More Tuesday Cruiseday

Chapter Five of My Alaskan Cruise, or Cruising is a Fantasy Life, or Fun Things I Will Never Do Again (Unless Someone Else Pays)

Our third and final day with feet on Alaskan soil was spent in Juneau, the capital of Alaska. It is disconnected from the rest of the state unless you fly or use the ferry system (or arrive on a cruise ship. . . maybe you could canoe or kayak too).

This day will be divided into 2 parts, because although there were 3 parts to the day, the 3rd part was not photographed. It was a walk through the town at about 9:30 at night. It was light enough to take pictures, but the light was flat.

busride 

Just your average view on your average day on your average bus, going to see an average glacier, by the name of Mendenhall, a non-average sort of name.

 lupine

HEY! We have these in Mineral King and in Three Rivers!

trail 

Trail Guy was pleased that there were trails. We walked about one easy mile to Nugget Falls. It was a walk, not a hike, because there was no food in our packs, just cameras and binoculars (and maybe some knitting.)

 family

Who are these people? Just a bunch of Tulare County hon-yocks. That’s Nugget Falls to your right, and the Mendenhall Glacier to the left behind us. (or “Glay-shee-uh” as the ship’s naturalist said.)

blue-glacier

Check out those blues! Blue is God’s favorite color. It is mine too. Doesn’t make me holy or anything. Just means I have one tiny thing in common with God.

 more-trail 

Hey Trail Guy, it’s easier to hike on flat stuff at sea level, ain’t it?

 waiting

The bus was delayed due to a Fourth Of July parade. No worries. Waiting is seldom a problem for me. See that yarn? The color is called “Hawaii”. Nope, I think it should be called “Glay-shee-uh”.

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List of random thoughts about cabins and Mineral King

For clarification, this blog is about a California artist, me, to be specific. Mineral King is one of my main sources of inspiration, it is in California, I call my business “Cabinart”, there are cabins in Mineral King, and this is The Season in Mineral King.

Any questions? Yes? Click on the commenting line that might say “Be the First To Respond” or “# of responses”. No? Let us proceed. . .

 1. While enjoying the sunset on the Mineral King bridge one evening, I met Claudia and Dustin.

They were delightful, and Claudia told me about a great website whose name I am afraid to type on my blog. It is called cabin {blank}. The blank begins with a “p”, has four letters, ends with “n” and has the word “or” in the middle. It is fabulous photos of cabins from all over the world. Unfortunately, I just can’t put the name in my blog because who knows what sort of firestorm of spam it might unleash! So, put on your thinking caps, figure it out, and type in www dot cabin (that word) dot com and enjoy some wonderful cabin photos.

2. You’ve read about the Nature Trail AKA Wildflower Walk in Mineral King several times on this blog. (Or maybe you skipped those days. . .) While on the trail the first weekend in August, I found yet another flower that I’ve never seen before. It is on the downstream side of this little bridge. On the upstream side of that bridge I discovered a new flower several years ago, a Monk’s Hood. That is a real thrill to this rural regional artist who never goes anywhere (except Alaska twice, Chicago twice and China twice). It is a shrub that makes a berry in the middle of the blossom. Two friends said, “Wild Coffee Berry!” but it doesn’t match the photos I found on the internet.

3. This guy blew past me on the Wildflower Walk with his dog. HIS DOG! There are signs at either end of the trail with a picture of a dog and a slash through it. I overheard the guy say that he knew dogs aren’t allowed on the trails which is why he had to walk so fast. Hmmm, that means you don’t have to follow the rules??

Hike to Empire, Part 2

We left our eight hikers at the bunkhouse ruins just below the Empire Mines in Mineral King.

There are four different mining holes. (Are they called that?) I don’t know if they are separate mines, or entries to the same mine. Some might be enterable, but not unless you have ropes and know what you are doing!

See the rock spires above? Up there are a couple of air shafts that drop down into the mines. Only Scott, the youngest on our hike, ventured up there. He didn’t have to save his knees for the descent as the rest of us older duffers had to do.

Not much to see in there.

The rocks are very interesting at the mine entrances. This particular mine hole was closed with dirt by the Forest Service back when this was their jurisdiction. They didn’t want people falling down the hole. Sheesh!

This is the New England Tunnel. The New England Tunnel and Smelting Company was involved in the mining of Mineral King. I read Louise Jackson’s Mineral King history book twice, and I still can’t remember the details.

There’s nothing to see here, folks – keep moving.

But it looks so cool from the inside out!

Actually, it looks pretty neato from the outside in.

After the mines, we got on the old road. There is a road up there. Really!

We followed the road toward Timber Gap, and encountered about 6 or 7 more people. Turns out we knew them, and right there on the old wagon road that was built by miners, the descendants of some of the miners met up with their cabin neighbors. It was really fun!

