Did you know that public speaking is most people’s biggest fear, ahead of death? Wow! That isn’t my greatest fear; in fact, I enjoy speaking about my artwork. (Such a narcissistic person!) In the past few years I have been asked to speak for several different groups, most recently on Saturday.The Mineral King Preservation Society had its annual Picnic in the Park. A historic person, Mary Trauger, spoke first and filled us in on life during the mining days. Then a current person, me, spoke about the Mineral King Mural. Despite the bridge being closed, there was a great turnout! Look at these folks:
We dodged the rain bullet – a few drops, but nothing measurable. I forgot to say that my paintings were for sale! What a missed opportunity, but Exeter, A Festival of Arts did quite well on the mugs, mouse pads and tee-shirts! 😎 I make funny faces when I talk, but we all had a good time!
Just walking?
In case you were wondering, hiking is not “just walking”. Yes, in theory you are doing the same motion of putting one foot in front of the other. However, you are doing it on a steep slope, often with weight on your back and at altitude! I walk between 30 and 40 miles a week, and sometimes hiking still makes me sore. (hate to think how I’d feel if I didn’t walk so much!) So, here are some photos of some of last week’s excursions for you to enjoy.
This is the Nature Trail, which Phoebe thinks is boring, probably because it is the closest to “just walking” of any trail in Mineral King. I like it because of the variety of flowers and trees – these aspens are possibly my favorite part of the trail.
Marmots are an integral part of the MK experience. In May and June they gnaw on car parts; by July they have calmed down; in August they hardly appear at all!
We fill Phoebe’s head with all sorts of information that is a little boring at age 15 but we all hope it will be appreciated in a few years. (She uses my daypack because of the Dork Factor associated with fanny packs.) She and Michael have climbed this rock outcropping of Empire a couple of times. (I wait below, because just as hiking is not just walking, climbing is not just hiking!)
Crystal Lakes are probably the least visited of all the lakes out of MK. The lower Crystal is one of 4 lakes with a dam, built by the Mt. Whitney Power Company in 1911. Getting there is an accomplishment – there are 3 very steep pulls in the 5.5 miles to the lake! Of course we had to complicate things by climbing to the ridge above the lake so that we could possibly climb down to Monarch Lake, also with a dam.
There was too much snow on the north side of that ridge, so we climbed around seeking a route down, then enjoyed the view of upper Monarch Lake and headed back down to Crystal instead of making the loop. The snow doesn’t show in this photo, but it was there, blocking our route of choice.
Here are 2 views of the trail on the way back down to MK.
On another day, we saw a pair of fawns and their mother. We waited a 1/2 hour for them to get comfortable with our presence across the canyon and I took a number of mediocre photos. Here is the best, but only 1 fawn shows (sort of).
After it seemed as if we had hiked a zillion miles, we came to this sign that said we had 4 more to go! According to my Garmin Forerunner, it was fairly close to the truth. That is Timber Gap in the background.
Some books call this a tiger lily; some call it a leopard lily. Because of its spots, I tend to think the latter name is more appropriate. Regardless of the name, you can smell it before you see it!
On Vacation
If we are around the same age, you might remember when going on vacation meant stopping the newspaper and having the post office hold one’s mail. Yesterday I returned from a week in Mineral King to 2 full answering machines, real mail at home, real mail in my P.O. Box AND a pile of email! Aren’t we supposed to be feeling the effects of technology simplifying our lives?
It was a working vacation, as you can see by all these little canvases drying on the back of the cabin. More came later, but this is all you get to see for now. Something new is coming, and as usual, more will be revealed!
Blue, part 2
Here are a few more blue flowers:
These are called, and no, I’m not making this up, “Blue Lips”!
Larkspur are a bit more purplish than blue.
This photographed much bluer than it really is – it is a violet (see? it is purple!) and I was just beside myself to see them up there. At the last place we lived, these covered the lawn in the winter. I had no idea they grew in the wild!
