Going Places | Cabin Art

Life Policy

A wise man in my youth taught that one should have principles (which I call “policies”) in life that help you make decisions. One of my personal life policies is Never Turn Down A Chance To Go To The Beach.

You may recall that I have a friend who is waiting for new lungs. With our heat and smoke, she has been suffering greatly for the past 2 months in Three Rivers. To help you understand how much, get this: she hasn’t been upstairs in her own home for 2 months because the stairs are too much of an obstacle.

A friend of hers offered her use of a house on the Central Coast for the month of August. She needed a driver, an equipment schlepper, and a general caretaker, and yea, she asked me!! After some juggling, cancelling, rearranging, etc., I called her back. When she answered the phone, I simply said, “Yes”. She may have screamed, which took too much oxygen. But, we made it. Here is a peek into our time together. Out of respect for the privacy of the homeowner and my friend, I’ll keep specifics off the World Wide Web.

We were overwhelmed by the beauty of the location and the beauty of the house. She sat outside and breathed the cool clean air while I got all the stuff situated

When I got down to the beach, I saw a whole jellyfish on the sand. Usually there are only squishy parts of these creatures.

This creature kept looking at me. I walked it multiple times a day, and any time we were in the house, I said to it, “Stop looking at me!”

Previous occupants have found seaglass and shells.

A big victory was getting my friend to the sand. Actually the bigger victory was getting her back up the steps. This trek will be a daily goal, with the hope that she will get strong enough to actually make it down to the water;s edge.

This walk, these colors, scent, feel – it is why never turning down a visit to the beach is one of my life policies.

Finally. Something other than a dying jellyblobfish.

I love my friend and she loves me. What a pleasure and a privilege to spend time together! (I’m trying to hide the O2 tank in the picture.)

Random Information

Sometimes I have a head full of random facts to tell you that don’t want to wait for the end of the month round-up of things learned in the month.

The Oak Grove Bridge, my favorite subject for drawing and painting, will be “retrofitted”, a fancy term that means reinforced to make it safe while keeping it as its same beautiful self. This is a huge relief to me; I was picturing myself chained to the bridge to prevent its destruction, wondering if anyone would bring me dinner or mosquito repellent, and wondering how much it would cost to be bailed out of jail.
I visited Hume Lake for a few days with a friend from childhood at her cabin. Still the Sierra Nevada, but very very different from Mineral King.
Hume Lake, from on the water
There were wild iris blooming there – what?? They bloom in early May along the lower part of the Mineral King Road in the shady drainages. Hume is around 5000′ in elevation and they were in hot dry places. My friend thought it was a bit odd to keep photographing them. Perhaps it was. . .
Her cabin kitchen was retro and charming.
The dam on the lake is historic and impressive.
Dam creating Hume Lake.
I missed my kitties and continue to wonder how I will tell Piper from Tucker when Tucker is grown.
Piper is tired from rolling in the dirt, and Tucker thinks his tail is a toy.
Before I left, I began a new pencil drawing.
Pencil drawing with a touch of color for the upcoming 2019 calendar.
I love to row a boat and was tickled that neither of my friends wanted to take over the oars.
These are kayaks; my friends and I were the oldest people on the lake and the only ones in a rowboat. We were also the only ones singing.
The painting studio is a mess, but a recovered couch and chair will happen soon.
Is this mess a place??

And thus we conclude a list of random information.

Today’s painting for sale:

Sunflower, oil on 8×8″ wrapped canvas ready for hanging without a frame, $108 includes sales tax

Field Trip

Last Sunday afternoon, we drove down to Lake Kaweah to go walking among the cockleburs. I think the dam was built in 1962 or ’63, so I don’t remember a time when it wasn’t there.

It is sort of ugly, but interesting at the same time. There are nicer places to walk in Three Rivers, but variety is a good thing. Keeps you and your brain from settling into a rut, something my paternal grandmother preferred to call a “groove”, which she said made for smoother travel.

There are old home sites and even a former swimming pool. A metal detector might yield some interesting results.

