Breaking the Silence–the Mineral King Road

Because Mineral King was closed to the public all summer, I chose to not post about it. There is nothing polite about rubbing people’s noses in the harsh reality of being forbidden to visit the most beautiful place in Tulare County, and in spite of my natural bluntness, I do my best to be polite.

We closed our cabin on a beautiful fall weekend, shut off the water to our little road, and said goodbye to Mineral King for the year.

Road repairs still had not begun, although the contractor was gathering equipment at the bottom of the road on Highway 198/Sierra Drive. There was also a bit of additional flagging where a few wires cross the Mineral King road.

In June, after Tulare County had their lower piece of the road repaired, Trail Guy and the Farmer volunteered many hours, marking the hazards and making the road passable. The Park gave permission for these two hardworking, capable, generous men to do the Park’s work, for free. They were instructed to not clean up anything, because the Park wanted Federal Highways to see the damage and messes.

This repair project should have been started as soon as the road was passable. In the opinions of those of us who drove the road regularly, at the very least, the Park should have sent up a backhoe operator with a shovel-wielding ground crew person to clean out the culverts and clear the gutters. However, they are extremely short-staffed, and Mineral King is not a priority.

The road to Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon has been closed all summer.

The Park hired a contractor, and all summer we kept hearing warnings to not drive the road because we would be interfering with road work. In reality, there was no road work by either the Park nor any contractors.

We were also warned against driving the road because if there was a problem, there would be no way for emergency vehicles to assist or rescue.

An off-duty Park employee thought it was just fine to drive on the wrong side of the road, even on blind curves. Silver City was able to limp their truck to the lower gate for towing; the park employee’s vehicle was still drivable.

We were warned against using our cabins because if there was a problem, no one would come help us. No propane trucks could deliver, and there was no garbage service. Somehow, the resilient and resourceful cabin community made it through these inconveniences.

Eventually, the phone company made it up the hill, but Trail Guy and I opted to not have a phone at the cabin. Several neighbors have phones, which they made available to us. This was an excellent arrangement, and since Trail Guy helps them out regularly, almost as if he is everyone’s (unpaid) resident houseman, he needed their phones in order to stay in touch. In return, we didn’t have to pay $54/month to keep our phone throughout the entire year for 4-5 months of use. Even more importantly, we didn’t have to hear it ring, interrupting our peace and causing us to wonder if yet another Fireman’s Fund was desperate for our help.

The latest missive from the Park:

A quick update on the Mineral King Road construction project. We’ve just been notified by the contractor that they won’t need to begin full road closures until October 17th. They will begin moving equipment and performing some work along the road beginning on Monday, October 9th. They will have traffic control personnel on site during this first phase of work.

Road work impacts will be from the park boundary up to the top of the construction zone at the Conifer Gate. The closure could be reduced over time but shouldn’t extend beyond that.

Work will take place Monday through Saturday, no work on Sundays.

7am-Noon????Road Closed
Noon to 1pm? Road Open
1-5pm ???????Road Closed
5pm to 7am ??Road Open 

Access will continue to be limited to cabin owners and administrative traffic only. No public access.

In the opinion of the highly knowledgeable Trail Guy, formerly known as Road Guy, the construction zone needs to be extended above the Conifer Gate. You may recall that there was a rather alarming sinkhole in July, which was just 2 miles below the end of the road. We didn’t mention that there were also numerous “tree failures”, and the logs were just moved and trimmed to be one-lane passable.

Although it was mighty peaceful in the summer of 2023, we are not snobs nor are we elitists: we certainly hope that Mineral King is open to the public in 2024.

A Day on Rocky Hill

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Rocky Hill is on the edge of Exeter, California, in Tulare County, a well-known, well-loved landmark. It is the only convenient non-flat place to walk, run, or bikeride in the area, and there is a perpetual stream of foot and bicycle traffic up the road. The entire hill is private property, so all the activity takes place on the county road that goes over the saddle between Badger Hill and Rocky Hill.

Rocky Hill has many many Indian pictographs (and lest you get your knickers in a twist about “Indians”, the Native Americans I know prefer to be referred to as “Indians”). On the south side of the hill, 30 acres belong to a conservancy, and occasionally there are tours to view the pictographs. We had the privilege of participating in a tour on last Thursday.

Alas, it is forbidden to post photos of the pictographs on the interwebs. So, you get to see some scenery instead.

Rocky Hill is very rocky. It could be called Boulder Hill.

These are not pictographs; they are mortars, so I am showing you. (so there)

This is the fruit of a wild cucumber. The seeds provided the binders for the pigment used to paint on the rocks.

Lichen isn’t paintings so I photographed it.

Clover. I love wildflowers.(Did you know that?)

Boulders.

The view of Moses Mountain distracted me from the paintings.

