Quick Trip

In my ongoing attempts to understand why my feet are numb, I went to see a Big Deal neurologist. She was informative, thorough, and honest about the fact that 50% of people with peripheral neuropathy never learn the cause or make it go away. Lots of blood was drawn for many tests; more will be revealed in the fullness of time.

The weather was perfect. Everything was beautiful. Everything was expensive.

I mitigated the medical nature of the trip with a little sightseeing to something that I have enjoyed since fourth grade. It took the edge off of the assault of freeways, a city, and all the accompanying stressors.

In fourth grade I built a version of the Santa Barbara mission using milk cartons covered in inside-out paper grocery bags, complete with little bells borrowed from my mom’s Christmas decorations. It was totally boss.

Some of these photos might be fun for my drawing students to work from. They are often on my mind, particularly during our 2 month summer break. And some of these might make nice paintings, but I tend to focus on local subjects, since my customers are primarily local.

I don’t mind. Freeways and cities are for other people. They can stay there, and I will occasionally visit, and probably stop at Trader Joe’s, because we will never get one in Tulare County.

MKPS Picnic in the Park

The Mineral King Preservation Society sponsors an annual picnic each year in Mineral King in July. It is a bring-your-own-picnic, bring-your-own-chair event. There is lots of chit-chat among friends, and each year a speaker brings stories of Mineral King for learning, entertainment, and for the preservation of history.

This year the speaker will be Trail Guy, telling of his three winters in Mineral King (before I met him).

He does NOT do public speaking, so I will be interviewing him, there to “prime the pump” and to carry him over verbal speed-bumps and snags.

He knows his story well, and I have been learning it over the past 39 years. It is . . .

. . . it is. . .

You gotta come hear it for yourself.

More Hot Times in Mineral King

Here is the continuation from Friday’s long post about hot times in Mineral King.

Evening light

In spite of the ferocious heat down the hill and the uncommon heat in Mineral King, the evenings were very pleasant.

One evening, Trail Guy went in search of his favorite flower, the leopard lily, more commonly known as the tiger lily. This doesn’t make sense to me, since the lily has spots rather than stripes, but the flower namers didn’t ask my opinion.

I followed along with my camera, because the light is so enticing at the end of the day.

There they are! Alas, too hard to get to; keep looking.

Down in the willows, almost indiscernible in this photo.

Here are some that Trail Guy could stick his nose into.

Popular Sight

When Hiking Buddy and I were trudging up the Nature Trail, I stopped for this classic photo, which never comes out right. My camera sees Sawtooth and the sky as almost the same color and value. (I messed with the sky color on the computer so you can see Sawtooth.)

That’s why I have to paint this scene; my paints can correct many photographic shortcomings.

Popular Hangout

The bridge at the end of the road is a popular place to hang out. Without fail, someone builds a dam every year.

Well-loved Juniper

A few years ago, this juniper was in jeopardy of being chopped down. A few of us protested, (my cousin, a tree guy/certified arborist also told me it still had plenty of life) and whoever was in charge changed his mind. I don’t mean that we marched around with signs and obnoxious behavior; we wrote letters in a very civilized manner.

It occurred to me that I have never painted this juniper. I wonder. . . if I left off the cars with blue tarps, took some license with the parking lot, would anyone else know or care what tree it is?

Hot Times in Mineral King

When it is Really Hot down the hill, it is just hot in Mineral King in the sun and on the trail. Sitting in the shade isn’t too bad, if you are covered in bug spray, the kind with a lot of DEET. When the heat is on, the biting bugs are very very active.

Independence Day

We raised the flag on Independence Day at the neighboring cabin with the tallest flagpole.

Work

Several mornings, I worked on another neighbor’s cabin trim, just until the hot sun hit.

before
after

Trail Guy was Road Guy before he retired, and he regularly uses many of his skills from that era for the benefit of Mineral King. Together, we pruned a very brushy section of road.

Before
during
during

I was too hot to take a decent “after” photo. Just wanted to go back to the shade and swat some biting flies and mosquitoes.

Crystal Creek Goes Rogue

One day we walked to Crystal Creek. I was shocked to see that it has changed channels.

