Camping (2015)

Pratibha, the kids and I love camping. And I love it that parks here provide all sorts of amenities for camping. Showers, flush toilets .. running water at the campsite (sometimes) etc etc . Every time summer rolls around, we head out to the mountains for a weekend or two underneath the stars. The process is tried, tested and stress free. We usually start off with a morning hike and set up camp after the kids are tired. Sona and Megha would go looking for animal tracks and Pratibha would get busy with the camp stove while I setup the tent and supplies. Once the tent is up, there'll be hot tea, some snacks, a book and a hammock ready for me (she prefers a chair). Around sunset the kids come back. We light a fire and kick off grilling. Corn, veggie patties, marshmellows, fish burgers, baked bananas .. just lots of food. Afterwards, when the fire dies down, I lie in the hammock and point out star constellations to the kids .. Alright fine .. most of the time I make up a name .. dad's got to survive. They can sense weakness.

Sometimes though, the wheels fall off. Last summer we camped near lake Cuyamacca. Sites there are hard to get and I usually monitor them year round for openings on a good weekend. One Friday I saw an opening for friday and sat night. I could camp that very night. Some fool had a last minute emergency and must have cancelled. I pounced and roared in triumph. Called up Pratibha and told her to get off work early. She wasn't sure. 

Sonu : "Nikku .. we need to pack, get the kids ready .. can we do it?"

I insisted ..  we've been looking for a campsite here for ages. 

"But we'll get there after dark"

I scoffed at that with utter contempt .. I'd setup a tent so many times, I could do it with a blindfold .. on one leg .. holding babies in both hands. 

"Btw ... any idea why they cancelled"

"who cares ... lets do this"

I rushed out, grabbed the kids from school, and headed home after a quick stop at the grocer. I'm no greenhorn. Last minute is never an issue for a professional like me. I mean .. I have a checklist in a spreadsheet printed and pasted over my bedpost. So I wasn't even nervous. Methodically packed up all the stuff while the kids got ready. 

Tent ... grabbed it and threw it in the car

ice and Ice box .. in the van

grill tools ... in the van

cooking utensils .. in the van

corn, burgers, veggies .. in the van

Paneer .. skip it

Hammock and chairs.. in the van

Toiletries .. in the van

clothes .. in the van

lanterns .. in the van

sleeping bags, jackets, air beds, charcoal, lighter fluid, duraflame log, .. man I was good .. I didn't even need to look at the spreadsheet anymore. Soon as Pratibha got home we headed out. We were halfway there when I asked her to check the weather. Night was going to be in the high 30s Farenheit (2-4 deg centigrade). Still warmer than the ice in Pratibha's eyes. "That explains why the others cancelled" she said coldly. I feigned nonchalance and kept driving. "Those sleeping bags are rated at 32 .. I guess we'll find out how good they are huh" .. I croaked. By the time we got to the campsite it was 9 O clock. I stepped out .. stepped back in .. crawled sorrowfully to the back of the minivan and dug out my thickest jacket. It was freezing. I knew exactly where this was leading. That elder daughter of mine never feels cold. She would insist on setting up the tent and sleeping inside. Pratibha and Megha would curl up in the back of the minivan .. which can take a fullsize mattress once emptied. 

"Anyone want's to go home? .. I can drive while you sleep" I squeaked. 

"No way" .. came 2 full throated roars from the back seat. 

"We just got here" "I haven't even looked at the sky yet" " "We have to explore the woods tomorrow" "And you promised to take me to the lake .. remember"

"Alright .. Alright" I said raising my voice over the cacophony. "I'll setup the tent" 

I could feel the icicles in my lungs by the time I was done with that. To top it all, I had left the tent flap at home. "So much the better" Said Sona "We can see the night sky"I grabbed the lantern and looked whistfully at the Pratibha and Megha cozily cuddled up in the back of the minivan. "Come on .. come on Papa .. it's not even snowing". "Fine .. you polar bear .. I'm coming". She crawled into the sleeping bag, curled up, and was lost in dreams in 5 mins. I tried to curl .. the dratted bag was too small. My face poked out. It was going numb in the cold. I wondered when frostbite strikes. I don't know when I fell asleep. Maybe I just cryo froze and thawed in the morning. That was the coldest I'd ever camped in without heat. Luckily, by morning, things picked up and temperatures returned to normal. Sat night, we were back to our usual camping routine and I still love camping. 

