Trail Guy had a great idea for me this summer. We are now beginning to develop it. Here are the photos we used in our designing phase.
“Phase” makes it sound huge and extensive, don’t you think?
More will be revealed. . .
Mineral King, Late Summer
It was remarkably clear in Mineral King in late August. The place is a continual source of inspiration and painting ideas for this central California artist.
White Chief, Part Two
One way you can tell that you are middle-aged is when hiking downhill is more painful than hiking uphill. (Can I get an “Amen”?)
Last week I left you wondering how we were going to leave White Chief if not by the same trail we used to get there. Trail Guy loves loops – I might start calling him “Loopy” – no, bad idea. I call him Trail Guy, but about 40% of the time he is Off-Trail Guy.
He pointed up to a ridge above and to the west of lower White Chief canyon and said if we climbed it, we’d drop down into Eagle Meadow. That is in the area of the Mosquito and Eagle Lakes junction. He said he knew it wasn’t hard, because he had explored there last year.
Sure, Off-Trail Guy.
White Chief in Mineral King is a Steep Hike
- White Chief might be the most popular short(ish) hike in Mineral King. It might also be the steepest one. It is always worth the effort, especially when back home again.
This is getting to be a bit long. I’ll continue it next Friday. . . same bat time, same bat channel.
Interesting And Random Photos of Mineral King
Going Places
Imagine you are on a road trip, just sitting there like a knitting machine, and your driving husband pulls over and says “I thought you might want a picture of this”.
Wouldn’t that be grand and thoughtful? It is.
Trail Guy and I like to visit his sister in Lake Tahoe. (Hi Laurie!) On one such trip we were passing Kirkwood, and he pulled over so I could photograph this scene. Kirkwood Meadow is outside of Lake Tahoe (south east? south west? just plain southish?) It is a ski resort, but in October it looks like this:
There were several horses in the photos I took. I chose this one and scooted him to a better place. That tiny little horse ’bout done near kilt me off. I had to go paint some nice oversized oranges to recover. Must be a California artist way of getting over the trauma. . . gave me flashbacks to Put-My-Parents-in-the-Painting.
The painting was for several reasons: to see if it is a good subject for a larger painting, because I wanted to paint it, and as a gift for a generous friend who sends me a new book to read almost every month.
The Best Flowers in Mineral King
It must be Friday because the California artist is talking about Mineral King again.
You can count on seeing the best variety of flowers in Mineral King in 2 places: along the Nature Trail and at the Farewell Gap/ Franklin Lake junction. The first week of July is when they are usually the most profuse. It is about 4 miles to the junction from the bridge at the end of the road, aka “The Mineral King Bridge”.
Sometimes I Leave California
I hope it isn’t too shocking to you, my fine readers, to learn that the California artist sometimes goes out of the state. She has a penchant for the Pacific Northwest. (“Penchant” means a strong habitual liking.) She also blogs while she is away so that the bad guys on the internet can’t tell that she is gone. Tricky, eh?
While visiting these other places, she takes photos that she hopes to paint one day. She hopes to have a show called “Going Places” to show and sell these as of yet unpainted pieces of art.
And, while she is away, sometimes she gets on a weird roll and begins writing in third person.
To be continued tomorrow. . .
Empire Mountain, Mineral King
Fridays are about Mineral King on this California artist’s blog. Just reminding you, in case you are wondering where’s the art. . . or perhaps you only tune in on Fridays. Welcome! (and Mineral King is a HUGE source of inspiration to this California artist, so it isn’t really off topic.)
Michael, aka Trail Guy, likes to go off trail, which is the only way to get up Empire. There is a great deal of interesting history up there.
Out of the Office, Again
Office? What office? I thought you had a studio!
I stole that line from Lily Kreitinger, an online friend with a wonderful blog. It means that I have a guest post today on another wonderful blog (not Lily’s – yet!) Today you can find my writing at my friend Cheryl Barker’s blog. We are also online buddies.
Why are you reading and talking about all these blogs? I thought you were a California artist!
As a self-employed artist, I work in silence and solitude. Instead of feeling isolated, I listen to podcasts while I paint. They inspire and motivate me to try new things with art, life and business.
I also read other people’s blogs because they broaden my world, and give me a chance to interact with people outside of Tulare County. When I really like someone’s thoughts and writing, and if I have something to say or a question (I ALWAYS have questions!) then I comment. There is a sense of community among the regular commenters and interaction with the blogger himself or herself.
Sometimes I follow the links to those commenters’ blogs, and it is like an interwoven web. (Hmmm, could that be the internet? or perhaps the world wide web?) I think I found Cheryl through Stuff Christians Like, a very goofy and fun blog.
So who is this Cheryl Barker?
Cheryl posts about:
Faith. Family. Friends. Serving God. All of these things are important to me. Being a writer is one of the ways I live out my faith and serve the One who first loved me. My prayer is that you will be refreshed as you join me on my journey. Be blessed!
In the summer she adds some light-hearted things that she calls “Summer Photo Fun”. I’m into photos, and I love to have fun, so lucky me, she asked me to participate!
Head on over there to see what sort of buffoonery I’m engaging in today – share the link with your friends that might enjoy Cheryl’s blog, comment if you are so inclined.
Hint – the post is about wildflowers