Hume Lake oil paintings

Last week I had the privilege of spending several days at Hume Lake with my friend and a new friend at my friend’s cabin. (Friend friend friend – just wrecked that word for myself.)

This is the 4th summer that she has invited me to join her, and through the times spent together, I have come to know and love her cousins, gotten reacquainted with Hume (worked there the summer of ’78), and become quite close with my old friend from childhood.

Rather than go into a bunch of personal blah blah blah, let’s do our usual thing with photos.

Look on the lamp table. There is my oil painting, cleverly titled “Hume Lake I”.

“Hume Lake II” was very well received, as was “Hume Lake III”. (Most of the birthday party attendees began shouting their birth dates at me.)

Because there were no campers around, we got to go places that are usually not open to cabin folks.

One of the places that we explored was the children’s camp called “Wagon Train”.

Instead of cabins, the kids sleep in these covered Conestoga wagon replicas.

The lake was so serene without the hundreds of camping kids present. This is sad, unless you view it as a temporary condition.

This wildflower is new to me. I don’t have to know the name because it isn’t in Mineral King.

We ate way too much, so I force-marched my companions around the lake one evening after dinner. One of them had a Fit-Bit that recorded 26,400 steps that day. (Those steps didn’t counteract all the ice cream,)

I went to Inspiration Point in search of a red Mariposa Lily. Guess I was too early this year, because all I found were Farewell-to-Spring and profusely blooming Bear Clover.

I drove home a different route and saw Hume from an overlook.

There are so many options for coming and going, unlike Mineral King with one road in and out. Hume Lake also has electricity, wifi in some cabins, many many cabins, and provided the best summer of my life (1978) until I worked in the Mineral King area (Silver City Store) in 1985. (And I thought that BEFORE I met Trail Guy at the end of that summer, so there.)

We had the pleasure of witnessing the baptism in the lake of 3 terrific kids.

Another distinct pleasure was renting stand-up paddle boards. We almost opted out, but I remembered our decision last year that we would do this, combined with the fact that the day was hot, there wasn’t much traffic on the lake, and that “everyone” knows that people regret what they don’t do more than what they do. (My sister and I often remind one another to “Do It Anyway”, in spite of our reservations, fears and doubts.) It was great fun, and I didn’t fall, but I would like to learn how to paddle without the zig-zag effect, which greatly impedes forward progress.

Oh – ice cream. Did I mention ice cream?

Someone needs to cut off my end of the table.

P.S. I have FOURTEEN books on hold at the library. WHEN WILL THEY OPEN AGAIN??