Yellowstone Road Trip(Summer 2013)

Last summer I broached the topic of a true road trip to Pratibha. Predictably, she turned me down. So I tried again, and again. I knew I would win, I was an experienced hand. That's how I won her hand a long time ago. Moreover, I had two 'puny poppinjays' for backup. Finally, after an entire summer of cajoling, she relented. Of course, after that, I let her take care of the rest of the details. I mean that's why she's reluctant right!

I took a week off from work. Our final destination was Yellowstone National Park. But we planned to stop at different places on the way so that we never drive more than 5-6 hours at one go. That meant a lot of stops, but I dint have a choice. When Sona and Megha sit in a car, the first 4 hours are all about games and jokes, and fun. Every minute after that is a dental extraction. First they turn on each other which I don't mind so much (though it drives Pratibha crazy). After that, they unite and turn on me.

Megha: "Are we there yet."
Sona: "When do we stop."
Megha: " Can I use the restroom."
Sona: "I'm hungry."
Megha: "I think we're out of gas."
Sona: "Did you know the risk of diabetes increases 25% if you sit for too long?"
Megha: "We're going the wrong way."
Sona: "Did you know that enzymes that breakdown fat drop by 90% when you sit for too long?"
Megha : "We have a flat tyre"
Sona: "Did you know HDL cholesterol levels drop if you sit for too long?"
Megha: "How much longer papa"
Sona: " Do you know electrical activity in the legs shut down if you sit for too long.
Megha: "The sun is on my face"
Sona: "Do you know we can get deep vein thrombosis if we sit for too long?"
Megha: "can we have curd-rice now"

I try not to get to this point, and that's why I cap my drives at 5 hours.

The trip was fantastic. The kid were great. Sonu planned every detail. And I faked knowing every detail so well, sometimes I believed it too. Now where are the car keys? A pearl of wisdom from an experienced hand .. there's no greater joy in life than knowing that you can get through an entire road trip without worrying about diapers.

Sona wrote about it to her grandparents and so I'm going to just paste her trip report here.



Dear Achachan and Ammamma,
                        How are you? I hope ammamma has some more yummy treats plus ice cream with her. I wrote about our trip to Yellowstone and I'm having papa mail it out to you.

   A few days back we came home from an awesome road trip! Let me tell you a little bit about it. We rented a big red SUV. Ganesh uncle kept skittles and M&Ms in the SUV for megha and me. It was supposed to be a surprise but I already knew. When papa opened the car I was looking for anything special and I spotted them. Megha had the skittles and I had the M&Ms ..  yum.

First we went to Las Vegas. Las Vegas had outstanding lights. When we got to our hotel, 'Circus Circus', it was awesome! It had cozy bouncy beds and a great view. We ate dinner (puris), we took a bath, and we looked out the window and we went to sleep. We spent one night at circus circus.

  When I woke, papa was carrying me toward the car. I was tired, so I think I took a nap. We drove and drove toward Bryce canyon. I woke up close to sunrise. That was beautiful. The mountains were shining. Mama was taking picture after picture after picture. On the way to Bryce Canyon we drove through a canyon. I've never seen canyons like that before. There was canyon walls on all sides and a little tiny stream at the bottom. Little Megha was sad that the stream was on my side of the window and she couldn't see it.

   It was a really long drive. At the entrance to Bryce we saw a sign that said tunnels ahead and I was surprised. They turned out to be naturally made arches formed by water flowing through rocks. Bryce Canyon was worth it. You should have been there ... It was amazing! We went on a little hike called sunrise point hike. The hike was so 'natury'. I loved it. We got close to the walls of the cliffs. They were funny shapes and one was hollow. I thought of jumping into it but I did not because I was not close enough and there could be all sorts of bugs in there.  After the hike we drove to different viewing points. Little Megha slept off. My favourite viewpoint was the natural bridge. It looked a bit like the tunnels we drove under, except it had a big flat top that I thought was good for walking on, but I said no way.

  From Bryce we drove to an Indian restaurant in Salt Lake City. I ate chocolate dosa .. yummy. Little Megha ate idly and she mixed ketchup in her chutney and ate that too .. ewwww.  Then we drove to a hotel in the same city. They had Wall-e on TV. I watched that and then I slept.

