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.

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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.

 

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

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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!!

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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

 

Tuesdays are Cruisedays

 

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What are you looking at, Trail Guy?

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There is a tiny little puff of water out there. It is a whale, but you probably need binoculars to see it.

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This deck was quaint. I had wanted to sit here to knit, but unfortunately, it was a smoking area. During the day time there were blue cushions on these chairs – very attractive. Sometimes we could circle the entire ship at this level, but if the water was rough, the forward of the ship was closed off. When we asked why, we were told that if someone went overboard, no one one see them!

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Oh. There’s a whale. The big deal was seeing one clear the water, something called “breaching”. Another big deal, although more of a medium deal, was seeing the tail, called a “fluke”. It was a fluke if I saw one, because they were sort of far away.

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Sunrise? Sunset? Can’t remember. Continually I forgot if I was fore or aft, starboard or port. The sides and the ends of the ship reflected each other, so I was constantly looking out the window to see which way “the water was moving”. Yes, I know, the ship was moving, not the water. So, you now understand why I can’t even tell the difference between sunset and sunrise?

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Business Decisions Are Hard Without A Crystal Ball

Maybe they are hard with one too.

I’ve been getting the message from several sources that my prices are too low.

My subject matter is Tulare County, and most of my customers are here. Because we are poor, fat, undereducated, breathing bad air, and accustomed to frugality, I price my art work accordingly.

Common art marketing wisdom says that if your prices are too low, people will not value your work.

Common sense says that if your prices are too low, you will stay poor.

Contradictory common sense says that if your prices are low, you’ll sell more and more people will buy your work and then you will raise your prices and have a following who are willing to pay your new prices.

Common sense is uncommonly confusing.

(“Too many cooks spoil the stew” or “Many hands make light work”? “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” or “Out of sight, out of mind”? See what I mean?)

This little 6×6″ painting of Sawtooth is $50 plus tax. It is an original oil painting that took me about 2 hours to make. (First I had to buy the canvas, brushes, turpentine, linseed oil and paints.) When it sells at the Silver City Store, they keep a percentage, of course. That means I am earning a sorry hourly wage, particularly when you take the giant self-employed bite out of it.

Does this matter?

Not to me. I paint Mineral King because I love Mineral King.

However, I do need to earn a living.

I just looked up other oil painters. For 6×6 oil paintings, they charge $26, $65, $80, $100,  $125, $150, $175, $190, and $325.

Holy Cow. Excuse me, I need to go do some more thinking. Might need to knit a few rows to calm down, have a hit of chocolate, pace, rock back and forth while banging my head on the back of the chair, perhaps even put my thumb in my mouth and curl into a little ball.

Pioneers in Paradise in Mineral King

The Mineral King Preservation Society has had an annual picnic since 1987. (or maybe since 1986, but those years are beginning to blur together. . .)

Last year Trail Guy and I were one part of the presentation, discussing the rebuilding of the Mineral King bridge. (That was actually a several part series published in September and October of 2011, in case you are interested.)

This year, the speaker was my dear friend Sophie, the author of Pioneers in Paradise, a history of Three Rivers. Not only is she an author, she is a knitter, spinner, draws beautifully (don’t want to call her a “drawer” lest you picture her as a part of furniture), and is a great public speaker! That Sophie, she can do it all!

First, Louise introduced Sophie. (Hey! There is Tall Cathy and Cowboy Bert in the background! Hi!) I have such wonderful and amazing friends. Both Louise and Sophie are historians and writers, and we love to hang out together. Okay, maybe they don’t love to hang out with me, but I love to hang out with them!

Isn’t she cute? I don’t know what she said, but I don’t think Tall Cathy is crying in the background. Maybe she is laughing. Maybe she is sneezing. Couldn’t be too terribly funny, because Cowboy Bert is fairly stoic.

Now Jim is behind Sophie. He has a real Stetson hat on, but I don’t think he is a cowboy.

Want Sophie’s book? You can get it here. It is fun to read because you can bounce around to random chapters and cherry-pick your subjects. Besides, it is fun to read about places I know.