If you receive these posts in email and the pictures in the post don’t show for you, tap here janabotkin.net. It will take you to the blog on the internet.
Instead of showing you my current art projects or discussing the unending challenges and rewards of being a fulltime artist in Tulare County, today is another bonus peek at spring in Three Rivers.
These photos were taken on Friday morning.
Tomorrow I’ll show you my current odd job.
If you receive these posts in email and the pictures in the post don’t show for you, tap here janabotkin.net. It will take you to the blog on the internet.
This morning I went for a walk up Salt Creek (Bureau of Land Management property). It was so beautiful that it warrants an extra blog post of photographs.
The first photo was taken at the Dinely bridge while waiting for my walking buddy to arrive. The rest are on the BLM property.
There is a new parking lot at the top of Salt Creek Road, but the gate prevents anyone from using it. We went that way because the 2 footbridges crossing Salt Creek got washed away.
This is the side trail to that pond, obliterated now.
This used to have a nice footbridge across it. Now there is no footbridge at all, nice or otherwise.
With a bit of warmth, the redbud will be popping out soon. (It already is in yards in Three Rivers.)
If you receive these posts in email and the pictures in the post don’t show for you, tap here janabotkin.net. It will take you to the blog on the internet where the photos will show.
When there is an event, everyone is a photojournalist. I am your photojournalist reporting from the middle fork of the Kaweah River in Three Rivers. There is a lot of action in other parts of town, but it is fairly sane in our neighborhood. I continue to be thankful that we couldn’t afford riverfront property when we moved here, and thankful to have a house that was here pre-1955 when The Big Flood happened.
This is also known as the main fork of the Kaweah. We live about 1/2 mile above it and often walk to the Dinely Bridge to see how it looks.
Lots of snow is still hanging in there, in spite of the warm rain.
We took a walk, and Trail Guy carried a big rake. He tried to free up some gunk clogging a culvert so that mud stops flowing across our road.
Moro Rock is visible up the canyon while the Alta Peak elephant hides behind clouds.
Back to the Dinely Bridge, looking upstream
Looking upstream to the Dinely side of the bridge (makes me think of Olivia Newton John’s song “The river’s too wide now for crossing. . .”)
Looking upstream to the Sierra (Hwy. 198) side of the bridge
Looking downstream
Looking downstream toward the highway
Looking downstream with Comb Rocks in the distance
Back home for a brief moment of sunshine (hi Pippin!)
We got a call from an adventurous friend who rode his bike up the Mineral King Road. (He likes to do things like that. . .ride to Mineral King, run to Eagle Lake, and ride home in the summer). He took many photos for us where the road is “gone-zo” (his term) about 4.5 miles up.
These are some of his photos of various washouts and blowouts and gone-zo-outs. I’m not sure where each one is, but know that the county has a ton of work ahead.
He also sent videos, but those don’t work here. Many similar photos were posted on the Book of Faces by one of his traveling companions, and several friends sent me screen shots. Our friend called us before they went public. Thank you, Dennis V!!
If you receive these posts in email and the pictures in the post don’t show for you, tap here janabotkin.net. It will take you to the blog on the internet for a rain report.
Thursday night brought 4-1/2″ of rain.
My neighbor asked if I wanted to go looky-looing on Friday morning. Her car is higher than mine, and I immediately replied YES.
She manages a vacation rental on the North Fork. This is the view from the backyard at the normally mild fork that often dries up in the summer.
This is the North Fork flowing over the top of the Airport Bridge (there used to be an airport nearby). The whitewater is where the water hits the railing that the county used to remove when floods were predicted. Now they prefer to leave the railings up, which causes the water to flow around and wash out the approaches. This happened in January. Here we go again.
This is by my studio and workshop.
Later in the afternoon I went walking with another neighbor to survey the ongoing excitement and damages. This usually dry drainage was roaring over the road by her house, so we went another direction.
Same drainage, farther down, closer to the river.
Looking upstream from the Dinely Bridge.
Looking downstream on the Dinely Bridge.
No, really, LOOK AT THIS!!
Pretty little drainage coming off Edison Road.
In a friend’s yard, where the water is usually a bit of a distance away. Not so today.
This is a spot where lots of people trespass at the river on this little beach. We could hear boulders banging around beneath the current.
Another little drainage along Kaweah River Drive. This is where overflow from the flume occasionally flows.
A yard where the flume flows is very exciting right now.
Well, oops. This is where we turned around. There was a roaring stream across the road. I tested it with a stick, and it was about a foot and a half deep.
Looking upstream at this drainage, wondering where it came from. A man who lived above was out walking and explained that someone built a pond incorrectly, the dam on it broke, and the result is that many people are trapped on the other side.