 The next morning, when I woke up, we were already in the car. We were driving towards Grand Teton National park. we ate breakfast at a place with a beautiful view. It was a turnout beside the road and it had three rocks. Two were big and one was small and I think papa and I sat on the big ones and Megha sat on the small one. First we brushed our teeth and then we ate idli. After that we kept driving and Snake River came into view. Snake river was really pretty. Trees were on the side and there were beaver dams here and there. We stopped and there was a little isthmus that we walked towards. To cross over , mama and I tried to balance on rocks but we couldn't and we wet our feet. We skipped some stones on the water but mama could not. Papa was the best. The restroom there was primitive (Stinky with no running water). After that we continued to Grand Teton. Before Grand Teton we passed though the city of Jackson. The area around Jackson is called Jackson Hole. Jackson Hole had just grass and there were mountains far away. Mama and papa stopped to photograph some bisons. I took some pictures too.

Finally, after another long, long, but enjoyable, drive we reached Grand Teton National Park. When we reached Grand Teton we had fried rice for lunch. I didn't eat much because there were too many vegetables. After that we went on a ranger led hike. I was with the ranger most of the time. The ranger talked about Grand Teton and Swan Lake. He said that there are no sharp rocks allowed in the park where we were hiking (Actually he was kidding .. he meant that long long ago .. glaciers had rounded off all the rocks in that area and so you wont find any sharp rocks unless someone puts them there). He also said that Swan Lake is a crater lake and there were only three swans ( I only saw two). There were different types of pine trees that he talked about and beetles were destroying trees. He showed scratch marks where bears had scratched at the trees to get the rough stuff inside. He also showed us a beaver dam and chewed up trees from beaver activity. I liked the hike because he was funny and he would play nice songs on the radio and we guessed who the artist was. I didn't guess any because I didn't know any of them. After the hike we went to our tent cabin and Megha and I explored the woods next to it. We played cooking but we lost our ziplocs. Next time I am going to hold on to them even when I am asleep ... mmmm .. actually not. But I'll be more careful. In the evening we ate some mac and cheese. Then we made a campfire and toasted marshmallows. After that we went to Colter Bay amphitheater to watch meteors. I got to peek through a real powerful telescope and saw two big stars that were orbiting each other.

When I woke up the next day we were on our way to Yellowstone. We spent three days there. I woke up when we were near our first geyser. Almost all geysers had this stinky smell. It smelt like rotten eggs. It comes from hydrogen sulphide that geyers release. I dont like the smell. This geyser was shooting out bursts of hot water but they were pretty small. Like someone was switching a tap on and off. There was a lot of steam though. There was this boardwalk and we walked on it. We saw lots more geysers. Of those, only a few were erupting. We saw a funny sign. It was was talking about the danger of going of the boardwalk and possibly stepping on a geyser. It said 'You don't know. You might be stepping on a geyser even if you don't see one below your feet.' and had a funny picture to go with it. The picture was of a boy stepping on a geyser and his hat was flying off. The mom was holding her cheeks and pointing at him. One of the geysers was a little hole in the ground with a feather in it. Water was going in it and coming out. The feather was going in and out with the water. The ground looked like it was moving too. Bulging out when the water went in and going back in when the water came out. All the water from the geysers was emptying into a big lake with little islands in it. Some of them looked like volcanoes. But I would never touch them because those were really geysers. Yikes!

After this I went to the visitor center and picked up my worksheet to become a junior ranger at Yellowstone National Park. Then we drove to a place where we had breakfast. It was a beautiful lake with a stick in the middle. There were a hundred million ladybugs there. Megha was scared of them. I was scared of stepping on them. Luckily I didn't. Phew! After that drove to a little forest. Mama gave us a little tube and we played in the forest. Then we went and had lunch at a restaurant. After lunch we went for a scenic boat ride and it was really long. I wanted water. But then I got a stamp on my ranger workbook since it was a ranger led activity. After the boat ride we had yummy ice creams. I had an ice cream sandwich, Megha and papa had bars. Then we drove to Norris canyon where there were plenty of Bison. The Bisons were big and some had little tiny babies. Some were rolling on the sand. I took pictures again. A long time ago bison were almost extinct. Yellowstone protected the last herd of twenty five free roaming bison. The twenty five Bison had babies and they had more babies and now the herd is more than four thousand. We saw more wildlife than just Bison. We saw Pronghorns. They have white poopoops (bums). They are the fastest land animals in north america. A long time ago, they were hunted by cheetahs, but now cheetahs are extinct in north America and pronghorns rule. I also saw a coyote hunt and eat a hare. Papa called out coyote. I was like where's the coyote, and then I saw it. It was eating a hare.

