Signs of Late Summer in Mineral KIng

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Mineral King cabins have the most visitors in August, as evidenced by more cars (No need to keep your hood up – it doesn’t deter the marmots, and they aren’t busy in cars in August.)
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The colors are getting more yellow because. . .
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. . . the grasses are drying out and there is goldenrod in bloom.
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See? Goldenrod, and the flowers and grasses are tall.
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This is not a sign of fall, although it could be a place to fall. It is a style of trail building called “rip-rap”. This is looking down at a section of such trail. It is hard to walk up and even harder to walk down. You’ll be pleased to know I didn’t fall – thank you for your concern.
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Squint and look across the stream. Fireweed is in bloom, and it usually appears in August. The stream is low, although not sluggish.
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The aspens are still green, and the grasses beneath them are still green. Not fall, just August, late summer.
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Goldenrod!
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This is how August looks along the Nature Trail, from Cold Springs Campground up to the actual Mineral King valley.

Mineral King has a quick summer. Gotta go, gotta experience, gotta enjoy, don’t blink, because boom, it is over. (The temperature in the early morning of the day I took these photos was 38 degrees.)

Flower Show in Mineral King

My favorite place and time in Mineral King is a flower show in the first half of July at the junction of the Farewell Gap and Franklin Lakes trails.

First, we had to get there. It is 4 miles one way on a well-graded uphill trail. Some parts are flattish, some steeper than others. There is very little shade. There are 2 creeks to cross.

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Thistle, just a preliminary sneak-peek to the flower show.
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Franklin Creek, the 2nd creek to be crossed on the way to the flower show.
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Explorer’s Gentian is my happy flower, and it was out in profusion on the way to the flower show.
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Leopard Lilies are Trail Guy’s happy flower. They hide a little bit, but not for those with an acute sniffer.

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Here we are at last – the flower show! Bigelow Sneezeweed is the star.

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Here comes our friend Kirk, but he is only passing through.
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Two buddies, who like to hike, love Mineral King, and are both thrilled to still be healthy while approaching upper-middle-age. (Says she of middle-middle-age.)
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Happy Trails, Kirk! We will finish our lunch in the flower show cafe before heading back down.

Disney and Mineral King

All photos in this post are courtesy of Dr. Christopher Tremblay of Western Michigan University. He is a 1994 graduate of the Lee Honors College and has been fascinated by Disney since his parents took him to Disneyworld at age 5. Now he gets to share that love with other honors students at his alma mater.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Walt Disney wanted to build a ski resort in Mineral King. It was under the jurisdiction of the National Forest Service, and they were inviting people to put in bids for the project.

The ski resort didn’t happen. That’s a whole other blog post (or 2 or 12).

At Western Michigan University, there is a special summer class that participates in something called “Walt’s Pilgrimage”. One of their stops was Mineral King last year, and they liked it so much that they returned this year.

News Advisory-Mineral King

From left to right (front row only): Walt Disney, Cathy's Mom, Cathy's grandfather Ray Buckman
From left to right (front row only): Walt Disney, Cathy’s Mom, Cathy’s grandfather Ray Buckman
Cathy in the Honeymoon Cabin, the museum of the Mineral King Preservation Society.
Cathy in the Honeymoon Cabin, the museum of the Mineral King Preservation Society.

 

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Participants of the Disney class, all honors students in the Lee Honors College of Western Michigan University. Dr. Christopher Tremblay is kneeling in the front left.
Participants of the Disney class, all honors students in the Lee Honors College of Western Michigan University. Dr. Christopher Tremblay is kneeling in the front left.
Cathy and Michael
Trail Guy and Tall Cathy were a very compatible teaching duo.

More New Mineral King Paintings

But wait! There’s More!

Why does that always elicit a smile or a chuckle?

Because it is obnoxiously obnoxious.

Here are the other paintings I finished last week. It was very hot in Three Rivers, so they dried quickly outdoors, and I was able to scan them without getting paint on the scanner.

It is horrible to get paint on a scanner. It’s even more horrible to scratch the glass trying to remove the paint. Best to not ask me how I know this.

Five new little oil paintings of Mineral King, all for sale at the Silver City Resort (unless they already sold!)

1622 FG XX 1623 MK 1624 FG XXI 1625 FG XXII 1626 FG XXIII

This week I had some special visitors to my studio. These are folks I’ve known since the 1980s, plus some extended family members. One of my old friends said, “I think your painting is improving.”

I hope so! I’ve been oil painting for 10 years, and if there has been no improvement, I need to quit.

Nope, not quitting.

New Mineral King Paintings

Last week I was a ninja-crazy painting factory, cranking out oil paintings of Mineral King. This is high season in the high country, and it is busy. Gotta get ’em done, visible, and selling.

Sounds a bit like a mercenary, an artist of fortune.

Nah. No fortunes are being made here. Just painting Mineral King.

 

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Sawtooth XVI, oil on wrapped canvas, 8×8″, $100
1628 Sawtooth XVII
Sawtooth XVII, oil on wrapped canvas, 8×8″, $100

I Took No Photos But Trail Guy Did

Today’s posting about Mineral King will be in list form. This is a trick that frequent bloggers use when their subject matter is a little disorganized or random or willy-nilly.