The bridge is interesting with its styling in the concrete. It crosses Horse Creek.

We followed Horse Creek for awhile. Not much to it, but it became messy, so we went back to the road and followed it into a flock of red-wing blackbirds. Raucous critters. The mallards and snowy egrets are quieter. We encountered another bridge across Horse Creek and headed back. The flower is mustard.This was a field trip just for fun, not for work. I don’t think there is anything pretty enough down there to paint, although a view of Alta Peak and Moro Rock with the lake in the foreground might appeal to a few folks. Minus the cockleburs. . .

Kaweah Lake Lake Kaweah

Funny Walk at Hume Lake

When I got to Hume Lake, I asked my friend if she had heard of the Little Brown Church. This was something I learned about and visited one time in 1978, and since so much had changed, I thought it might be gone.

Nope. It is still there. It is a steep steep steep climb; the signs say 1/2 mile, but it felt farther.

I don’t know when, why or who.

Have one more look at the little brown church with my friend so you can get a sense of the smallness.

See what I mean by “a funny walk”??

A New-To-Me Cabin Community

Ever heard of or been to Hume Lake, California? I lived and worked there the summer of 1978, and again for a few weeks in maybe 1981 or 1982.

Back then I was unaware of the extensive cabin community, not yet having met Trail Guy or married into a cabin or begun an art business called “Cabin Art”. I knew there were cabins, but they didn’t concern me.

Recently, I had the great privilege and pleasure of spending time with an old friend and a new friend at a Hume Lake cabin. I had drawn the cabin for my friend’s mom, working from photos, but had not seen it in person. I asked my friend if I could have the drawing back to fix, because I draw better than I did in 1995. That will be a subject for another post or two.

Hume Lake is an entirely different type of community than Mineral King or Wilsonia, with some shared cabin community characteristics. It feels like a miniature city, with a National Forest Service campground, the Christian conference grounds with multiple camps, lots of commerce, THE LAKE! OH MY!, and a group of many fancy cabins that go up and up and up the side of the hill.

Have a look at some of the things we enjoyed while there. I have more thoughts and photos than will fit into one day’s post, so instead of Mineral King on Friday, there will be a funny walk at Hume Lake.

This dining hall is much fancier on the outside since I worked in the kitchen here.

Look at these happy women, about to spend 3 happy days walking, talking, eating, and just enjoying time together in the mountains.

This is Ten Mile Creek. It is one of 2 streams that feeds Hume Lake.

This dam was built in about 1909. When I was working here, to walk around the lake meant some scrambling and bush-whacking.

Now there is a nice trail all the way around with this fancy bridge at the dam end where we used to have to go rogue.

This is one of the new camps (since 2000) – a yearlong school of learning and serving. I’d like a do-over so I can go here.

This is a friend’s cabin – we went exploring to find it, and it fits my mental idea of a real cabin.

We spent a fair amount of time just talking – these are some wise women with great humor and authenticity.

There were downed trees EVERYWHERE, including in the lake. I don’t know why they were in the lake. It began its life as a timber pond, but that was over 100 years ago.

This is the view from Inspiration Point. My friend said she only drives to this point, but we walked there together, sort of by accident since we were out exploring the cabins.

I think the sunshine is on the Middle Fork of the Kings River in the distance, beyond the dam at the end of the lake.

Hume Lake

A Field Trip to Sequoia

Today I begin refreshing the largest Mineral King mural in Exeter (North of Pine, West side of E Street, South side of Capella Coffee)

Tomorrow I’ll show you today’s work on the mural.

Meanwhile, you can enjoy some photos of a recent half-day field trip. Trail Guy and I went to Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park for a little cross-country skiing. It was the day after a cold storm, and it was clear, cold, and beautiful.

View out the window of the dining room at Wuksachi Lodge

View out the window of dining room in Wuksachi Lodge

Front porch of Wuksachi Lodge, Sequoia National Park

Mineral King mural Sequoia Sequoia National park

Field Trip up the Mineral King Road

One day while I was painting the Oak Grove Bridge, Trail Guy said he wanted to drive up the Mineral King Road and see how things looked. I put down my brushes and put on my boots.