The first section of stream has always (in my lifetime) been the strongest. (photo from 2021)
Now the first section is dry.

Keep walking—you will find the water.

Since I walk in my Crocs and my feet are numb, I am the one who gets to wade into the stream and toss rocks and logs around. Trail Guy and the Farmer put together a “bridge” so non-Croc-wearing folks who aren’t fond of cold water can cross with dry feet.

The flowers were great, as they always are in the beginning of July, even when the heat is ridiculous.

wild blue flax
blue-eyed grass and a dandelion
This larkspur was blue instead of purple

lots of baby’s breath

The trail was thick with lupine, and Spring Creek was roaring across the valley; good thing the bridge was up, because “EVERYBODY” goes to Eagle Lake.

Nature Trail

One afternoon, Hiking Buddy and I went down the road and then trudged up the Nature Trail in the humidity and bugs. This was a necessity, since there was way too much eating going on over that stretch of days.

I am not complaining, because compared to what the weather was down the hill, this was very pleasant. Besides, look where we were!

We didn’t stop to put our feet in because the biting bugs were ferocious.
When passing through this swampy area, a branch whacked me on the brim of my hat and knocked off my sunglasses. We looked several times, but they apparently have turned invisible.
Lupine never photograph as beautiful as they look in person. (Me either)

This post has gotten too long. How about if we continue on Monday?

Thinking About Old People Things

In case you were tired of watching paint land on canvas, here is another post on things I think about.

Now that I am firmly in the Ss, along with most of my friends, I am observing changes. We are beginning to do Old People Things. Much of what we have found normal most of our lives is now in the category of Old People Things. As I am wont to do, I have made a list.

  • Birdwatching—no one cares about birds until they hit their late 50s. Then, birdwatching becomes almost normal. Some people make lists, take photos, compare notes, and read books. Others just watch the birds. (Some of us try to keep our cats from catching and eating the birds.)
  • Dinner at 4:30—not us, but lots of people eat at 4:30 or 5:00. It’s probably better for digestion and sleep, but only if you don’t dive into snacking all evening.
  • Jeopardy—a few years ago I spent several nights with some friends. They “played” Jeopardy each evening, using a fancy gizmo on their teevee that allowed them to stop the action and take time to guess the answers. While in Texas, we “played” without that gizmo. It surprises me how many people my age love Jeopardy.
  • Reading a real newspaper—most people get their news from somewhere else now. Reading an actual newspaper made out of paper with ink on it is something you will only see old people doing, and sometimes you will find them. . .
  • . . .clipping an article—I clipped an article for a friend and found myself. . .
  • . . . putting it in an envelope with a stamp to the friend, which is unheard of because now people who are weird enough to read actual newspapers probably just photograph the article they want to share and text the photo to a friend. (Or they send a link. . .) but then I found myself
  • . . .handwriting a letter to go with it. Yeppers, I wrote a letter by hand, with a pencil on paper. This is very VERY old fashioned, and several of my friends and I do this anyway. We are in our 60s and can do almost what we want except when our bodies betray us which leads to. . .
  • . . .talking about medical problems is normal around old people. “When I had my gall bladder out. . .” “. . .sleep apnea, and the dadgummed machine. . .” “this stupid neuropathy. . .”
  • Wondering what in the world is wrong with people because they won’t look up from their phones.
  • Lamenting the loss of skills such as map reading, dialing a phone, driving a stickshift, reading a clock, speaking on a phone with manners, enunciating clearly, not using foul language as if it isn’t offensive, understanding basic punctuation, using a dictionary.

Is it an Old People Thing to think fruit is beautiful? Why is it here? Easy—because it is summer fruit!

Community Life in Mineral King

Mineral King is a place for backpackers, campers, day hikers, day trippers, and cabin folks. Today’s post is about the cabin community. (Last summer I posted regularly about cabin life.)

There are cabin communities all over the mountains in this country, and most likely in other countries too. I’ve written in the past (2018?) about what makes them special: Cabin Thoughts, One; Cabin Thoughts, Two; Cabin Thoughts, Three, A Few More Cabin Thoughts, and Final Final Cabin Thoughts.

