Tag Archives: Wilsonia

Wilsonia and Mineral King

While working on the book The Cabins of Wilsonia, sometimes people would ask why I was doing a book on Wilsonia iwhenI have a cabin in Mineral King. These are the top three reasons: 1. cabin communities matter; 2. I call my business Cabinart; 3. I like to document and portray the good things of Tulare County. *

But did you know that Wilsonia and Mineral King are tied together by the cabin that I married into?

In the spring of 1983, (2 years before I met my husband Michael), his family cabin in Mineral King blew up and burned down. It was next door to the Mixter cabin, whose permit had expired and was ordered by the Park to be torn down.

Over the course of the next 2 years, my husband pursued rebuilding his cabin and also the possibility of buying the Mixter’s cabin and turning his empty lot over to the Park to satisfy the law. Lots of red tape, lots of bureaucrats saying no, and then someone knew Someone who knew SOMEONE, and permission was granted to exchange his bare lot for the Mixter’s cabin with its expired permit.

While I was working on the book, Neal Mixter and I became friends. I gave him all the paperwork from Michael’s cabin exchange so he could study it and learn if there was a way to apply this experience to Wilsonia. He and other hard-working cabin folks went to endless meetings, and eventually they made a plan.

Maybe this is the reason that the Park has made its offer to exchange their unused cabins for private vacant lots. Maybe it isn’t, but I like to think that Michael’s experience with the Mineral King Mixter cabin and the Park got the ball rolling.

The Botkin cabin, formerly the Mixter cabin, Mineral King

*4. I already did a book on the cabins of Mineral King, called The Cabins of Mineral King; 5. I love to draw; 6. Several cabin folks in Wilsonia asked me to do a book on Wilsonia

More Quilt Squares

These are some of the many colorful painted quilt squares hanging around Wilsonia. Quilting is a large part of cabin life in this community of rustic and not so rustic cabins. Historic, new, doesn’t matter. . . cabins are just like quilting – TIMELESS!

Not Yet Printed and Already Out-Dated?

There is one last drawing that needed scanning. I drew the cabin several years before I decided to make the book The Cabins of Wilsonia. The photo taken with my old digital camera just isn’t good enough for the book!

I called the customers/friends/cabin owners (all those roles and titles have blurred) to ask if I can borrow back the drawing. The wife and I discussed a trip to Clovis or a trip to Wilsonia. The drive to Wilsonia is prettier, and it is actually closer, so that’s how we did this.

It meant leaving Three Rivers at 9:30 and just blasting up and back quickly (Driving 245 down fast was FUN!!) because I needed to get to Exeter to work on the mural on Rocky Hill Antiques. After retrieving the drawing, I did a short drive around Wilsonia.

Look! The road signs used to look like this:

Now they look like this. AND I saw 2 roads that are NOT in the book – Kearsarge and Muir. it’s okay – there are no cabins on them. Probably used to be. . . sigh.

And this charming, mysterious, always boarded up, and never occupied cabin now looks like this:

Well! Who knew that the book would be outdated before it even goes to press??

Book Report on Small Stuff

Getting closer every week. . . closer to what? Getting the book, The Cabins of Wilsonia, to the printer, that’s what!

Shooting stars are small, but in great numbers they make an impact, just like all the tasks left to do before the book goes to the printer.

What’s left?

1. Figure out how to align the page numbers perfectly so when you flip through the book, they don’t jump.

2. Redo the page numbers, which are off because I added 4 more pages in order to have multiples of 16.

3. Make sure the page numbers match the table of contents.

4. Write the acknowledgements page (and stop asking people to help because the page will need to be revised every time someone new helps!)

5. Decide if I want a Library of Congress Card Catalog Number.

6. Figure out how to convert the whole thing to the format required by the printer.

7. Count my pennies to see if I have enough to start the printing process.

8. Oh yeah – choose the paper for the pages. They don’t have my first choice, so I will have to be sure that I don’t get careless and accidentally choose my third choice instead of my second.

Small stuff, except for that page number repair business.

See how all those small shooting stars make an impact when assembled in a meadow. Very soon all my small drawings will be assembled in a cover!

Learning the Streets of Wilsonia

The Cabins of Wilsonia will be arranged alphabetically by street name. That is the same order in which I have been drawing all these cabins in pencil.

This is on Whitney. Now I’m on Willow Street. Willow Lane? Willow Road?

“Street” to me implies town or city. I think these “streets” should be called “roads” or “lanes”. Some are, some aren’t. It is getting on time to figure each of them out.

I wonder if I can name them all in order. Here goes:

Alta, Brewer, Cedar, Chinquapin, Fern, Fir, Grant, Hazel, Hillcrest, Kaweah, Laurel, LeConte, Lilac, Lily, Lupine, Manzanita, Mason, Palisades, Park, Pine, President’s, Sierra, Tehipite, Whitney, Willow.

Now I will look at my book design and see which ones I missed. I’m sure i will make me scream.

ARRRRRRUGGGGGGGGHHHH!

Goddard. Deepest apologies. You contain the cabin of the folks who used to own my home in Three Rivers.
Meadow! What is the matter with me? I can see it from the cabin where I have stayed twice. (Never mind the fact that it only officially contains one cabin. . .) Tyndall, how could I forget Tyndall?? I think I actually drew a cabin on Tyndall before I even did my book on the cabins of Mineral KIng. Plus, I know a kid (male child) named after this peak.

Once I begin working on the computer design, perhaps I will be able to name them all. Meanwhile, 25 of 28 isn’t too shabby.

More Photos That Won’t Be Drawn. . .

