Category: Mineral King

The friendships grow

Remember the Sawtooth Six from a blog posting last year? They were back this past weekend! Wow, time flies!

The funniest moment was when they realized they had forgotten tonic and had to call me down the hill to deliver. The calls were frequent and pathetic; when we saw each other across the valley for the first time, instead of hollering “hello”, they shouted “Did you bring the tonic?”

These photos were taken rather spontaneously. Normally they all line up on the porch of the cabin for their official photo, but this year Michael and I wanted to hit the trail before they were prepared. So, I snapped these in a moment of I-Can’t-Believe-The Weekend-Visit-Is-Already-Over.

Evidence that the friendship between us and them is growing – I actually sat down with them at their cabin for a real visit; they brought us their leftover food when closing the cabin; an official invitation was extended to join in one of their traditions next year; and, a few hugs were exchanged upon good-byes. The good part? Time flies, and next year will come quickly. I had a few words of advice before parting: eat more produce, hike more, and stay longer! And, I should have added, “Make a grocery list!”

Mineral King

Growth, part seven (The number one fear)

Did you know that public speaking is most people’s biggest fear, ahead of death? Wow! That isn’t my greatest fear; in fact, I enjoy speaking about my artwork. (Such a narcissistic person!) In the past few years I have been asked to speak for several different groups, most recently on Saturday.The Mineral King Preservation Society had its annual Picnic in the Park. A historic person, Mary Trauger, spoke first and filled us in on life during the mining days. Then a current person, me, spoke about the Mineral King Mural. Despite the bridge being closed, there was a great turnout! Look at these folks:

We dodged the rain bullet – a few drops, but nothing measurable. I forgot to say that my paintings were for sale! What a missed opportunity, but Exeter, A Festival of Arts did quite well on the mugs, mouse pads and tee-shirts! 😎 I make funny faces when I talk, but we all had a good time!

Mineral King

Just walking?

In case you were wondering, hiking is not “just walking”. Yes, in theory you are doing the same motion of putting one foot in front of the other. However, you are doing it on a steep slope, often with weight on your back and at altitude! I walk between 30 and 40 miles a week, and sometimes hiking still makes me sore. (hate to think how I’d feel if I didn’t walk so much!) So, here are some photos of some of last week’s excursions for you to enjoy.

This is the Nature Trail, which Phoebe thinks is boring, probably because it is the closest to “just walking” of any trail in Mineral King. I like it because of the variety of flowers and trees – these aspens are possibly my favorite part of the trail.

Marmots are an integral part of the MK experience. In May and June they gnaw on car parts; by July they have calmed down; in August they hardly appear at all!

We fill Phoebe’s head with all sorts of information that is a little boring at age 15 but we all hope it will be appreciated in a few years. (She uses my daypack because of the Dork Factor associated with fanny packs.) She and Michael have climbed this rock outcropping of Empire a couple of times. (I wait below, because just as hiking is not just walking, climbing is not just hiking!)

Crystal Lakes are probably the least visited of all the lakes out of MK. The lower Crystal is one of 4 lakes with a dam, built by the Mt. Whitney Power Company in 1911. Getting there is an accomplishment – there are 3 very steep pulls in the 5.5 miles to the lake! Of course we had to complicate things by climbing to the ridge above the lake so that we could possibly climb down to Monarch Lake, also with a dam.

There was too much snow on the north side of that ridge, so we climbed around seeking a route down, then enjoyed the view of upper Monarch Lake and headed back down to Crystal instead of making the loop. The snow doesn’t show in this photo, but it was there, blocking our route of choice.

Here are 2 views of the trail on the way back down to MK.

On another day, we saw a pair of fawns and their mother. We waited a 1/2 hour for them to get comfortable with our presence across the canyon and I took a number of mediocre photos. Here is the best, but only 1 fawn shows (sort of).

After it seemed as if we had hiked a zillion miles, we came to this sign that said we had 4 more to go! According to my Garmin Forerunner, it was fairly close to the truth. That is Timber Gap in the background.