The Farmer and Trail Guy were good listeners. Or maybe they were wondering when we could go eat lunch. We are not used to traveling in a pack or being told to stay together. Hiking Buddy was there too, along with other people we know and a few we did not.

I liked this view out from one of the caves we entered.

And then it was time for lunch, which was a private party that I’ll tell you about tomorrow.

 

Early Morning Walk in Three Rivers

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This stunningly beautiful spring in Three Rivers isn’t over yet. We’ve had no hot days, and although it might have been warm enough one day for the rattlesnakes to emerge, I haven’t seen any or heard any reports. So, instead of blathering on about using pencils, oil paint and murals to make art that you can understand of places and things you love for prices that won’t scare you, let’s go on another walk. (See how I did that?)

This is BLM (Bureau of Land Management) property about a mile above my house. Because the two footbridges washed out, there isn’t much traffic up there, which makes it the way I remember it before people started slapping it all over the interwebs and turning it into a popular place. (Mine, mine, all mine!)

Back along the road, the brodiaea were thick. These are also called “wild hyacinth” and “blue dicks”.

These are a miniature version of lupine. They look like Texas bluebonnets which are just a variety of lupine.

This one is in my yard: fiesta flower.

A resident of Tulare County might wonder why one remains here, with all the smog, “nothing to do”, high unemployment, high welfare, low education, fat people, high teen pregnancy, lack of a Trader Joe’s. However, if one is in Three Rivers in the spring after a wet winter, one might wonder why more people don’t live here.

Don’t move here, okay? You will hate it, especially in the summer. On the other hand, if you buy a house here, please do move here because there are more than enough vacation rentals in town.

Now, I might need to go pull some weeds.

Possibly Walking More Than Working

I really meant to paint. I started detailing this piece.

But holy guacamole, look at this day!

My walking buddy and I spotted some white rocks beneath the bridge. They got heavier as we got closer to home but we made it. 

I added them to my little eccentric project to be arranged later. The iris are starting to appear above the soil now.
Then I went back to work and finished this 10×20″ oil painting of Tulare County’s finest scenery.

Next, I went back to this 10×20″ painting.

Doesn’t look like much, but it was a little progress. Remember, no deadlines, no upcoming shows, no commissions, just the beautiful month of February in Tulare County.

Photographic Reasons I Love February in Tulare County

How’s that for a giant title? Let’s see it again: “Photographic Reasons I Love February in Tulare County”. However, I confess to taking these photos at the end of January. Sometimes the anticipation is just overwhelming, or maybe February is pushing back at being the shortest month and intruding on January.

Driving down the hill one day, I just had to pull over and gawk.

It happened again when I was closer to Exeter.

These paperwhites are very fragrant.

I tried to get a profound photo of a black cat with white flowers, but Tucker just wanted to sit on my lap and purr and drip.

New Cards

If you subscribe to my newsletter, you learned that I have some new cards for sale, and this post will be a refresher for you.

What do you do when it rains day after day?

Besides being a looky-loo at all the flowing water around Three Rivers, apparently I sit around designing and ordering new cards. Then I fold and package them, in three different assortments.

Bigger than my normal little notecards, these glossy cards are 4-3/4 x 7-1/2″, a package of 4 cards with envelopes for $20.

Three assortments:

  1. Tulare County: Citrus Cove, Citrus & the Sierra, Farewell Gap at Dusk, Honeymoon Cabin (1 each of 4 pictures, with envelopes)
  2. Citrus Groves: Citrus Cove, Citrus & the Sierra (2 each of 2 pictures, with envelopes)
  3. Mineral King: Farewell Gap at Dusk, Honeymoon cabin (2 each of 2 pictures, with envelopes)

If you order, I will pay the postage.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

I also put together packages that have four cards with envelopes, all the same design. This is NOT on the website, so if you have a particular favorite and would like a package of just that design, let me know via email or phone or old fashioned mail or catch me somewhere in Three Rivers. Same price.

Exciting Day on the Road

There is an art show coming, “Tulare County: Varied Impressions”. This is the juried show I entered 6 pieces in, in spite of there being a 3 pieces per artist rule. I couldn’t decide, so I let the curator do so. She chose these three paintings:

This meant I had to gather them from three different places where they were hanging for sale, and then drive them to Tulare on a blustery wet day.

It was beautiful out and I thoroughly enjoyed my errands. Tulare is west and south of Three Rivers, a dairy town out in the flatlands. There is lots of open farmland on the route I chose (and also along the ones I didn’t choose).

Valley oaks are a common sight in the Central Valley, quercus lobata, the largest of the American oaks.

Farming is a tough way to earn a living; my mom always said it was like living in a constant gamble. Someone has given up on this grove of walnuts. The price was too low for many growers to harvest this past fall.