. . . at least they won’t be drawings in the upcoming book, The Cabins of Wilsonia but they might be drawn or painted for other purposes. Making decisions is a continual part of building a book. Sometimes I think I need a supervisor who will tell me what to do so I can question her decisions instead of always talking to myself.

I didn’t get much knitting done because when I go to Wilsonia, I am working, rather than being on vacation. However, when I am in Mineral King, I knit a great deal! Well, I don’t actually knit great deals. I actually knit sweaters, socks, and scarves. Actually. (There – have I ruined the word “actually” for you?)

Even though I continue to photograph this scene over and over because of the color of the umbrella against the wood color, a version of this will appear in the book, The Cabins of Wilsonia. (please forgive the repetition of the title – it is to assist the ubiquitous Mr. Google in finding this blog for new readers.)

A version of this might also appear in the book. All the greenery is a real booger to draw. However, I am a master at drawing boogery things.

Stop laughing.

Okay, go ahead and laugh. I want this blog to be fun!

Cabin Photos That Won’t Become Drawings. . .

. . . because they are about color rather than detail.

(This one would work, but I don’t need the book to have more pages – these decision are DIFFICULT!)

Cabin Life in Wilsonia, Part Three

The saga continues of my cabin life in Wilsonia. This is from only 4 days!! How do people stand the excitement of being there all summer long??

20. Meeting a family from all over California who gathered at their cabin and learning of their very rich history (as in full, not wealthy, although it could have been, but we didn’t get into that!). Almost every time I make new friends in Wilsonia, we discover connections in common.

21. Meeting Katie, whom I talked to on the phone last spring when she scheduled a star thistle eradication spraying appointment for my home in Three Rivers. Really! I recognized her voice when she told me where she works! What a cutie! (Isn’t everyone in their 20s cute??)

22. Re-meeting the superintendent, reassuring him that I don’t have cabins both in Mineral King and Wilsonia and that I am NOT stalking him, and learning that “Woody” is short for Woodrow – would you believe he is named after Woodrow Wilson?? Isn’t that really interesting??

23. Meeting Jill’s brother, Dave’s brother, and Dave’s brother’s wife, who remembers meeting me at my Exeter studio or some show I did way back when. Wow! Thanks, Marguerite!

24. Meeting Ty, who is a fantastic (and perhaps a little crazy) hiker, and hearing his adventuresome tales. This man KNOWS the area!

25. Further cementing my friendship with the wonderful Sheri, who gave me a tour of her beautiful cabin, which is a perfect blend of old and new. (More kudos to the master craftsman Mark Vetter.)

26. Discussing the oddities of running a one-person-business with the very talented and good-natured Paul. We share the inability to properly bill people who have become friends. (DO NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR WEAKNESSES, I beg you!!)

Original pencil drawing, Redwood & Dogwood, 14×11″, matted and framed, $400, available for sale here (Please forgive the shameless self-promotion. In spite of all the fun, I am earning a living here too.)

27. Meeting David, who is on a quest to visit every one of the largest Sequoias – twenty? forty? We had such a good time looking through his books and maps – Good luck on this, Dave! I will be in touch as I learn a few facts to share with you.

28. Learning with Dick and Mel how to handle the reproduction of my drawings for this project. No conclusions reached yet, but thank you for letting me practice with you two!

29. Enjoying more of the Best Grapes I Have Ever Eaten In My Entire Life – thank you Jill and Dave!

If you made it to the end of this post, you deserve a reward. How about a little eye candy?

There. Isn’t that restful? I hope you feel refreshed after our WWW (Whirlwind Weekend in Wilsonia)

Cabin Life in Wilsonia, Part Two

As I explore Wilsonia, meet people, and bother them about their lives at their cabins, I realize I am experiencing my own version of cabin life. Here is the continuation from Monday’s post.

10. Meeting the delightful owners of Leaky Hollow and learning of their lives, both cabin and “real”. What gifted and creative people, and such an interesting cabin!

11. Meeting Carol in person! She called me out of the blue last year, and it was a privilege to meet her and hear about all the cabins in her family.

12. Talking to someone (who did not introduce himself) about the roads of Wilsonia. He was in disbelief when I told him that many of the cabins share the same address numbers, differentiated only by the road names. He said it wasn’t possible. Clearly, we have different maps!

13. Listening to a presentation by Eric Blehm, author of The Last Season, a book about the search for a missing backcountry ranger. I had no idea that a similar search was taking place in Mineral King at the very time of his presentation. It didn’t turn out well either.

14. Visiting with Joanne, who finally has a cabin after years of only having a lot. What a wonderful lady!

15. Having breakfast with my hosts – cornmeal pancakes!

16. Working out details with the cantankerous, clever, unique and hilarious Dennis, whose wife is a saint, about how to draw his cabin. I am still amazed to have discovered them, because I bunked with their daughter at summer camp in the 5th grade.

17. Meeting Norm, who was very polite in spite of the fact that I failed to recognize him later when he was wearing a hat!

18. Working out details of how to draw another cabin with the very interesting Corky and Larry. Truly nice people with a life of variety. We enjoyed our conversation very much, because it is always refreshing to meet people with shared values.

19. Meeting Mary Anne and re-meeting Mary Ann, who was very kind and understanding about how I am designing the book. Wilsonia is full of very classy people.

To be continued. . .

Cabin Photography

Here are some of the photographs of beauty among the cabins of Wilsonia. (I’m talking about the real cabins of Wilsonia, not the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia which will not contain photos – didn’t want you to be confused. Or maybe I am confusing you with this paragraph. When it is about the book, it will be capitalized and italicized. Bet you figured that out on your own already.)

Are you just bowled over, wowed and half-dead from the beauty? Might need to catch your breath, maybe wipe a tear?

Yeah. I know. That’s how I feel sometimes too.