Mineral King Bridge one evening, taken while sitting on the most sittable new railing. It is Farewell Gap, but you can’t see the actual gap behind the red fir.