  1. The annual Picnic in the Park by the Mineral King Preservation Society took place last Saturday. I didn’t take any photos. The highlight was when Trail Guy was called upon to tell about his 3 winters in Mineral King. He spoke like a polished professional, telling his story briefly with no umms and uhhs, relating the events in sequential order without backtracking, and including both emotion and humor. This might make a good book. I’ll keep practicing with other people.
  2. We met some young adults from France who are interning in computer science at UNLV. We took them to Franklin Falls, and then they decided that they really wanted to go to Franklin Lake. It was 2:30 in the afternoon, and they were driving back to Las Vegas that night! Youth. I didn’t take any photos, but they did, and if they email any to me, I’ll show you.
  3. The biting flies were ferocious. I didn’t take any photos. I am scratching like a stray dog.
  4. The flowers were excellent. I didn’t take any photos.
  5. Trail Guy has been taking photos. He has saved this blog post from having no photos. If you’ve made it this far, here is your reward in flowers.
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Blazing Star
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Jeffrey Shooting Star
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Pride of the Mountains (yellow are unknown to me)
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Penstemmon (don’t know the variety)
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Rockfringe
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Lupine
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More Pride of the Mountains
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Wish I knew. . .!
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Sky Pilot
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One of the many yellow flowers that I don’t know.

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Painting Mineral King

Yesterday I took a chill-pill to recover from the emotional see-saw of selling, not selling, selling, not selling, sold, not sold, it must only be my friends and relatives who feel sorry for me, OH MY GOODNESS A STRANGER BOUGHT MY ART.

Don’t you just feel exhausted reading that last paragraphical sentence? (Anyone know a good editor??)

4 mineral king paintings

These paintings have been languishing, waiting and curing while I work on coloring books. This week I am returning to my oil paints, because customers await Mineral King paintings at the Silver City Store.

Save

Perilously Emotional See-Saw

For the past several summers, I have sold oil paintings of Mineral King scenes at the Silver City Store.

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This summer I took up 3 6×6″ and 3 8×10″. Each time I go to Mineral King, I stop by the store (we think of it as “The Store”) to see how the paintings are selling. I missed a weekend, and then stopped by again.

Oak Grove Bridge XVIII

THEY WERE ALL SOLD!

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The reason I stopped by was that I met some great folks who wanted to talk about Israel. Then the woman asked my last name (weird, I know, but someone introduced us by first name and mentioned I had been to Israel) and was all excited to meet me.

Hunh?

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Turns out she buys a painting by me each year when she comes to her Mineral King cabin.

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It is quite a thrill to meet a stranger who buys my art, because often I wonder if it is just my friends and relatives who feel sorry for me that buy my work.

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The business of art is a perilously emotional see-saw.

Please excuse me while I go find a chill-pill and then start painting again.

Wildflower Quest and Thoughts on Naming Flowers

Every summer in Mineral King, Trail Guy goes on a quest for Leopard Lilies. They have a fabulous fragrance, and often we smell them before we see them.

Mineral King wildflowers are usually at their peak during the first couple of weeks in July. This year they are particularly profuse.

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Groundsel is common. It is a little boring, except when there are great masses of it together. It always looks slightly worn out.
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Penstemmon comes in many colors and styles. This might be called “golden beard”. I wasn’t asked, but if I had been, I would call this one “lipstick”.
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No flowers here, but I can’t pass over this bridge without photographing the classic scene.
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“Wild geranium” makes no sense as a name, unless you know that what we call “geranium” at home is actually pelargonium, and true geraniums look more like this. Someone is jerking us around in this naming busines.
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Wild asters usually don’t appear until late August. They are more lavender than they appear in this photo.
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The larkspur were thick and bright, but my little PHD (press here, Dummy) camera wouldn’t focus on them. Where else will you see purple and yellow together and not think it is a little obnoxious?
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We (ahem – Trail Guy) always find artifacts in Mineral King, a place very rich in cultural history. This is part of an old stove. Apparently, people in the olden days thought nothing of walking away from their stuff. Don’t know about you, but I’ve never removed a stove part, much less left it lying around. Maybe these folks would have been Lawn Parkers if they were in a more modern era.
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Rein orchis is a weird weird name. “Orchis” not “orchid”. “Rein” not “rain”. You just can’t make this stuff up, unless you are an Official Flower Namer. They get to do whatever they want. I used to think grown-ups got to do whatever they wanted, but maybe not, unless they are Flower Namers.
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Somewhere in there is a Leopard Lily. We spotted it!
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“We”? Nope, Trail Guy spotted it!
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Then he stuck his nose in it.
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This is a boring photo. In real life it was sparkly white flowers and a few bright purplish-pink wild onions.
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More sparkly white “knot weed”, which looks like a Nothing Burger in this photo. Guess you had to be there.
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This unnamed and unknown (to me) flower is thick along the Mineral King Road, maybe around 5000′. This was one of the first times I found it near a turnout, when no one else was around so I could really appreciate it. Besides, it wasn’t 100 degrees out, so I didn’t mind stopping.
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Look how thick this is here! Anyone know the name of this? How about “roadside blue”? I want to be a Flower Namer!

Listen to Mineral King

Sometimes when I am in Mineral King, I make a point to experience as many senses as possible.

I feel the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the shade.I hear the birds and the wind and the water. After the rain I smell mugwort and currant bushes. I see wonderful scenes, which are the easiest to share with you on this blog. I try not to put stuff in my mouth, but sometimes in late fall I do taste the currants. (They are sort of more trouble than they are worth.)

Late last night, I got back from 12 days in Israel. (Yes, I posted ahead to my blog for the time I was away. Please forgive me for not responding to comments or emails during that time. I will be sending out coloring books to those of you who ordered soon. Thank you for your patience.)

So, because today is Friday and Fridays are for Mineral King, see if this movie will play for you so you can hear a little bit of Mineral King in addition to seeing it.

Spring Creek

Mineral King (Click on the words Mineral King, and a movie might open for you in a separate window. Key word here: “might”. I’ve never tried this before. Never gone to Israel before either.)