Walking back, you can see that the water is very close to the road. In the early 2000s, I saw it closer. I was scared then, and I shouted at my neighbor who was driving, “GO FORWARD, GO BACK, OR LET ME OUT, BUT DON’T JUST STOP HERE!”
What’s this??
Mandatory evacuations.
This is the view upcanyon from the Remorial Building. I said “Remorial” because another neighbor thought that was the correct pronunciation when she was a child. She is getting married in 21 days, but we still pronounce it that way.
A sheriff was going through the neighborhood around 7 p.m. last night to tell us about evacuation orders. But Trail Guy met him at the bottom of the driveway and said no, we aren’t going anywhere. The sheriff gathered our name, phone numbers, address, and went on his way. Our house was built before the ’55 flood, so we feel fine.
If you receive these posts in email and the pictures in the post don’t show for you, tap here janabotkin.net. It will take you to the blog on the internet.
Several friends asked if we got snow last week. We hadn’t on Friday when I sent out a newsletter stating no snow.
Then, it snowed on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Not very much (we are at 1000′), but it stayed cold all day so the parts that weren’t dissolved by rain stayed around.
Pippin wasn’t interested in being an outdoor cat on Saturday.
On Sunday, snow was still visible on the foothills around our house.
Because it was a little bit sunny, we took a short walk. All the little drainages were flowing.
I was thinking about flowers and cold: flowers are kept in refrigerators at florist shops, so this can’t be too bad. These daffodils will probably bounce back. 
The rosemary is certainly flourishing.
More snow and rain is coming.
Don’t you just love wet winters in California??
While I am waiting to begin the murals at the giant church in Visalia, I have time to paint. However, I don’t have any deadlines, no upcoming shows, no commissions (there are a couple, but they are still in the conversation stage), and it has been BEE-YOO-TEE-FULL outside.
So, I work a little, walk a little, and work a little more.
When I am thinking about walking, it is a little bit hard to focus on detail. So, the detail on this 6×18″ oil painting of Tulare County’s best will have to wait.
Let’s make like a tree and leaf.
Nothing in particular to photograph, just the same beautiful scenes of February in my Three Rivers neighborhood.
The elephant on Alta Peak is very clear, with a shadow making an ear and a rocky place making an eye. His back leg is significantly larger than his front. And there is Moro Rock.
A neighbor’s narcissus are in bloom. Mine are too, but I don’t want you to get too bored with the repetition here.
Back to work, Central California Artist!
This is 10×20″. Sawtooth is the peak on the left, and Homer’s Nose is visible on the right. 
I photographed this at an angle so you could see a bit of the reference photo minus the glare.
Nothing is finished after today’s disjointed painting attempts, but there was progress made, and February was enjoyed. Such a short month. Sigh.
The recent storms in Three Rivers have been very exciting. Water can do damage, but it isn’t scary like fires. Fire is capricious and random, but water flows downhill and in obvious channels, so one can simply use caution and enjoy the power. Many friends have called or emailed to ask if we are doing okay, because Three Rivers was in the local news and even made the weather channel (causing my aunt in Arkansas to call to check up on us)! But we couldn’t afford riverfront property 24 years ago, and thus, we are doing just fine in the “rain events”. (When did rain stop being just rain or perhaps a storm and become an “event”?)
Today I will simply show you a smattering of water photos. I walked to the Dinely Bridge in the rain several times, and we took lots of walks around the neighborhood. Trail Guy, formerly known as Road Guy, usually carried either a shovel or an iron rake, his waterology work a gift to the neighborhood. (When did people stop giving one another things and start “gifting” them?)
The photos are not identified by date, water flow, or location. There will be some redundancy, because after awhile, it became hard to tell when each photo was taken. Yes, I know there are dates on photos, but sometimes I just want to coast a little bit. (Have you ever tried writing a blog 5 days a week for almost 15 years?? If so, you know that sometimes a blogger just wants to slide a bit.) They are just here for your gawking pleasure, minus the wet feet and shoulders. (When did raincoats and jackets stop being waterproof?)
Maybe next week I will do some work. Maybe next week I’ll learn when I get to start the murals at the big Catholic church in Visalia.
Yesterday we turned around at Lookout Point after walking up the steepest section of the Mineral King Road, and headed back downhill.
Trail Guy, formerly known as Road Guy, explained that the old road above sloughed off and caused the disturbance that stopped our forward progress. This spot is ABOVE the gate and BELOW Lookout Point.
While he was puttering in the water and mud, I photographed these bay leaves. Too bad we can’t do scratch-and-sniff here.