That was our first day. From there, we went to the hotel. The hotel was cool. It had bouncy beds and it had a tv and we watched science movies. We ordered dinner from a Thai restaurant. when it came, I wanted to eat all my steamed rice noodles, but papa stopped me. It tasted exactly like rice and when I took my first bite I knew I would finish more than half. The next day we had breakfast at the hotel. I had a yummy bagel and a yummy muffin and some chocolate milk. Megha had the same thing, except without the chocolate milk and a different type of muffin.

We then went to see old faithful. But we went on a round-trip ranger led hike around geyser basin first. The ranger led hike showed us a lot of geysers. I had two favorites. One was Anemone geyser and the other was old faithful of course! You should have seen anemone geyser. At least the ending. That's when the geyser sucks up all the water. That was funny. We made our way back to old faithful at 11 O clock to see it erupt. But old faithful was late. I found a friend who was the same age as me. We played as we waited. I played with Megha's new friend too. We played being different things and we were geysers, caterpillars, butterflies, bunnies, froggies and lots of other stuff that I don't remember. Finally old faithful erupted and I took a lot of pictures. Papa liked my pictures. Megha took a picture too. After this we took lots of pictures in a shady spot. I dropped the camera .. at least it didn't break. But papa didn't let me hold the camera after that. He would only give it to me when I wanted to take a picture. I was sad. We went to another ranger led program. But it was not a hike or anything. The ranger explained how different animals move and let us move like they do.

From old faithful we went to the lower geyser basin. I took a few more pictures. We saw mudpots. They were like gooey geysers .. blackie black. Like the ones in dora the explorer, except they dont shoot out pink goo and they dont look like volcanoes. We only saw one in the upper geyser basin that shooting out. Lower geyser basin had some of the largest geyser pools I had ever seen. Water flowed out of them. One of these streams looked like it had potty on the outside. It was actually bacteria. Papa tells me that before this bacteria was discovered scientists did not believe that life could exist at these hot temperatures. From lower geyser basin we went to Norris Geyser but it started raining. We ran into a bookstore. Megha got a viewer and I got a new book .. ' who pooped in the park'. It tells about different kinds of poop and their significance. It also shows animal tracks. The rain turned into hail but we made a dash for the car. I picked up a hailstone and broke it open. There was just ice, ice and more ice.

We drove back to the hotel. That was one of the best times of the day. Papa took us to the hotel pool. I couldn't see underwater without my goggles. Mama got me my goggles. I refused to go on the water slide. Megha did too. We had pizza for dinner. I didn't like the vegetables, but papa made me eat them. The pizza tasted different with the vegetables. it was OK.

The next day I had the same things for breakfast and I completed my workbook. We went to mammoth hot springs. There were so many steps but I ran up them. Poor megha got tired and had to be carried by papa. we were playing train. Megha was the engine and I was the backup engine. So when so was carried by papa, I got to be the engine. Even Mammoth had bacteria in some of the springs. One such section was called artists palette. It was lovely. After mammoth we went to the visitor center. We had to get some kind of map and we also had to turn in my worksheet and get my Yellowstone Junior Ranger patch. The ranger made me promise that I would go to yellowstone again. He made me promise that I would tell everyone how important the earth is, how we can save it and why we should save it. I felt like he was on my side too because I want to save the earth. I said OK and got my patch.

After mammoth and lunch we went to see Norris Geyser and steamboat geyser. They were both cool. Norris geyser basin had a geyser with colorful steam and also a really colorful geyser. Steamboat geyser was really big and it looked dangerous. It is the tallest geyser in the world, three times as tall as old faithful. It erupts to roughly five hundred feet. But we dint get to see that. After steamboat we went on a hike. It ended in a waterfall with a rainbow at the bottom of it. It was pretty tiring but at the end it was worth it. From here we went to artists paintpots. I don't know why they call it that because it dint look anything like paintpots. Artists paintpots had lots of stairs too and we went up so we can see it better. I saw mudpots. After this we went back to the hotel and watched some TV.

