Does this title please you as much as it does me? Heheheh. (That’s me snickering).
After having a wonderful reunion with wonderful friends in a wonderful place (is Lawrence Welk around here somewhere??), I wanted to commemorate our time together. As a Central California artist, art seemed like the right choice.
(We went to Shaver Lake. I wrote about it on Tuesday.)
I painted 5 Little Shavers. See?
An easel adds cuteness and versatility.
2×2″ paintings won’t take up much space in people’s lives.
Our hostess got the big oil painting of Shaver Lake (can’t call that a “little shaver”.)
This is actually Tunnel Creek, which comes into Shaver Lake via a tunnel from Huntington Lake, I think. Hence, “Tunnel” Creek. We are clever like that here in California’s flyover country.
Seven women friends met for a long weekend at a Shaver Lake cabin. 6 of us went to Redwood High School; 1 went to Whitney (but we have forgiven her). 6 of us graduated in 1977; 1 graduated in 1976 (but we love having her with us). 5 are turning 60 this year; 2 turned 60 last year (but we were celebrating all our birthdays).
It was FANTASTIC! No more chatting, just some photos (but all the friends shall remain unseen and anonymous.
The cabin.
First view of the lake.
Wildflowers, new to me, not found in Mineral King.
Wild Rose, quite abundant around Shaver Lake (occasionally found in Mineral King.)
We had a day on the lake in a pontoon boat.
This is Tunnel Creek, one of the main ways that Shaver Lake is supplied with water (through pipes from Huntington Lake, I think).
Sometimes other boats made waves.
There were many penstemon in my favorite wildflower color.
We bushwhacked to get to this waterfall, which was spectacular.
We smelled this wild azalea before seeing it. It seemed different and definitely more fragrant than the ones I saw at Hume Lake. Maybe the ones at Hume had all their scent sniffed right out of them because it has 1000s more visitors than our weird little non-trail.
Another mystery flower, growing in the water at the falls.
Say what? “Hume Lake wildflowers”, I said! It is still the Sierra, and I love wildflowers, as you know. And sometimes I go to the mountains in places that aren’t Mineral King. It’s permissible.
I stayed with my old friend at her cabin. It was charming, and it has electricity and even a teevee with a DVD player! There are 2 cabins nearby where her cousins are, including my new friends from Georgia. But I came here to tell you about wildflowers today.
There were many wild iris. (Mineral King only has them in one spot, a place I am not telling anyone about, which you would know if you have read Mineral King Wildflowers.)
This variety of penstemon is in my top 10 of wildflower favorites.
WHAT IS THIS???
There we were, just walking along a road above Hume Lake, when I almost got whiplash, or flew over the handlebars, or went a little nutso. Lots of Mariposa Lilies, and then BOOM!
RED MARIPOSA LILIES!! NEVER HEARD OF THEM BEFORE, NEVER SEEN THEM, NEVER WILL FORGET THIS!
That was completely thrilling! The Mariposa Lily that I know is on the title page of the white chapter in my book. When I got home to my books, I found 2 mentions of a different type of Mariposa Lily that occasionally comes in red or purple, but no photos, and I had to read to the bottom of a couple of boring descriptions to find them. (I hope my book isn’t boring to you.)
100 page paperback, flowers in photos, common names only, lots of chatty commentary, $20 including tax. Available here Also available at the Three Rivers Historical Museum, Silver City Store, from me if I put them in my car, or Amazon.
What is going on? At the end of June, I hadn’t been to Mineral King, but I did visit Hume Lake. This has become a tradition with a friend of mine from childhood. (“Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other PLATINUM!)
This is the now historic dam that forms Hume Lake, built for harvesting timber, for the lumber industry, a vital piece of our world, and thankfully, a renewable resource.
There is a fantastic view of the high country of Kings Canyon National Park across the lake.
The wild azalea were in bloom while I was there. We don’t have those in Mineral King.
The current plan is for the Sequoia Road Crew to return to maintenance on the Mineral King road as soon as the current road center and fog line striping project is completed through the Giant Forest area this week. Mineral King road maintenance will consist of spot brushing priority areas, pothole patching, drainage maintenance, shoulder damage repairs and regrading of the washout above Cold Springs and spot grading of the remaining unpaved sections of roadway, not necessarily in that order. Tentatively starting date of 7/15.
Today’s post isn’t very fun, but it is informative if you or someone you know is planning a trip to Mineral King this summer.
I’ve been driving the Mineral King Road regularly for 35 summers, sometimes weekly. This year it is the worst I have ever experienced.
There is no attempt to smooth it, no pothole patching, no erosion control, and no brushing. None.