These are called (nope, not making this up either) – “Five Spots”. What can one say to that except, “Duh”.
These are truly blue and grow in a couple of profuse patches along the road, perhaps around 4000′. I have no idea what they are and this photo is entirely inadequate. The really great patch is in a place that would be very dangerous for stopping so you’ll just have to drive to Mineral King. Soon!
And, inquiring minds like to know, do you know of other blue flowers that I should see?
Completion Celebration
Wow, that was a great turnout last night! Thank you for coming! Those who came heard that there are 12 hidden things but only were shown 4 of them. They also learned of the 2 dumbest questions and the 3 most annoying comments. I could have gone on about the mural for 3 hours, but it was kind of hot out and the food would have run short before I got any. (no starving for this artist!) Wish I had had the opportunity to speak with every one there and name each person who helped make the mural happen. There will be a little 3-dimensional effect, and possibly a larger 3-dimensional effect. More will be revealed. Meanwhile, have a look at some hidden items:
You probably can tell the first is a coffee pot; the second is NOT a purse but a fishing creel; the third is NOT Sasquatch but a running girl. She isn’t fat – that is her sweatshirt billowing. She isn’t holding a scarf – that is my attempt to blend her into the snow patches in a natural manner.
Merchandise update
Thank you to those who have inquired about purchasing mural merchandise. I have contacted the Mural Team to see how they would like to handle long distance orders. I have learned that the tee shirts are $18, the mugs and mousepads $7 apiece. If you are in California, there is also (astronomical) sales tax. I hope to learn soon if they will take orders by phone and do the shipping. . . more will be revealed!
Celebrate!
How can it accurately be called an “unveiling”? Okay, it’s not! It is a celebration of the completion of MINERAL KING, IN OUR BACKYARD! That is the name so aptly coined by my husband, Michael. Here are the details: Thursday, June 25, 6 p.m. at the mural. It is in the 100 NORTH block of E Street, between Pine and Palm in downtown Exeter. Dinner (tri-tip sandwiches) will be available to those who arrived there first for a minimal charge. You will have the chance to buy mural merchandise, as shown here:Mouse pad, mug (2 sides of the same one shown), and tee shirts available in 2 colors. The only price I know is that the tee shirts are $18 each. The picture is on the backside and it says Exeter, A Festival of Arts on the front.
Blue
Did the title worry you? Blue is my favorite color, not my state of mind! When I was new to gardening, I looked and looked for blue flowers. There aren’t very many in the domestic gardening world, which I found to be a bit disappointing. However, there are lots of blues in the wildflower world, a surprising number! Here are 3 I saw over the weekend in Mineral King (and on the way up). There were more, but my camera wasn’t always with me or the road wasn’t safe for a photo shoot at that site.
Penstemmon encompasses many different colors and types, but this one is my favorite!
Languid Ladies are also called Sierra Bluebells; they are profuse this year! Sometimes they come in pink or white, but “whitebells” or “pinkbells” just don’t sound right.
Sierra Forget-me-nots are an unforgettable blue; they are also called Sierra Stickseeds because the seeds stick to your boots. Sometimes they also come in pink.
Overtime
Contrary to common opinion, I actually DO work while in the Land of No Electricity. It was cold and drizzly on Saturday, so here is the result:
This is a fine old piece of equipment – gives warmth, cooks food, burns every last stick of split wood AND dries the first layer of oil paintings. The oven doesn’t work but I don’t mind because there are many other fun things to do besides baking.
Spring in the land of No Electricity
There are people who write books for artists on how to jump start, boost or enhance creativity. Almost all of them say it is important to get away from the studio, have a change of scenery, try new things, go outside. Mineral King isn’t a new experience for me, but it certainly is a change from everyday life over the past 6 months. Most people don’t get the opportunity to see it this early in the season, so I will just show you some photos instead of yapping on and on, like some horrid Ankle-biter.