The next day I had a whole bagel, a muffin (same kind but I took some blueberries for Megha) and milk and an apple. I couldn't finish it. We then drove to an airport to get our car checked. We thought it would need fixing but it didn't. Then we went to salt lake city again. En route we had lunch at a very nice place. I had mac and cheese .. again. It was not the usual but I still liked it. Megha too. The was a fire outside the restaurant. But it was not accidentally started. It was a decoration. There was water and sand .. so it was kind of like a beach. I couldn't finish the mac and cheese and so we boxed it and went on the salt lake city. We went to the same hotel again and we were on the second floor this time. When we got there we watched some more TV. After that I had the rest of my mac and cheese. I had a tummy ache and mama gave me medicine. I used the restroom and went to sleep. When I woke up I was feeling a lot better but I was hungry. So I had some yummy french toast at Burger King. I also had a mint. Papa got a magnet from Salt lake city to stick on the fridge. When we go to Zion it was so hot. Papa brought some smoothies and I couldn't finish mine. We took a shuttle to a river walk. When I got there I found a beautiful smooth rock. When we got to the water, papa made me stick my head into a waterfall. It was dark and slimy .. kind of .. and when I got out I played mud pies with my sister and I walked on my hands while kicking my feet. After we got off, we found a tree trunk, sat and had lunch. Then we climbed on the shuttle, got back to the car. We went to a hotel, took a bath, got right out and we went to see musical fountains at las vegas. Before the musical fountains, we went to a beautiful garden. When we got back out we took a picture with spongebob. The musical fountains to a long time to dance and it was really hot. But when they finally danced it was beautiful. My favourite part was when it shot up almost as high as the Eiffel tower. When it ended we went back to the garden where it was nice and cool. There were these blowers that blew hot air and made it nice and cool. We went to an Indian restaurant for dinner. I had cone dosa and papa had a big bowl of soup. We went back to the car and got out of there and came right back to our house.

The road trip was great! I've never seen geysers before. I played very well with little megha. I told her stories, we made silly jokes. I wish I could go to Yellowstone again and I wish you could be with me next time.

love you
Sona
 

Zion Narrows

A few weeks back Renga asked me my plans for the July 4th long weekend. Pratibha and the kids, being in India, my plans were to sleep, eat, sleep, eat and to catch a few more winks wherever else I could. It was a good plan but he offered me something even better. A road trip to Utah. My vision of a road trip is curling up in the back of a car with loads of healthy snacks like chips and soda and only stirring when it's time to use the restroom. At the end of the trip I'll reluctantly get out to take in what is usually spectacular views, pose for a few pictures, and reclaim my rightful place among the snack boxes. So I jumped at the offer and, that friday, I took off early from work to join Ranga, his wife Vijaya, Ram, Karthik, Raju and Satya in a 7 seater on an eventful trip that took us through three state lines.

The first sign of trouble was when I realised that the car was bone dry. Not even a diet coke or a carrot stick. I knew then that these fellows had no idea of what a road trip should be. So I asked Ranga to fill me in on schedule. "We should reach George Town close to midnight. But we'll have to wake up early tommorrow. If we start at 6 we can reach Zion by 7 and get started with the Narrows by 8. I plan to do atleast 8 miles in the water. That should take the whole day. After that we'll drive to bryce canyon. Assuming we reach there by 10, we should have adequete time to have dinner and sleep. There are some good hikes in Bryce too. We'll ask the information centre and after that we'll settle on a couple. The next day we'll be back in Zion to do the "Angel's Landing" hike. And the back to San Diego" . My jaw dropped, I was feeling giddy and I'm not talking about giddy with joy. This was a hiking trip in road trip clothing. What was I going to do. On the road, however, I soon forgot my worries. The group was especially cheerful and the banter was entertaining. We talked about marriage (where, at 5 years and two kids, I was the grandfather and absolute authority), music (that I knew nothing about), food (that I knew everything about),badminton (oh! the poor fools, they little knew what they were getting into when they brought that up) and so much more. I was particularly proud of my performance when we discussed music. The argument was about which Tamil music director was better, Rehman or Ilayaraja. I picked Rehman and argued his case strongly and convincingly never letting on that I knew as little about Rehman's music as I knew about Ilayaraja's.