Several times I wondered if I should stop, get out of my car, and eyeball the route on foot to find the safest way through the obstacle course. Instead, I crawled along in first gear, sometimes riding the brake to go even slower, and I made it without breaking anything.
My non-objective view is that since Trail Guy (AKA Retired Road Guy) retired 7 years ago, there has been a cumulative effect of his not working on the road. The Park roads department is headed up from an office in Grant Grove, which is in Kings Canyon National Park rather than from Ash Mountain in Sequoia. When Road Guy was there, he made certain that the Mineral King Road was not neglected. As a retiree, he still volunteers many hours on a (borrowed) big yellow machine to clear away the winter snow to get the road opened sooner than if folks waited for the Park or for nature.
The Park’s view might be that the road will be redone in a few years. Do they think that it won’t deteriorate further until that time??
I counted 60 potholes in the paved sections on the four-mile stretch between Silver City and Mineral King.
It would be easy to prune these cottonwoods that obstruct vision on this little stretch.
When potholes are full of water, it is impossible to judge the depth.
Just a random sampling of the potholes on the final stretch of road.
2019 was a real winter, which delayed the opening of the Mineral King road, campgrounds, and our own cabin. Atwell Mill Campground is open, but Cold Springs won’t be opened until July 10. (Most of the passes are snow-covered, but people are backpacking and day hiking anyway.)
Drive carefully. If you find the road to be a problem, it might not hurt to write a letter to the acting superintendent, whose name I do not know. (Woody is away, working at the Grand Canyon this summer.)
On Day Four, we were READY TO BE HOME. We looked over the maps, picked a route, finished emptying the UHaul, returned it, and hit the road with the intention of driving until just before we got sick of it. It is easier with two drivers, so you can switch off.
This time I was a passenger and could take photos of saguaro, but there were no purple prickly pear.
Whoa. What is ahead?
We went through a severe thunderstorm, with hail that we thought might crack the windshield.
This was one of the oddest cloud situations I’ve ever seen.
Clearing in the west.
TULARE COUNTY!!
We wanted to be home pretty badly to brave that storm and 545 miles in one day. I have kittens to play with and a painting to finish. Sister-in-law is settling into her new surroundings, and We Are Home!
Day Three wasn’t as pretty. I’m not fond of desert scenery. We drove very far. We were tired of driving. We were not looking forward to unloading the UHaul. There aren’t many photos. (Our destination was a town outside of Phoenix, in case you were wondering.)
There’s that UHaul.
Yep. Arizona. Did you know the speed limit there is the same for passenger cars as for big rigs? It certainly makes for easier driving.
I missed many interesting shots, including saguaro, so I took advantage of the one across the street from the sister’s new home. I also passed up the most interesting cactus I’ve ever seen: it was prickly pear (the kind with paddle-like things) but it was PURPLE!
Day Two began with finishing the UHaul load, and then leaving Tahoe, headed toward Barstow. (I know, “WHY??”) The drive was gorgeous. We went over two mountain passes, heading toward 395. We don’t often get to see the Sierra from the east side.
Stopped somewhere near Monitor Pass for road work.
Keep that UHaul in sight!
Good thing the traffic was light with all this distraction and multi-tasking. NO, it isn’t because I have a cell phone now – I used to do this with a camera, so there. It takes many attempts to get a decent photo without looking at the screen.
So many missed shots because I was driving. I think we need to return to this part of the world, preferably with these clouds and all this snow.
We gave up in Ridgecrest and had to eat the motel reservations in Barstow. That made for a very long Day three, but sometimes a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. Women too. We had to stop. Had. To. Stop.
California is a HUGE state. We began our trip by driving to Tahoe. Trail Guy’s sister needed help moving and we were chosen.
There is a rest stop in Central Calif. on Highway 99 that has incorporated blue glass shards in its sidewalk, something I find puzzling and delightful.
See the trees ahead in the median? On the south side is a palm and on the north is a (barely visible) pine. These trees mark the center of California from north to south. They are on 99, not too far north of Fresno.
These next photos are my version of a drive-by shooting. I think I could do some paintings of oaks on golden hills (minus the phone lines and road signs).
I took a brief walk and discovered a new-to-me wildflower.
Trail Guy is a brilliant packer and loader of trucks, cars and vans. He is excellent at putting all the odd pieces together to maximize the space.
What a day to leave Tahoe! Trail Guy drove the UHaul, I drove our pick-em-up truck, and Sister drove her car.
Since we only have one cell phone among the three of us, it made sense to have the highly visible UHaul in front. Trail Guy and I had walkie-talkies, which was helpful, since I was the navigator but not driving in the lead.
I believe that UHaul is a highly necessary, convenient business model. Whoever thought that up was a genius, right there with the dudes who invented Post-It Notes, W-D40, and Hidden Valley Ranch dressing.
