Cabin Thoughts, Part 2

Mineral King, pencil, framed approximately 14 x 18″, $400 plus tax.

I looked up “cabin” on my Mac. The dictionary on my computer has fairly useless definitions as far as our discussion is concerned.

Cabin may refer to:

  • Beach cabin, a small wooden hut on a beach

  • Log cabin, a house built from logs

  • Cottage, a small house

  • Chalet, a wooden mountain house with a sloping roof

  • Small, remote, mansion (Western Canada)

  • Small, free-standing structures that serve as individual lodging spaces of a motel

Forget that. Where’s my real Webster’s dictionary?? Mine was published in 2004 rather than 1935. Oh good grief, look at this:

A small, simple, one-story house.

Willow Window, pencil. Is this a cabin? Nope, it is a bungalow. But it is a small, simple, one-story house. How do I know? Because I used to live there.
Kitchen Corner, pencil, framed, $150. Is this a cabin? Yep. How do I know? I live there in the summer. But wait! It has 2 stories!

A few folks checked in with their thoughts on what a cabin is. One suggested “primitive”; another said a place to get away from every day life; a third (and someone else I talked to in person) suggests that a cabin is a state of mind, “non-fancy” is a good description, and someone else added in a description of an ideal cabin. She used the word “spare”, which could mean an extra home or it could mean without clutter. (I’ve seen some pretty cluttered cabins, and I have lived in a cabin when it was my only place of residence.)

Come back tomorrow for more thoughts on cabins and cabin life; clearly, there is no clear definition of cabin, but there are many ideas about it. Clearly.

Mineral King on Friday

Shall we conclude the tale of our White Chief hike?

Trail Guy thought it would be fun to go down on the other side of the canyon rather than follow the trail. I will now begin referring to him as Off Trail Guy. It was really hard. My hiking buddy and I got giddy silly, and I fell down laughing. Actually I fell because it is tricky to pick a route and pick footing, especially when there are long grasses covering the rocks. Off Trail Guy and my hiking buddy managed to remain vertical; my buddy’s husband fell once. He probably wasn’t laughing. If my buddy wasn’t with me, I might have been scared. She is very brave. We stopped several times to take cool pictures (and to regroup and perhaps to cuss Off Trail Guy).

Oh no. Not ANOTHER unknown yellow flower!
Pink leaves. A diversion.
Swirly rock. Another diversion.
We came down THAT, the left side of the canyon as one looks up. The real trail is on the right side.
My favorite Explorer’s Gentian is hanging on and looks striking among its frost-damaged yellow leaves.

Holy guacamole, it was a 9+ mile day, much of it off trail. My hiking buddy and I came up with a rating system, 1 being on a flat trail or maybe even a sidewalk, and 10 being not speaking to our husbands for a week. Off Trail Guy GUARANTEED this was a 5; it was 8.5. Hmmm. . .

Only 1/4 mile left to go. I love me some flat trail that pulls me along, and green might be my favorite color while hiking.

We learned that Off Trail Guy rates trails differently than we do. We learned that we can laugh our way through difficulties. We learned another way to not come home from White Chief. And we learned that we have a strong friendship, not bruised by difficult routes.

Mineral King on Thursday?

. . . the saga of a busy Labor Day weekend continues. “Saga” may be an overblown word, but it is fun to use.

There are never enough hiking days, nor is there enough desire to get my hiney moving every time I go up the hill. I feel the calendar shrinking, and decided it was time to fulfill my desire to see the upper part of White Chief this year. There were 4 of us on the hike; one had a bowl of Cheerios, another had a bowl of Crankios, 2 of us had normal food, and we set off.

Within the first mile, we encountered these energetic folks from Ukraine, now Los Angeles. They did Great Big Hikes THREE DAYS IN A ROW! That included climbing Mineral Peak. . . very impressive. They also taught us that our name, Botkin, is famous in Ukraine because jaundice is called “Botkin’s Disease”. Nice, eh?

