ABOUT TOWN AND THE AMERICAN RIVER PARKWAY December 2, 2007

Up early this fine Sunday, and not wishing to burn any gas, I left my car parked, and walked over to a restaurant to have a modest breakfast. Going back home, I saw on TV that the runners in the California International Marathon were approaching the finish.

Quickly walking over to the race course, along a city street, I managed to use my digital video on the front runners. A Kenyan man was well in the lead. I had read in a L.A. Times editorial, years ago, that a highly objectionable rule limited the number of winners from a single country, in another such race. Apparently, by the article, some race organizers don't like too many of the wrong kind of people winning!

Reminded of the same such hatred by the local enviro club, I merely had gone on, doing peaks and hikes mostly on my own, currently. I visited a local electric utility exhibit at the State Capitol, and went over to watch the marathon finishers. I hoped for a single, great shot to place on my website.

My L10 had several problems, one being that a "cannot record movie" message kept stopping my video shooting. It takes several seconds to reset the camera, so if there would be a fast approaching, impending clip to capture, you will have lost the moment. Also, perhaps with the low winter lighting, my focus sometimes didn't lock properly. I get a lot of blur warnings, too, and it's faster to click "yes," on saving those.

I shot many photos, as I could. There seemed to be less people attending the event than before. It was a cold morning, but there was sun. The fall colors were nice, and this is a great time of the year to have such a fine event! Several women were among the front runners, too, and they have a separate finish for them. How political incorrectness still dictates the scene!

I finished with my photography, and went home to download the images into my computer.

It was time for a hike. Just after 1:30 p.m., I caught the light rail toward Folsom, and debarked at a stop to wait for a transfer bus. That line schedule is about an hour between runs, on a Sunday. I walked up the main boulevard to do some more photography, then caught the bus out to the tiny village of Fair Oaks, CA.

I enjoyed the holiday decor, and walked over to the Bluffs. Someone had "tagged (sprayed graffiti)" the lovely oaks, and this was a shame. I noted the bike trail was closed, with a detour, due to construction of a new boat ramp. They are building a nice, new, stone restroom, there too, which should come in very handy for me!

By the way, I have to delete older accounts of hikes and peaks, due to lack of webspace. If anyone is reading this, feel free to e-mail me for a copy of any page that you can remember. It was hard, but I had to delete mention of my day hike, on October 12, 2001, of my 4X on Mt. Whitney, and also a day bus ride to bag Half Dome, 2X, in Yosemite. I also keep good notes, and photo notes, on many details, as gas prices, food, and good lodging or camping deals.

I thoroughly liked viewing the wildlife today, with spawning salmon, and many birds. Nature at its best, about town! The sun was setting, and I didn't have time to go all the way to Folsom. Getting past Hazel Avenue, I detoured on the pedestrian bridge over U.S. 50, and ran over, at times, to the light rail station.

Magic hour wasn't very good, here. I figured what I'd do this night, and I'd be busy sharing my day's adventures. I got home for part of the evening news, and then to my computer.

Walking some 6.5 miles, I had done negligible gain. I shot some 460 images and movie clips. Only spending for train fare, without the 25 cent bus transfer, due to the holidays, that came to four dollars exactly, for my exercise.

I now am ready, with 6,000 miles to drive before next June. I surmise that I'll be driving about the Desert Southwest, for what peaks, I wouldn't be sure. There are a few left for me to climb, but I'd love to repeat many of them, hopefully having along a great partner, to ride at my currently 40 mpg.

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