We reached Georgetown close to midnight but we had to modify our plans. The Soccer world up quarter finals was in the morning and everyone wanted to catch atleast the first half of one particular game. I dont think I've ever loved Germany and Argentina more than I did then. So, the next morning, at 11, I found myself at the trail head of another hot summer hike wondering what I did wrong in my previous life to end up repeatedly going through this torture. The first mile was like any other hike I had done before. Thin narrow winding path behind, thin narrow winding path ahead. Very beautiful views all around. I plodded on behind the group at my snail pace taking in the views and drinking copious amounts of water. After the first mile, however, things took a dramatic change for the better.

The "Zion Narrows" refers to the slot canyon forge by 'virgin river' in Zion national park. After the first mile, the entire hike is in the water as the river extends to both walls of the canyon. It's a unique experience that even a whiner like me couldnt help but enjoy it. The water is usually upto to the knees, often upto the waist and sometimes chest high. The water was cold. The day was hot. The group was fun. I had a blast. We must have done a total of 6 miles in the water and it must have taken us about 7 hours. There was no Parag or Nachiket or Pavan with me to pick up the pace. All of us were snails. I love snails.

Corte Madera (Nov 2009)

A few days back I got a mail from Nachiket gauging interest in a short hike. Nachiket is one of those supermen hikers and the lowest end of his 'short hike' just about intersects with the highest end of my 'killer record length hike'. Normally I would have run for dear life after seeing such an email but I really wanted to do a hike. I had been active and about and all that recently. I could feel the stamina coursing through my veins. The problem was that whenever I hear or see the name Nachiket I remember Prajakt's story of black mountain. Prajakt did black mountain with Nachiket. He did his best. Ran up, ran down. Stopped very little. Almost lost his lungs with all that heavy breathing. And he still had to suffer the humiliation of having Nachiket go up and down, get tired waiting, and then go up and down again before Prajakt could get back. Suddenly I had one of my brilliant ideas. I responded with interest after adding a few more slowpokes like me in the list and, after much wrangling and bargaining, we pulled Nachiket down to a reasonable altitude 7 miler called Corte Madera.

The night before the hike I did my last check. Water - check. Snacks - check. Spare shirt - check. Sunscreen - check. Electrolyte - check. whistle - check. compass - check. I was totally, completely, supremely prepared. I had thought of every minor detail. I had even gone to the extent of freezing my water overnight so that I could have cold water during a hot hike. I was a pro.

The morning of the hike I was up early and rushed to the starting point. That's where I had my first jolt. My two snails had backed out. They had pitilessly left me to the wolves. As our car approached the trail head I nervously eyed Nachiket and Parag (another superhuman).
"I .. er .. um .. if it's OK with you guys, I'll take it a little slow. You know .. um .. my .. er .. knees are not what they used to be and all that"
"Sure .. no problem", said Nachiket. "Hope you got your poncho."
"A .. what .. oh! .. that .. um .. no. "
A poncho is used to protect from rain. I remembered that all my hikes had been nice hot summer hikes. A winter hike is probably a different beast. Why! .. oh why! do I get myself into these scrapes. We got out of the car and the cold hit me. It was single digit degrees above zero degree centigrade and I had a thin sweatshirt. I glanced over towards Parag and Nachiket and smiled. They dint seem to be taking it much better. A poncho is just plastic. It stops water, not the cold. We had a small discussion and decided that it was OK to carry on since it should get warmer as the day progressed. We started off and I realised I could comfortably keep pace with Parag and Nachiket. The cold had frozen my joints. I felt no pain. It was a liberating feeling. "Maybe these winter hikes are not such a big deal", I thought to myself as my mojo slowly returned. I even dared to strike up a conversation with Nachiket on the intricacies of pro level hiking. I was looking for an opening to start off on my badminton glory days but he dint take the bait. I think he had been warned. We were at this stalemate when the hail started. It killed us. There was no respite. The temperature dropped to below zero. The ice melted into little streams and drenched our feet. It melted on my cap, backpack, sweatshirt and drenched all of that too. Soon I was a shivering shaking mess. Meanwhile, that block of ice that I had labouriously frozen in the freezer last night stayed the same. Like a fool I was lugging along 2 kg of ice and had no water to drink. So much for preparation. Comfortably ensconced in their ponchos, Nachiket and Parag looked at me with pity. We reached some sort of a plateau. "This is the peak" I begged .. but they plodded on. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, we reached the true peak. I spent exactly 30 seconds there. Then this chilly cold wind also started. I shot down the mountain and reached the car in record time. Parag and Nachiket were awestruck by my stamina. They had never seen anyone climb down so fast. It was a good half hour before the shivering abated and I could start the car. We wasted no time in rushing off to soup plantation for hot soup and more hot soup. Note to self: The next time I have a brilliant idea, get the largest stick I can find and beat myself on the head hard and long until that, and future brilliant ideas, don't dare come anywhere near me again.