Mineral Peak
These cabin ruins at the beginning of White Chief canyon had something to do with John Crabtree. I know a man by that name, but he’s not related. That’s okay, because I’m not related to jaundice either.
White Chief as it appears from my position of semi-collapse among the Crabtree cabin ruins.
This Lodgepole pine is leaning from an avalanche, and its branches look like little trees (with a little red fir showing 2nd from the left on the other side.)
Trail Guy went to the falls to refill our water bottles near where the trail crosses the creek. (We live dangerously and are probably overconfident about what water we drink while out on the trails.)
Looking back down over the lower canyon from the trail among the mines, caves and tunnels.
See? mines and tunnels and caves!
Yep, this is the trail. It isn’t scary to me, but I am better at up than down.
See? caves! Be careful. . . Yes, I know, duh.
Trail Guy shared a laugh with some Bay Area cavers who thought they knew secrets that Trail Guy didn’t about White Chief.
This is at the top of the canyon, a peaceful place I love when the mosquitoes aren’t around. They weren’t around on September 2.
I put my feet in the water and then looked down the line of my hiking buddies, as we ate our lunches together in this lovely hard-earned spot.
HEY! This is a miniature Grass of Parnassus!

To be continued tomorrow. . .

Mineral King on Wednesday?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BANANA!!

On Monday, I said that our Mineral King happenings post was to be continued. Did you wonder when? Yesterday was a significant date in the life and history of our country, so I paused on my little tales to acknowledge September 11.

For a number of years, we have had a neighborhood get-together on the last summer weekend. I sent out an email invitation that included a warning that if you didn’t show, we might possibly set up in your nice flat front yard. We set up in the nice flat front yard and deck of a neighboring cabin. Then, The Neighbor showed up! Oops. It’s okay, we are all friends, and now we have something to laugh about for years. We moved to our not so flat back yard, and 22 of us managed quite nicely. (and The Neighbor joined us, bringing a lovely plate of fancy cheeses and some good wine, I’m told.)

 

What manner of weird food is this and what does it have to do with Mineral King?
Lady finger grapes, a new variety, shared at the neighborhood potluck.
These dudes were part of the BBQ detail.
The host and organizer has a soft spot for babies.
Someone knows how to put together beautiful plates of fruit.
Even in Mineral King, people use their phones, but only as cameras.

The next day, too tired to want to get up early, we got up earlyish and hit the trail for White Chief.

To be continued. . .

Mineral King on Monday?

Last Friday instead of posting about Mineral King, I posted old pencil drawings of Mineral King. I hope you didn’t feel ripped off. Just in case, here is a report on Labor Day weekend in Mineral King, the official last weekend of summer. (Pay no attention to the little words on the calendar on Sept. 21.)

On Friday evening, we were sitting with friends on their cabin deck and heard a Jeep go by with loud tinny music. The driver shouted in our direction, “[expletive deleted] liberals!”

Excuse me??

The next morning as I walked down the road with 2 friends, we saw this:

A ranger friend described this as “a little road karma”.

Was it the same Jeep? the same driver? Don’t know. He refused an ambulance, so it sounds as if he wasn’t hurt.

We headed up the Nature Trail out of the Cold Springs Campground. Most of the flowers are finished for the year, but there were still plenty of photogenic subjects.

Unknown berries.
Still good water coming down the east fork of the Kaweah River.
Unknown red leaf.
I heard Trail Guy laugh from across the canyon and looked over to see the tow truck.
Classic view of the tiniest tip of Sawtooth from the Nature Trail.
Oh no! More unknown whites!
Oh no! More unknown yellows!

To be continued. . .

Tough Decision, Part Two

There are many seasoned artists who freely share their experience with other artists. One of the nuggets I’ve gleaned through the years is “Get rid of your junk”. There is no reason to keep things around that do not sell or do not represent your best work.

The Cabins of Mineral King represented my best work in 1998. I draw better now, which is good; I would better have improved over the last 20 years or that would be a sorry situation. (That was an awkward sentence – anyone know a good editor?)

Still, the unsold drawings haunt me, take up space and just need to go away, either through a sale or through a shredder.

Before they go into the shredder, here is a chance for you to own an original pencil drawing for a peanut butter sandwich, as my dad used to say. I will consider offers, as long as they are not insulting.

One month from today, October 7, is the deadline on this batch of drawings.