Here is the final relic of the day. There was a gate between 2 trees on Timber Gap. These hinges and some wire remain.

Another Tuesday Cruiseday

This is Chapter Four. Thank you for returning. Today we will visit Icy Strait Point, a made up destination for cruise ships.

In 1999, the Tlingit folks in the town of Hoonah on Chichagof Island decided to turn an old cannery into a tourist destination. They spent the next 5 years planning, buying property, spiffing it up, learning about the cruising industry, courting cruise lines and turning a former factory into a terrific place to spend a day, with things to do and see, places to eat and shop, and all of it staffed by very genuinely friendly and helpful people.

cannery

 

They only allow one ship in port at a time. The ship uses its lifeboats to go ashore. We had only noticed these while walking underneath them on Deck 7, the Promenade Deck.

life-boats

cannery

 

 

We spent some time walking along the shore, looking at the water and then walking a trail. I was amazed to see the same flowers as we have in Mineral King – fireweed (above), columbine, cow parsnip were among the familiar wildflowers.

columbine cow-parsnip

 

 

Trail Guy and I had the unique privilege of meeting one of the people who had the vision for this wonderful destination, the son of a Norwegian captain and his Tlingit wife, a native of Hoonah.

johann

 

Johann spent some time explaining how it all came about, and he showed us the house where he grew up. He also showed us the retaining wall that looked as if it was made of layers of rock or old wood. Nope! Look at this: (hint – think cannery)

 

cansWe walked the 1-1/2 mile into the town of Hoonah. The town is only participating in the tourist thing at a small level, but we enjoyed the rainy walk along a nice sidewalk that followed the water.

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Look at the size of that ship!

img_2791 img_2792 img_2797 big-ship

 

No, really, look at that! Can you see the tiny orange dealies on the side all in a row? Those are the life boats.

 

We didn’t mind the rain, and with that nice sidewalk, it wasn’t muddy. In spite of the exploring, the trip recount keeps being all about the ship. You have to be careful on these cruises to thoroughly enjoy your brief stops, because it really is all about the ship.

 

Next time, I think I will go by ferry, part of the Alaska Marine Highway. I bet the folks traveling that way look at our giant ship and sneer. They might be every so slightly envious, but they are probably seeing much more of Alaska than we did. (P.S. I just talked to someone familiar with the Alaska Marine Highway and that would be a SUPERB way to see Alaska!)

Trail Guy Led a Hike to Empire in Mineral King

One Saturday a.m., it was raining like crazy in Mineral King. Too bad. We geared up, and headed over to the Sawtooth parking lot to see if there were any hardy souls who wanted to visit the Empire mines. We found 2 people in flip-flops, and said, “Nope, not those shoes”. They knew that but were just checking to see if we were going to proceed as planned. Four others appeared, it stopped raining, and we headed up the Sawtooth/Timber Gap trail. (Okay, you can call it the Monarch/Crystal Lakes trail too if you prefer). We figured that if it started raining again, we could either wait it out or head back down. Day hiking is easy like that.

We began as a group of six and eventually the 2 flip-flop wearers caught up (wearing hiking boots.)

Relics can be found around various historic sites. I don’t know what these things are, but they are interesting.

This is the corner of a tram tender’s cabin. Maybe.

Trail Guy referred to the Mineral King History book by Louise Jackson to figure out some of the historical sites. If you love Mineral King, you need that book! Louise used to lead this hike, but asked Michael to take it this year.

Yep, a tram went through here. It hauled buckets full of ore down to the stamp mill. The ore was quite disappointing, and mining didn’t succeed in Mineral King. Now, we love to look for the relics of the past.

We left the trail and headed up to the old bunk house ruins in the fog.

Alice and I got to talking and climbed a bit too high. That is the ruins of the miners’ bunk house down there. I think it is remarkable that we can stand there in the very spot where these old guys lived while searching for gold. (That’s why I am remarking on it!)

Ick. What sort of relic is this?

Ooh, maybe we should have gone to White Chief so we could be in the sunshine!

To be continued. . .

 

New and Improved Farewell Gap

Last year I did an oil painting of a standard Mineral King scene, Farewell Gap. It didn’t sell.

No big deal. I took it to shows and put it on my website. It didn’t sell.

What gives? I took it back to the Silver City Store this year and everything has sold so far except that painting.

Finally, I showed it to my friend Tall Cathy, who has been going to Mineral King her entire life, which is about 10 years longer than my life, plus she started at an earlier age. (i.e. Tall Cathy is a bona fide Mineral King Expert.) I asked her, “What’s wrong with this painting?”

She said, “Little Florence is too low”.

I said, “Shoot. I was afraid of that. Guess I’ll take it back to the studio and redo it.”