Today’s post is what happens on a busy weekend in our cabin community of Mineral King. There are several parts to the community: our immediate neighbors, those across the creek, the settlement one mile down the road (formerly known as “Faculty Flat”, now “West Mineral King” is the preferred name, and no, I didn’t ask for pronouns); Silver City (private property 4 miles down the road); and Cabin Cove (7 cabins about 5 miles down the road from us).

This is what happens on any given weekend—the closer to the end of summer, the more activities. We:

  1. gather at someone’s cabin for “happy hour”, eat fun things, catch up with one another, and then are too full for dinner
  2. eat dinner together
  3. (Trail Guy and The Farmer, not me unless The Farmer isn’t around) help with various repairs. (The cabins are OLD.)
  4. hike together (hike: carrying pack with lunch and water)
  5. walk together (no pack, no lunch)
  6. give one another rides up and down the hill
  7. bring supplies for one another when coming up the hill
  8. share books
  9. lend knitting needles
  10. let people use our telephone (when we had one) and borrow the neighbor’s phone now
  11. clean up the platform for the annual “Music in the Mountains” event
  12. prune in one another’s yards (okay, that’s just me. . .)
  13. use a hav-a-hart trap to catch bushy-tailed woodrats (definitely Trail Guy, NOT me)
  14. explore historic sites
  15. lend tools
  16. repair water line breaks
  17. go through the junk we discover in our respective cabins, sometimes trading items of interest
  18. share missing recipe ingredients

We stay in touch throughout the year, because our friendships are solid, not simply seasonal.

Mineral King Without Hiking

There is always work to be done on cabins; I’m the self-appointed Chairman of the Neighborhood Beautification Committee. As such, I said “I can” when a neighbor asked if I knew of anyone who could paint the trim on his cabin. The very faded and peeling trim.

A new pair of socks is on the needle (yeppers, one pair at the same time on one needle).

There was a lovely evening time around a fire with neighbors who are cherished friends. We choose to hang out with our neighbors, and time up the hill is always enhanced by their presence.

I took a short (very short) walk to see what is in bloom. The lupine are profuse.

There is more larkspur than in the past, and it is very small.

In my ongoing efforts to learn trees, I stopped to photograph this lodgepole pine. Did you know that lodgepoles are the only 2-needle pines? That means the needles grow in pairs. Duh.

There is still whitewater, and yes, that is smoke obscuring the rock outcropping on Empire. There are multiple fires in the Sierra Nevada foothills right now.

It was so very green (if I ignored the smoky sky and the dead trees.)

Heading back, I was struck by how different this little group of aspens looked with the sunlight behind. (It is the same group of four shown in the previous photo.)

Thus, we conclude another few days of hanging out in Mineral King, keeping occupied without hiking.

Things I Don’t Understand

My life isn’t only focused on Mineral King and making a living with art. While I am puttering at the cabin or at home, painting, yardening, knitting, splitting wood, listening to something, I think.

Sometimes I think about things that I don’t understand. None of it is very important or life-altering. As a Questioner, I wonder about stuff. Here is a current list:

  • Sun tea: Who cares if it brews in the sun or in the refrigerator?
  • Sun-dried tomatoes: Who cares if they are dried in the sun, in a dehydrator, or on a shelf in the back window of your car?
  • Sea-salt: What difference does it make if the salt comes from the “sea” (don’t they mean “ocean”?), from Death Valley, or from those dreaded salt-mines?
  • Artisanal or hand-crafted: Does this actually improve the flavor?
  • Anti-science: since when is asking questions “anti-science”? I thought questions were how you figure out what is true.
  • Tailgating: it causes accidents, creates tension, and never causes the one in front to drive faster. What is wrong with people??
  • Horror movies: who wants to be scared? Why?? Isn’t life scary enough?
  • Have you noticed that there is a tremendous amount of advertising for beds, mattresses, and linens? Do you think there is some sort of correlation with the explosion of high-energy drinks available? Here, get amped up, and now you can’t sleep? Just buy a new bed!

If you leave comments and don’t hear back from me or see them appear, please be patient. It means I am in the Land of No Electricity, Phones, or Internet, probably thinking of more things that I don’t understand.

And now maybe you don’t understand why I used all these photos of sunflower paintings. Easy—because it is summer!