Some books call this a tiger lily; some call it a leopard lily. Because of its spots, I tend to think the latter name is more appropriate. Regardless of the name, you can smell it before you see it!

hiking Mineral King

Blue, part 2

Here are a few more blue flowers:

These are called, and no, I’m not making this up, “Blue Lips”!Larkspur are a bit more purplish than blue.

At the last place we lived, these covered the lawn in the winter. I had no idea they grew in the wild!These are called (nope, not making this up either) – “Five Spots”. What can one say to that except, “Duh”.These are truly blue and grow in a couple of profuse patches along the road, perhaps around 4000′. Their name is Heavenly Blue, which they are. The really great patch is in a place that would be very dangerous for stopping so you’ll just have to drive to Mineral King. Soon!

Mineral King

Completion Celebration

Wow, that was a great turnout last night! Thank you for coming! Those who came heard that there are 12 hidden things but only were shown 4 of them. They also learned of the 2 dumbest questions and the 3 most annoying comments. I could have gone on about the mural for 3 hours, but it was kind of hot out and the food would have run short before I got any. (no starving for this artist!) Wish I had had the opportunity to speak with every one there and name each person who helped make the mural happen. There will be a little 3-dimensional effect, and possibly a larger 3-dimensional effect. More will be revealed. Meanwhile, have a look at some hidden items:You probably can tell the first is a coffee pot; the second is NOT a purse but a fishing creel; the third is NOT Sasquatch but a running girl. She isn’t fat – that is her sweatshirt billowing. She isn’t holding a scarf – that is my attempt to blend her into the snow patches in a natural manner.

Overtime

Contrary to common opinion, I actually DO work while in the Land of No Electricity. It was cold and drizzly on Saturday, so here is the result:This is a fine old piece of equipment – gives warmth, cooks food, burns every last stick of split wood AND dries the first layer of oil paintings. The oven doesn’t work but I don’t mind because there are many other fun things to do besides baking.

Spring in the land of No Electricity

There are people who write books for artists on how to jump start, boost or enhance creativity. Almost all of them say it is important to get away from the studio, have a change of scenery, try new things, go outside. Mineral King isn’t a new experience for me, but it certainly is a change from everyday life over the past 6 months. Most people don’t get the opportunity to see it this early in the season, so I will just show you some photos instead of yapping on and on, like some horrid Ankle-biter.

Mural, Day Fifty-two.

Notice anything different about the title? It is significant, meaningful, symbolic. Today Betsy and I sat together and studied the mural, quarter by quarter. I filled 4 pages of little things to fix. They were easy. It involved moving the truck back into position, which would have been difficult if Larry hadn’t acted as my ground crew and rearview mirror! (THANKS, LARRY!) I did them all, including mixing a color to match the bricks so the weird white patches could be covered! Here is the final finale: This part wasn’t all that easy – a paintbrush is NOT a pencil. I signed once, blotted it all out, chose my remaining brand new brush, and signed again. After viewing all the murals in Exeter, I chose to not include my website (it appears if one googles my name), nor my phone # (I’m in the book), nor the copyright (it is owned by Exeter, A Festival of Arts), nor the year (it will be on the title plaque). There was a moment of hesitation – should I write cabinart beneath my signature?? Nope, I only do that on pencil drawings and this is a painting. Less is better than more – so just my name, the whole name and nothing but the name, so help me God. He did, believe me, He did!! Amen.

Mural, Day Fifty-one

Remember this?Now look: And this view? Now it looks like this: Am I finished? Maybe.

The Garden Party. . .

. . . is sold out! If you are one of the lucky ones to have a ticket to this very enjoyable event, you will not be sorry. The Garden Parties I’ve been to in the past have been wonderful – nice evening outside in Exeter (no mosquitos there!), good food, great auction items, nice music, fun conversations, all around very pleasant evening.This will be auctioned off. I will probably have my hands over my ears, or perhaps my thumb will be in mouth.It is an 8×10 oil painting on wrapped canvas with no frame. The title is Honeymoon Cabin III or perhaps Honeymoon Cabin IV. The money will go Exeter, A Festival of Arts. This is the only place I give artwork!