The Road to Mineral King

Mineral King Road leads from Three Rivers to the small mountain town of Mineral King, about 25 miles out a winding mountain road from Three Rivers. Mt. Whitney with peaks reaching a 14000 ft. elevation towers above.

Mineral King was an old silver mining community back in the 1800's. Disney discovered Mineral King back in the mid 60's and thought it was the most beautiful place in the world. It was Walt Disney's dream to turn Mineral King into a world class ski resort, but was thwarted by the first major success of the Sierra Club - Thank goodness. I cannot imagine what our foothill community would look like today if Disney had realized his dream.

Last weekend we headed to mineral King for a great hike and some homemade pie at the Silver City Resort.

About 8 miles out Mineral King Road you will drive across the old historic Oak Grove Bridge. The bridge spans the East Fork of the Kaweah River which is a series of pools and falls as the it drops in elevation from 14000 ft. to Three Rivers. The drive to MK winds along the edge of the canyon overlooking the river and is stunningly beautiful. The drive is winding and rugged and it takes about 2 hours to go 25 miles.
Mineral King is only open in the summer from about Memorial Day until mid September and closes after the first snow. This is the Silver City Resort where you can rent cabins and homemade pies are baked daily. I had rhubarb, mountain berry pie a la mode. It was tart and wonderful.
At about the 6000 ft. elevation we began to see the Giant Sequoia's which always take my breath away. The enormous size and red color make these giants stand out in the forest.
At the end of the road, the canyon opens up with Mt Whitney towering in the distance. This was early June and the wild flowers had not begun to bloom. Cabin owners were just starting to open their cabins from the winter. We hiked a small mountain trail along the stream and in no time at all we were in the snow. What a spot!

Studio Tour 8

Three Rivers has many talented artists and craftsman and biennially the Arts Alliance of Three Rivers sponsors an Artist's Studio Tour where local artists who open their studios and we get to see some wonderful creative work and the studios where the art is created.

This year 18 studios were on tour providing a great day exploring the area finding these hidden jules nestled in the Oaks.

Steeped in Arts and Music!

The 35th Annual JazzAffair sponsored by the High Sierra Jazz Club.
The Jazzaffair is a wonderful event in Three Rivers with people coming from all over the country to hear great Jazz in the foothills of the Sierra's. There are 3 venues around town with jazz playing full time for 3 days.

My favorite venue is the Lion's Roping Arena where music is played in a band shelter and we sit on the grass under the stars. I love live music of any kind as long as it is good - and this is good!

Our own High Sierra Jazz Band is famous and can be heard on cruise ships and other locations around the world.

The Jazzaffair is not the only music to be heard in Three Rivers. We have a Redbud Festival in May, performances at the Three Rivers Art Center, a Concert on the Grass in the Fall and live music at various locations every weekend.

Venture up to Three Rivers and relax along the river while enjoying some great music. We would love to see you here.

Isn't Water Wonderful?

Anyone who has stood in awe along a river, next to waterfalls or a lake, has experienced the nearly hypnotic effect of water on the human heart. We just can't seem to get enough of it. Being near water simply allows us to slow down, calm down, and enjoy being alive.

Three Rivers has 4 rivers running through it leading to Lake Kaweah. Wherever I go in Three Rivers I am along the river of the lake and it soothes my soul. What a great place to own your own spot on the water!

IT'S RIVER TIME!

All is well in Three Rivers. We had a hot spell last week and it is
cooling down today. With the heat came the melting snow. The lake is
almost at full capacity and the river was flowing at 3700 cfs (that's
like 3,700 basketballs all floating by you in a second).
When the river is at 4,000 cfs the professional rafting companies will
not risk going out on trips. So... my daughter went out on a midnight
raft run tuesday night with the other guides. She arrived home at 3 am
and said it was so much fun. What a nut! She is quite an adventurer
and always keeps us praying. I hope you have a chance to enjoy a
Kaweah River whitewater trip. The next two or three will be the very
best! See you soon!

Good Morning on Kaweah River Drive

This morning I ran into my neighbor, Dick Burns while on my morning hike along Kaweah River Drive. He was on his morning bird watching walk. When I greeted him with a "Good Morning Dick," he smiled and said

"It was only a glad good morning

as she passed along the way,

but it spread the mornings glory

over the live long day"

Dick is a retired park service employee and a lifelong bird watcher, hence the field glasses around his neck. Just this morning, he pointed out a Red Tail Hawk's nest and babies way up in the top of our neighbors Sycamore tree. Dick knows the names of all the local birds and many of the migratory birds traveling through the area heading to points North and South. He has a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm and loves to share his excitement about visiting birds with his neighbors.

It is a joy to live in this wonderful community where people know your name and greet you warmly along trails and in business's throughout Three Rivers. The warmth of our community is one of the things most newcomers find endearing.

Three Rivers has great Karma!

The Yokuts Indians were the first settlers in Three Rivers and pictographs and indian grinding rocks are found all around the area. Indians lived along the rivers where crystal clear water runs down the mountains out of the High Sierra's.

Three Rivers was a "utopian community" in the 1800's for a group of settlers who came to the area with hopes of making their fortune in the logging industry. Their community settled out the North Fork where the oldest and smallest, continually operating post office in America still exists as evidence of their days in Three Rivers

In the '60's Disney discovered the Mineral King area of Three Rivers and declared it the most beautiful place he had ever seen. Disney tried to develop Mineral King into a world class ski resort, but was prevented from realizing his dream in a large part because of the first major victory of the Sierra Club. Thank goodness! I cannot even imagine how different Three Rivers would be today if Disney had prevailed.

Today there are about 2500 people in Three Rivers and it is a scene of unspoiled beauty, nature preserved, spectacular changing seasons and a peaceful way of life.