Little Florence is the peak on the left side of Farewell Gap, and it is lower than Vandever, which is the peak on the right side. Sometimes when you see it from a place other than the bridge, it looks very much lower. With 20,713 photos on my computer, I’m not going to look for the exact one I used for the painting. You can see the concept here:

 

Aside from the fact that normal people don’t lie in the grass to take photos, this is not the normal way that normal people view when they normally view Farewell Gap from the bridge. (There – have I successfully destroyed the word “normal” for you?)

Here it is in its new and improved version. Last year I photographed my paintings. This year I scan them. The color isn’t true either way. Look at the heights of the peaks – this is more of what people expect when they think of Farewell Gap.

Do you agree with this?

Another Tuesday Cruiseday

Cruising isn’t a very efficient way to see a place. Within the 10 days of the cruise, we had 4 days with our feet on land, and 3 of the 4 were in Alaska.

I loved Alaska when I spent 3 weeks there in 1977. I thought it was so fantastic that if I ever returned, I would never leave.

Seventeen-year-olds know precious little, but I digress.

Our first port was Ketchikan, Alaska.

ketchikan

ships-in-port

 

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We rode the city bus 12 miles north of town to Totem Bight State Park. This is where the cruise lines want you to go, but they prefer if you hire a van or one of their buses. Haha, we spent $1 each on the city bus. (The blue line, if you are planning a visit).

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“Bight” is pronounced “bite” and it is a bite out of the shoreline. (So why is it spelled funny?) I think the poles look so interesting and would sort of like to have one in my yard.

 

totem-pole-section

Tide pools were the added benefit of the park. Didn’t see much in them, but it was fun to be along the water.

totem-pole-top

Totem poles tell stories. They are not idols, but are diaries or journals. If I had one in my yard, it would contain pencils, a cabin, and a zillion cats. Oh, and yarn!!

img_2696

Next to Totem Bight is another totem park called “Potlatch”. It is more extensive, has a store, a carving room, a workshop room where children visit and work on a group totem pole, little cabins, a canoe, benches, totem poles (of course!), no entry fee, flush toilets, and fewer visitors because they don’t seem to be part of the cruise line network. It was better than the state park in terms of more to see, and it felt more authentic.

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After we got home, I learned this is a salmon berry. It might be because the seeds look like salmon eggs.

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We should have come to this park first. It was so very interesting!

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We were blessed with a brilliant and sunny day in Ketchikan. Rain is their normal weather.

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Isn’t this the coolest canoe ever? Can you imagine carving this with primitive tools? They must have had carpal tunnel syndrome.

 

Poppies For You!

Poppy I, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $35

Poppy II, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $35

Poppy III, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $35

Poppy IV, oil on wrapped canvas, 4×4″, $35

Or, special deal – buy all four together for $125!

Rainy Morning Fun in Mineral King

How many people does it take to build a futon bunk bed?

FIVE! (The white in the foreground is the so-called “instruction” sheet and reader’s hands, and #5 is taking the photo.)

No, SIX!! (The cowboy hat is on the head of an engineer, who was just as baffled as we were by the so-called “instructions”.)

What are all these people needed for?

One to read the directions, another to interpret, someone to find the pieces that the illustrations don’t accurately illustrate, someone else to decide which way the piece should go (which the instructions don’t instruct), two people to hold the pieces in place, two others to put the bolts in, someone to photo-document the process, and someone else to learn how to use the self-timer on a camera.

That is more than six, but some of us jump from task to task as needed.

This man is laughing as he undoes the top platform for the third time. Does that little bar go on top or on the bottom? Where are the holes to attach the ladder? Why is neither thing mentioned or shown on the so-called “instruction” sheet?

It takes a village to build a futon bunk bed.

After we placed it, we realized that climbing on the ladder meant bashing one’s head AND that the side windows in the little cabin will not open with this Thing in this place.

But, a good time was had by all, and the futon bunk bed is now assembled.

Isn’t it amazing what passes for entertainment in The Land of No Electricity?

 

How to Decide if There is Enough Contrast

When I worked exclusively in pencil, a drawing had to have contrast. My friend Debbie used to say, “Remember, black is your friend.” She was right.

Without contrast, a drawing is flat, plain gray and boring.

Paintings can sometimes get away with not very much contrast. They don’t look great, but the color distracts from the lack of value range. (Values are the darks and lights – “value” is a good Artspeak word to know.)

But, I am very aware of contrast and value because of my pencil days.

I painted this little canvas of Timber Gap in Mineral King. It didn’t look very good to me.

 

 

I converted the photo to black and white which confirmed my suspicions of not enough contrast.

There really weren’t enough lupine either, but that’s not the main problem.

Have a look at the redone painting in black and white.

Neat trick, eh?

Here is the finished piece in color.

Timber Gap, oil on wrapped canvas, 6×6″, $50