4-1/2 x 5″, $20, SOLD
6-1/2 x 4″, $25, SOLD
7 x 10″, $90
4-1/2 x 5″, $25, SOLD
4-1/2 x 6-1/2″, $35, SOLD
5 x 7″, $40. SOLD

Sawtooth on a Saw Blade in a Situation

The Silver City Store/Resort has gotten quite elegant. I feel honored to be able to sell there and to now be part of their decor.

Let’s take a tour.

The outside of the store is a bit different than it used to be but still recognizable (Who put her less than classy looking vehicle in front of the store and interrupted this photo opportunity??)
This is the view directly ahead when you step inside the store, although the unknown man may not be there if you stop by.
Look toward the right. . .
And a little farther right to the tables along the front wall. The photos above the tables are all the wedding photos of people who either met or married in the area.
Look to the left of the front counter when you first step inside (that square cardboard contains the saw blade.) Why yes, that is one of my paintings on the mantel. . . thank you for noticing!
Look directly left and that is the new store area where my paintings are incorporated with the other merchandise. (Nope, not a real gallery, but there are real customers with real money, and we consistently make real sales.)

Now let’s return to the front counter.

HEY! THERE IT IS!! THANK YOU, HANNAH, HANNAH, AND MICHAEL FOR CHOOSING MY ART.

More Mineral King Fun in August

August isn’t the most beautiful month in Mineral King but it might be the busiest in  terms of visitation. Who can blame folks for wanting to escape the heat of the flatlands?

There are cone flowers in my neighborhood. This is one of the yellow flowers that doesn’t look exactly like all the others (but looks close if it hasn’t yet matured into a cone-head.)
This is an iron spring, not to be confused with Soda Springs (although the water tastes just as bad.) It is just a different name for the same phenomenon.
An artifact – part of an old bedframe. . . I can hear the voice now, “Henry, I’m NOT sleeping in the woods unless you bring my bed!”
Trail Guy found another artifactual bedframe. What’s the deal? A Mineral King Motel 6?
I FOUND A NEW FLOWER!! This one is called Grass of Parnassus. Excuse me? Who is Parnassus and why is this lovely little white bowl called a “grass”?
Always looks better in person but I thought you’d enjoy a little evening light.
My neighbor told me that he loves the view from the pay phone in the parking lot in the evening. Bruce, this photo is for you.
Hi Maxine.

And in case you were wondering how my favorite bridge looks in August, here is a recent photo.

The Oak Grove Bridge on the Mineral King road.

Four New Mineral King Oil Paintings

These Mineral King oil paintings began as four little messes. After the second pass over the canvas, they dried outside in the sun for 24 hours. That was all it took for them to be ready to scan and move up the hill to the Silver City Store for sale.

They NEVER look as good on the screen as in person. (Feel like taking a drive up a long and winding road?)

Mineral King XII
Juniper II
Mineral King Stream II
Honeymoon Cabin #35

Each one is 4×6″, oil on wrapped canvas, ready to hang without a frame or to set on a shelf, $54 includes California sales tax.

Various Things in Mineral King

Happy Birthday, Judy-o!!

This month I am spending a large chunk of time just goofing off instead of working. This means I don’t have much to post about in terms of my art business. But, does anyone care? And is it necessary to post five days a week, as is my habit?  It isn’t Friday, and yet I’m going on and on about Mineral King. Again, I ask “does anyone care”?

I do. I care. Been doing this blog for over ten years, five days a week, and not gonna stop now. Nope. Not.

So there.

This is similar to the view I drew in pencil earlier this summer, but 30 years later.
Horses seem to be all about dust, flies, and manure.
Because of this guy, I began teaching drawing lessons in 1994. Thank you, Steven!!
Cabins require maintenance.
Standard scene. Yawn. Just another day in Paradise.
A juniper tree along the trail.
Ever heard of Western Eupatorium? Glad to be of service in enhancing your wildflower knowledge.
Weird horse (but at least it isn’t sticking out its tongue).
Who are these guys?? Some people work at their cabins; others just hang around waiting for Happy Hour. We love and appreciate our cabin neighbors.
That weirdness on the Red Fir branch is a type of mistletoe that grows on conifers.
We admired our neighbor’s radio because it worked beautifully, unlike the THREE that are in our cabin and HE GAVE IT TO US!!! See? Great neighbors all around. I’ve never heard of this brand, but wow, I am impressed! Talk radio, Giants baseball, and music all come in clearly.