December 31 - Last / First Light


Happy New Year!  Hopefully the madness continuing for us all for quite some time, a portion of beyond at markalburger2017.blogspot.com


As for the Eve day...  Well, the sun sets,


and what's ahead offer glimmers of hope,


on the 55th and last day of fall, high 57, composing a second page of 24 Tone Preludes, Op. 260: V. Foothills of Annapurna....

December 30 - Rising Up Against the Odds


The


Eve of the


Eve of the


New Year


(54th of fall, high 61 --


60 in Winters),


and more than a little trepidation,


setting out for the 27th Inner Coast Range North Walk --


hazards also in the proceedings,


walking on 23 West


(so modest, however, compared to those we will undoubtably continue to face in 2017) --


a relatively narrow course with distinctly greater traffic, this close to Esparto --


from the junction of 86A to


86,


looping


around


and


returning


via


descending


Yolo


County


roads


in


the


80's


and


505,


to begin composition re 24 Tone Preludes, Op. 260: V. Foothills of Annapurna...

December 29 - Canyons of the Mind


At last the long loop up into Cache Creek Canyon,


preceded,

on


this


53rd


day of


extended fall (high 60 locally / Colusa; 59 Yolo),


by the 26th Inner Coast Range North Walk,


on 86A


North from


Water Tower Compound,


across Brown / Green Fields


 to the intersection


of


23.


From here, westward to 22, northeast against Lamb Valley Slough Cliffs


to


85B,


and


the


grand


journey up 16,


northwesterly,


into Capay Valley,


lunching at the


Indian gambling complex midway,


its spectacular location


belying


 a


typical establishment focussed entirely inward,


with an array of sounds that inspired a section of Symphony No. 1, Op. 61: IV.


Repast at Canyon Cafe,


a gauntlet of


machines


and


tables,


debouching


back


into


the


magnificent


prospects.


Back in


the car,


onward to


 Brooks,


Canon School,


Sweitzer Hills,


Tancred,


Guinda,


on


and


on


to


Rumsey,


where


the


world narrows and the


Snow Mountain / Berryessa National Monument and


other land preservation agencies


finally provide ready access of the type


not really found to the south all the way until the Greater Bay Area....


Stop to take in the


views more measuredly at


several picnic areas on either side of the


county border,



scoping out


potential future


hikes --


then make


our way


to the


junction of


20,


and


eventually


down


the


Salt


Creek


passage


to


the


Central


Valley


and


Williams.


At this point,


about an hour's home,


through


Arbuckle,


Dunnigan,


the


Zamora


Hills,


the


environs


of


Esparto,


Winters,


and


beyond, finishing composition of 24 Tone Preludes, Op. 260: IV. Sound Perfumes (4 pages total)...