Someone took a trip up to Mineral King. It wasn’t me. I was working on The Cabins of Wilsonia. My camera had a nice time. There isn’t much snow. It might be a good idea to pray for a March Miracle in the precipitation department.
What Is This?
Fridays are still for Mineral King, when I have Mineral King information for you.
Do you remember reading on my blog back in September when I told you that Trail Guy had a great idea? You can refresh your memory here. Go ahead. I’ll be waiting for you to return.
Thanks for coming back!
Here is where that idea is now. I don’t mean geographically. “Where” means how far along in the development phase. “Phase” sounds so important, don’t you think?
What are we doing???
More will be revealed in the fullness of time.
Somebody Went to Mineral King
But it wasn’t me because I was drawing The Cabins of Wilsonia. (I know not to begin a sentence with the word “but”. Thanks for your concern about my writing skills.)
And the weird spot on my camera is not there this time!! (Sometimes things do fix themselves, contrary to what my auto mechanic says.) I think this would make a wonderful painting, should I ever finish drawing The Cabins of Wilsonia.
No, this is not a weird spot. It is Trail Guy, happy to be retired, happy to be in Mineral King, happy to be eating lunch.
This is not the Trackster. It is a Pisten Bully. (I am not making this name up.) It is how Trail Guy and Ted got to Mineral King. Ted is in uniform. He is not retired. He gets paid to do the heavy lifting. Trail Guy is just an unpaid volunteer who happens to have tremendous equipment operating skills and experience. Please Ted, don’t run over Trail Guy’s lunch box. (It has happened, but it wasn’t Ted. He might not have been born yet.)
Random Thoughts on a Friday
1. Nothing to report about Mineral King. You can look at the webcam. I’m drawing in the studio, and Trail Guy is probably skiing. I think he should be renamed “Ski Guy” this winter.
2. I used to have a Blog Roll, which is a list of blogs I read. I don’t think any of my readers were checking those out, so in the interest of less visual clutter, I removed them. I still read those that post regularly.
3. I added the link to my other blog, The Cabins of Wilsonia. It is called “my other blog”. It is all I think about. I draw almost every day. Pencils, cabins, drawings, Wilsonia, the book, The Book, THE BOOK, THE BOOK.
4. No wonder Ski/Trail Guy is always on the slopes.
5. Trail Guy/Ski Guy had dinner waiting for me 4 nights last week! Isn’t that fantabulous?
6. If you know someone with the initials REC in Three Rivers, wish her Happy Birthday today!
Fridays are for Mineral King
. . . except the snow was too deep and we didn’t get there!
We unloaded the Trackster around mile 12, about 2 miles below Trauger’s. I think that is where we were. It looks so very different under snow!
The Trackster leaves tracks in the snow.
Wow, there was so much snow! (There was also a weird spot on the lens of my camera.)
See?
Sawtooth and the stoopid weird spot on the lens.
This is the historic Alles cabin at Atwell Mill.
It was very pretty and very cold. Remember, I am a California artist, and I live in the sunny foothills where it snows about once every 2 years. This was a wonderful opportunity to wear many of my knitted pieces. No photos of that, sorry to disappoint you.
Our enthusiastic passenger was thrilled to build a snowman. She was amazingly skilled at it for someone who grew up in the sunny foothills where it snows a little bit maybe every two years.
This is quite the unique guy. Since we all recently saw The Hobbit, we decided the dude needed ears. Actually I suggested ears like a bear, but these ears seem to be a bit like Gollum, the gross little dude who sort of talks like Donald Duck.
Any questions? ask in the comments or email me via the contact the artist button on the menu bar.
Peculiar Sight in Mineral King
Trail Guy is not a peculiar sight in Mineral King. He is puzzling over a peculiar sight in this photo.
Words fail me.
Thanksgiving in Mineral King
Yup. We had cheese and crackers and apple and dark chocolate for Thanksgiving dinner. This was our view:
Is there snow in Mineral King?
Some in the shade and on the north facing slopes.
P.S. Michael smoked a turkey the next day. We had leftovers of almost all the good stuff except pumpkin pie. Feel free to send some over if you are tired of yours.
Mineral King in Fall, Part 5
Being Thankful for Fall in Mineral King
These leaves have been blown or rained or snowed off the trees for several weeks by now but I’m still coasting on the beauty from that weekend in mid October.
This is the Mineral King Road with its leaning juniper. The yellow is cottonwood leaves.
These are aspens with Sawtooth Peak.
This is the Monarch drainage with all its fall colors.
More Sawtooth with aspens.
And the East Fork of the Kaweah River along the Nature Trail in Mineral King in October.
Th-th-th-th-that’s all, folks.
Mineral King in Fall, Part 4
I wonder if I can keep going into December with this? Don’t tempt me – I might have to change my blog description from a California Artist to an Autumnal Photographer.
Mineral King Multi-colored Slope
(Do you know where this is?)
Farewell Gap with Yellow Foreground (my titles are wearing out!)
Red Firs and Yellow Aspens (no, they don’t look very red, but that is the name of these fir trees)
Along the Mineral King Road (No, I will not call it “Take Me Home, Country Roads”!)
Fall on the Nature Trail (but don’t hurt yourself!)
Sawtooth and the Monarch Drainage
To be continued next Friday, because Fridays are for Mineral King on this California artist’s blog!
Mineral King in Fall, Part 3
Since I took 273 photos of that weekend of Fall Color in Mineral King, I can keep going with this series for awhile. Tell me if you are sick of it! (or I can look at the visitation numbers to the blog and figure it out – I’m clever like that.)
Nature Trail Gold
Farewell Gap Golden View
Golden Slope from the Top of Endurance Grade
Sawtooth in Fall
Shameless self-promotion reminder: the photos are available for sale if you contact me at cabinart at cabinart dot net (in words so that the spammy folks don’t mess with my email). 5×7″$10, 8×10″$20