This weird boulder with its odd indentations is just below where we stopped driving. AGAIN: Above the gate and below Lookout.
I walked down to White Rock, formerly known as Bird Poop Rock, which I explained at the beginning of this post.
Still ABOVE the gate and BELOW Lookout.
We encountered some folks along the way back, and while the dudes were shooting the breeze, I photographed this tree with peculiar bark clusters. (I have no idea. . .)
Ahead is a typical slump of a saturated bank, and beyond that are “the potholes”. This is BELOW the gate.
This is Squirrel Creek, AKA “The Potholes” in this location; it has big holes in the slippery rock face, normally visible and very enticing to folks driving down the hill. Fantastic water flow!
This section of road could be a bit of a problem for a HumVee or other wide vehicle. The county road department certainly has its work cut out for next few weeks (months?). This is BELOW the potholes.
Here is another mess. Also below the potholes.
Look at what is happening along the gutter side of the road. I wanted to get out and play in the water, but we’d been gone long enough.
All the rest of these photos are below the potholes above the Oak Grove Bridge
These folks will have some difficulty accessing their driveway for awhile. It isn’t a primary residence, the owners live far away, and I doubt if they will be too troubled or even know about it. “Whose drive this is, I think I know; his house is in the city though. He will not see us stopping here to watch his drive slide down the road.” (With apologies to Robert Frost)
What is going on here? That plant is shooting up out of the pavement. And so much for last summer’s pothole patching efforts.
Messy, messy, messy.
Let’s conclude this weird little road trip with a look at my favorite bridge. It has been quite a few years since I have been able to see the water because of all the growth obstructing the view. 
Thank you for joining us on this tour. Maybe next week I’ll get some work done and show it to you.
FOR CLARIFICATION: WE DID THIS LITTLE ROAD TRIP THE DAY BEFORE THE PARK ISSUED THEIR ROAD CLOSED DECREE.
We knew that the Mineral King road was closed, because it is always closed in the winter. However, we were curious as to how it fared in last week’s fierce storms.
There were many places where mud had slumped down off the bank, but nothing photo worthy or a problem to a slow driver on an almost empty road.
Looks as if the flume needs a bit of work, just below the Oak Grove Bridge.
We crossed the bridge, went through the first gate (about 9 miles up the road), and then a mile or two later, decided we didn’t need to go any farther.
I waded across while Trail Guy put on his boots.
We then walked up the road to Lookout Point. Trail Guy was Road Guy before retirement, and he couldn’t resist doing a bit of work along the way. I asked lots of questions, trying to understand how he determined what needed to be done, and what was too much trouble for a shovel and an iron rake.
The view of Sawtooth from Lookout was very reassuring to those of us who prefer winters with a good snowpack.
This little section below Lookout is the steepest stretch of the road. Being somewhat unmotivated and definitely out of shape, walking to Lookout Point felt like enough of a walk, so that’s where we turned back.
Things are so open, so barren after the 2021 fire. It is a treat to be there when it isn’t hot and the air is clear.
A visitor, but he didn’t hang around for an introduction.
That’s enough for today. I will continue our little road trip along the Mineral King road in search of water (damage) tomorrow.
UPDATE FOR CLARIFICATION: These photos are posted in a strange order. The first ones of road collapse are BELOW Lookout Point, but ABOVE the gate. We walked up to Lookout Point, photographed Sawtooth, walked back down. I took a few photos on the way back to the Botmobile, then more photos of Trail/Road Guy doing a bit of shoveling.
ONE MORE THING: We went the day before the Park issued their ROAD CLOSED decree.
So far, we are having a most welcome wet winter in Three Rivers. This results in Trail Guy and I chasing the sun. In the past handful of winters, we could walk around on the lake bottom (Kaweah Lake, formed by Terminus Dam on the Kaweah River when I was about 4 or 5 years old).
This year, it is flooded. The dam was built for flood control, irrigation storage, and recreation. Right now the focus is on flood control. Before it was built, Visalia, about 30 miles west, flooded. The last big flood was 1955. (I wasn’t born, so I don’t remember.)
This is looking west, walking along the road that used to be the main way in and out of Three Rivers, until the dam was built.
Looks like our short walk ends here.
Looks nice and green, but most of the ground around the lakebed is thick with cockleburs. They love socks and frayed hems and gortex shoes.
Turning back, this is the view. That’s Alta Peak, also visible from home. Yeppers, that’s the peak with an elephant in profile, visible when there is snow.
Is this lake or river? How about both. It is where the river meets and becomes lake.
Here’s one last big view of Alta. Can you see the elephant? I showed you in this post back in January last year..
Tomorrow, we will chase the water (damage) in Three Rivers and up the Mineral King Road.