All that muddy water obscured the boulders and rock formations that I have been struggling to decipher in the photos.

Through the windshield after the we reached the snow.

I got out of the truck to lock the hubs. Glad I wore those LLBean boots.

Lookout point after I locked those hubs. — Lookout Point after I locked those hubs.

We didn't make it very far. This is at the asphalt pile turnout. The snow was about 3" deep there. — We didn’t make it very far. This is at the asphalt pile turnout, maybe 10 miles from the bottom of the road. The snow was about 3″ deep there.

Trail Guy closed the lower gate. Bit of a slide there, but it is easy to drive around.

This is Squirrel Creek, near Lake Canyon, AKA Mitchell Ranch, AKA Sweet Ranch, AKA Way Station. It goes dry in many summers.

Mineral King Oak Grove Bridge

Time Off to Take in the Views

This week I will post several different subjects, all unrelated to art work. These could be titled “Sources of Inspiration”, although I don’t know if they will result in paintings or drawings.

Subject #1

Trail Guy took the Botmobile to a secret location with a great view of the High Sierra. The mountain range is the Sierra Nevada, and it is only people from Southern California who say “the Sierras”. Those of us in Central California generally know better in spite of being uneducated, poor and fat.

I wasn’t there because I was finishing the mural, not goofing off. Yet.

Can you pick out Sawtooth?

Here – have a slightly closer look.

Subject #2

The Captain decided that this rocking chair, more of a glider, a beautiful piece made by the Amish, no longer suits her. Together we figured out how to fit it into my car, and voila! It looks just right in this corner of our living room.

There used to be plants on that table, but Samson thought it was his personal jungle. Now there is a squirt bottle handy to remind him that our hands and feet are not his chew toys.

The view out the window looked like this:

Hey, this isn’t complete. We should be seeing Moro Rock to the left of Alta Peak. Time for some yard work.

Alrighty then. Life in Three Rivers for this Central California artist and her husband, AKA Trail Guy, seems to be about views.

Three Rivers

Long Fast Walk

One last post not about art or Mineral King. We’ll resume our normal broadcasting ~~schedule~~ topics tomorrow.

There are many ways to participate in the multiple events of the Lake Tahoe Marathon weekend; walking partner T and I chose to walk the 1/2 marathon on Sunday, October 9.

We’ve been planning and training for awhile.

team-shoelace

The bus took us from Stateline to Emerald Bay.

We walked 1/2 mile down the road to the starting point, following a bagpiper.

Our view as we waited for the start time was quite beautiful.

Marathon runners passed us as we waited for our start time.

We were immediately passed by all the runners.

It didn't take long for the crowd of 536 to spread out on the road. — It didn’t take long for the crowd of 536 to spread out on the road.

It might have been 3 miles of downhill, following the lake from the road above. We were walking very very fast.

This was the only time I spotted good fall color along the route. — This was the best fall color along the route; not all the aspens had turned yet.

We left the road and moved onto a bike trail.

After meandering through some neighborhoods, the route took us along a busy boulevard, first on this trail, and then just along the road on a cracked narrow sidewalk. It wasn't pleasant for the last 5 or 6 miles. — After meandering through some neighborhoods, the route took us along a busy boulevard, first on this trail, and then just along the road on a cracked narrow sidewalk. It wasn’t pleasant for the last 5 or 6 miles, our feet hurt and there wasn’t anything to photograph.

We were along the lakeshore for a brief span near the end. Fast walking makes for crooked photos!

T and I finished the 1/2 marathon with an average pace of 4.1 mph. This placed us at numbers 513 and 514 out of 536 participants. It was 3 hours and 15 minutes of very fast walking. My Garmin showed the distance to be 13.39 miles instead of 13.1.

Worth it? Yes, for the friendship factor. No, for the way I felt afterward and the amount of hassles to go there and back. Shoot, our motel was so cheap there wasn’t even a coffee maker in the room! But oh my, T is so much fun, and we laughed and laughed and talked and laughed for 2 days straight.