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Living in the mountains for the past 17 years has been a huge blessing for me. It is not an easy life for many people because you have to be able to live somewhat isolated from civilization!  When it takes you 90 minutes to drive to your supermarket, it can be too much of an inconvenience for many - but for us, it is paradise!

I absolutely love living one mile closer to heaven!  We have water that comes from an artesian well, which means that it is deep below the surface of the earth and doesn't need to be pumped up.  Rather the pressure pushes it up for us - and it... is... DELICIOUS!   I am so used to our clean, toxin-free water - that it's hard for me to drink water in other places! hehehe

We are high up in elevation which means we are above all the pollution and fog of the area. The air smells fresh and clean, and the pines that surround us give the air a sweet spicy scent from the needles!  

The sounds are far from the city - you'll only hear birds, wind and creeks up here.  It is so divine and peaceful - it is well worth the drive AWAY from the city to be up here in all of nature's glory!

Today, I'll take you from the top of the mountain with two of my dearest friends @samsmith1971 and @bluefinstudios, and then we'll take you all the way to the bottom to the river.  It looks MUCH different than the pictures that you'll see here today!  Now, the dam is filled to the brim with all of our recent flooding - and you'll be happy to know that after years of drought, California is finally declared OUT of drought!  hooray!

At the top of the mountain, you can see far into the beautiful valley.  We aren't too far from King's Canyon at this point - where you can see the gorgeous Giant Sequoias!  But that might have to be a post for another time.  Greg had to get out his fancy camera to take some of these shots - but I was aiming for my friends!

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Ok - the convinced me - I have to take a look at what they're seeing!  Want to see with me?

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Breathtaking, isn't it? I love how the sun is in that perfect position to splatter rays all over the valley!  This is right off the Highway 180 at a scenic lookout, and we are about 7 miles outside of the Kings Canyon National Park - home to the great General Sherman tree!

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Here is another angle - I love how the mountains seem to just fade off into the misty clouds.  It doesn't seem like we are very high here, but we are at about 5000 feet in elevation here!

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Of course we had to get a shot of the three of us!  These little "dreemups" hehe  (thanks for that word @shadowspub!)  are so important to me.  It's great that we get to connect online and across the world through the ease of typing on a computer - but there is nothing more special than to actually feel the warm hug of friends, hear their laughter, see their faces before you, eat meals together, and just connect online to offline!   These pictures bring that feeling RIGHT BACK to me and make me realize how many more "dreemups" I'd like to have!

Now we're heading down to the Kaweah River - one of our favorite, most peaceful spots!  Every time that they come to visit me - we have to go see the river and I'm hoping when they come again in October, they'll be able to still see it full and brimming from all the rain and snow we've had!  Let's take a walk through this magic portal tree to get there hehehe

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Doesn't that look so inviting?  I would have liked to have a picnic here under the cool shade of that tree! hehehe  When you're in this area, there is a nice little wind current that flows through constantly so you're always getting a breeze to cool you down.  It's so peaceful!

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It's hard to believe but this little "trickling waterfall" is now probably under 10 feet of water, due to the snow melting here!  Though I love seeing all these rocks and hearing the gurgling of the water as it winds its way over, forming its own path - I'm THRILLED that its very DEEP below the surface now! hehee

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If you look far into this picture, you can see that there is snow on the mountains in the distance!  The haze makes it difficult to see clearly - but it's there on the tippy top! Now you would be seeing almost the entire mountain in that scene covered with snow! hehehe  And see the mountains in the foreground?  How brown and dry they are?  No longer!  They are lush and green for a time - until summer comes! hehehe  

I love how glassy the water is in this photo, and if you take a look at the large boulders there - you can tell that they are USED to being under the water.  Can you figure out why?  Hint: their shape!  hehe  They don't have sharp jagged edges, but smoothed!  The water rushing by them softens them into curved rocks! hehe  Once again, they are now submerged under lots of water too!  

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Do you recognize that tree? hehehe It's our portal, but we're looking from the OTHER side now - towards the little shore that leads to the river.  Here is where Sam and Greg and I just stand still, breathe, and enjoy the sounds of still serenity.  It's so tranquil - we feel calm but rejuvenated here - every time!


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In the summer and fall, lots of families come here to swim in these waters.  They don't really seem deep enough for me!  But when its hot in California, I suppose you don't really need it to be so deep - just wet and cold! hehe  When the water is low like this, it's more like a maze to navigate and play in!  



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For the last image, a shot from up higher on a rock, looking down on the river - and seeing the beautiful tree-dotted mountains in the background. Believe it or not, cows graze up there on those mountains! hehe  Not just any cows, but happy California cows that have the a range of mountains to themselves!

I hope you enjoyed this little peaceful journey from the top to the bottom of my mountain!  If you'd like to visit - tell me when you're in the area and I'll come give you a tour!  

All images are mine

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This post has been entered into Pinmapple and also - its a Wednesday Walk post for my dear friend @tattoodjay who invites us all to share our world with him every Wednesday!  If you haven't joined in to either of these communities - please do try!! :)


# WHERE IN THE WORLD IS DREEMIE CLUE!!!

I hope you've been using your noodle! hehehe Here are some more picture clues for you! Are you clever enough? 😊


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[//]:# (!pinmapple 36.41163 lat -118.93780 long Sweet, Still Serenity! d3scr)




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