Tulare is big dairy country; lots of Portugese immigrated here from the Azores and brought their knowledge with them. Haagen Dazs ice cream is made in Tulare! There is also a Land O’ Lakes production plant there, and probably lots of others I don’t know about. (My family was into citrus rather than cows.)

This is the Tulare Historical Museum, which also has the Heritage Art Gallery, where the show Tulare County: Varied Impressions will be (details below).

After a few more errands, I headed home. While at The Four-Way (the intersection of 198 and 65) where one can turn south toward Exeter, I heard an emergency alert on the radio. It advised people to not drive to Exeter, Lemon Cove, or Three Rivers, saying there were dangerous thunderstorms. 

Without regard to the warning, I drove home to Three Rivers, passing by Lemon Cove. There was a fabulous rainbow, and very heavy rains, but it was too exciting to take any photos.

That’s right—I promised you details about the art show.

TULARE COUNTY: Varied Impressions

JANUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2023

Artists’ Reception, Thursday, January 12, 5-7 p.m.

444 W. Tulare Ave., Tulare CA 93274, 559-686-2074

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STACY!

 

Poppy Peeping

The poppies and other wildflowers were at at their peak on March 11. Three friends and I took the afternoon off to go fill our eyes.

First, we had to empty our wallets to fill the gas tank. Welcome to Three Rivers.

Then we headed down around the lake, and up Dry Creek Road, all within eastern Tulare County.

This last photo shows Terminus Dam in the distance, which creates Kaweah Lake. The flowers weren’t fabulous right there at the Dry Creek Preserve, but it was clear and green, which is pretty fabulous on its own. 

We never did get out amidst the flowers but stayed on the shoulder of the road, and actually did no trespassing whatsoever.

I must be finally growing up.

Building a Coloring Book Cover, Part 2

After thinking over the title Heart of Rural Tulare County, I wasn’t satisfied.

I looked at the original coloring book, Heart of the Hills, and realized that this one needed to be Heart of the County.

That’s the ticket! My Shadow Consultant agreed, after suggesting a couple of tiny adjustments.

The idea to do this came quickly, and the retail places that sell my work want it in time for Christmas. That’s why most of the drawings are gleaned from the previous coloring books, compiling them into a broad portrait of the county’s rural places. I thought you might need to know that. It is sort of like buying a “Best of” album from your favorite music group, and then you either say, “Oh I love this song” or “Wait, I already have this”. 

Like all the previous coloring books, each page has a tiny hidden heart. 

The coloring book is $20 and is available here on my website. 

Upcoming Solo Art Show:

Images of Home

Exeter Courthouse Gallery

November 14 – December 30, 2021

Opening Reception – Sunday, November 14, 1-4 p.m.

 

Searching for a Bridge

Three Rivers has one river, the Kaweah, pronounced “kuh-WEE-uh”. Four forks come together into the Middle Fork, but apparently only three mattered when it was time to name the town. (No, I don’t know which three.) Middle, Marble, East, South, and North are the names of the various branches.

A week or two ago, I learned that the brother of two of my former drawing students took on something called a “bridge project”. He was commissioned to create four 2×2′ tile mosaics to decorate a new bridge somewhere in the county. I asked around and concluded it must be the bailey bridge at the upper end of South Fork Road. So, Trail Guy and I went exploring.

You can see evidence of the SQF Complex fire that burned a lot of South Fork, threatened Three Rivers, Case Mt. and Mineral King

Here is the bridge, going in just upstream of the old bailey bridge, and still just one lane wide:

You can watch Nate Norman talk about making these tiles on this YouTube video. (You might want to fast forward past the first few minutes of someone talking about Arts Consortium business and get right to Nate’s presentation.)

I did a screen shot from the video to show you one of his truly beautiful mosaics. As someone who has experimented with tile mosaic in the past, I can assure you that this was no small undertaking.

We drove up near the bridge, but it was being worked on so I just took a couple of photos. I am guessing the tiles will go on each of 4 main pillars, one of which I have circled the spot in red for you.

The bridge is about 11 miles up South Fork Road, and I think the campground is one mile farther. We didn’t cross the bridge, but headed back down. It was such a beautiful day that I almost forgot about August. And heat. And smoke. And smog.

There were poppies, but they were closed up due to the overcast day. However, I did get this poor photo of a few wildflowers by kneeling in the mud on the side of the road.

You are welcome.

I do what I can to find the beauty in Tulare County, but not so much that people will flock here. Remember, we are uneducated, poor, unemployed, fat, and diabetic. Oh, and there is that bad air filtering down through the Altamont Pass from the Bay Area for which we get penalized. Further, there is no Trader Joe’s and never will be.

Just keeping it real.

Fake Tucker and keeping it real Tucker