A lot of food and a picnic (Dec 2008)

Sona's birthday was on the 6th of this month. Pratibha and her fine circle of friends got together and pretty much ran the show from start to finish. Sona and their kids had a blast. Lots of noise, lots of balloons, lots of fun. In one of my insane moments I said I would cook the biriani all by myself. I had never cooked for more than ten but I pooh poohed at Pratibha's concern at my lack of practical experience. "Experience" I told her "is over-rated. All it takes is an analytical mind". Precise portions were calculated out using my razor sharp brains. We called forty people and I ended up cooking for a hundred people. My eyes still water as I think about all the onions I cut on that fateful birthday eve. I was up late, I was up early, and eventually, the next day, I was up late trying to finish all that food. Feeling sorry for me Pratibha rang up her friends and we decided to go for a hike and have a picnic the next day.

The only longs hikes I'd been to with Sona since she got here were the aisles down shopping malls. Now those are really long hikes, but where is the fresh air, and the warm spring smell, and grass under your feet, the bird droppings, the dust, the rain .. er .. ok.. the fresh air .. where is the fresh air? Including kids, there were ten of us. Leena, Nilesh and their kids Aksh and Moksh, Sachin, Charu and their daughter Kashvi and the three of us. Nilesh suggested Mt Laguna "This time of the year, there will be at least a foot of snow, we can play there, make a snowman. There's a lake at the top. We can have our picnic there, maybe even skate on the lake if it is frozen hard enough" he said. Sounded like fun. In my enthusiasm to finish the food I cooked, I even volunteered to pack all the food into my backpack and carry it all the way.

We got together at Leena and Nilesh's at 10 in the morning. We were held up for a few minutes there as Aksh scooted off to fetch a carrot. "Snowman needs a nose" He said. Finally, 10:30, we set off and got there in an hour. Funny .. I always imagined snow was white. This place was anything but white. Plenty of green, a lot of brown and leaves of all colors. Aksh started to eat his carrot. Better that than to throw it away. So we set off, Sona and Aksh leading the way, towards the promised frozen lake where we would have our picnic. My backpack was heavy, which reminded me of the onions. I wiped away my tears as I plodded on in my usual spot at the back of the group. Progress was slow as we kept stopping for pictures. A quarter mile down Sona gave up and I had to put her on my shoulders too. A half mile down and Every one's breath was rasping. The wind was ice cold and our legs were aching. Leena suddenly remembered that she had pani puris at home. The vision of all that warmth and hot tea and pani puris filled our eyes. We held a small conference. I spied a small patch of grass between the trees. All of us agreed that looked like it was a lake a long long time ago. "Forget the picnic, Let's go home and eat", we declared and started back. My eyes watered even more as I felt the full weight of the backpack this time. I put sona down and told her she's on her own. She tried her luck with her mom and finally gave up and started walking.Somehow we made it back to the parking lot and took off for Leena's place. We had our food in front of the fireplace with a real table to keep food on. Even had a microwave to heat the food. I've never had a better picnic ever.

Cuyamaca Mountain (2008)

Cuyamaca mountain towers majestically over the southern Californian desert. A forest fire four years back has diminished some of its glory, but the new landscape is no less striking. Skeletons of burnt trees stick out like pine needles on a lush green carpet of shrubs and grass. It's a grim reminder that, in spite of all our advances, mother nature still dances to her own tune. Srujan first proposed that we hike Cuyamaca two weeks back. I wasn't sure. My last hike was a very painful experience. I was shown up by Kanush, then 18 months old, who beat me to the top of the mountain. I was discouraged, demoralised, ridiculed and outright humiliated. Of course I blame Pratibha . What are wives for if not to shoulder the blame? She feeds me too much. She should make me work .. push me off that armchair every once in a while. By selfishly doing all the house work all by herself, she tilted the scales in Kanush's favour. It's all her fault. poor poor me. But that incident served as a trigger, and ever since I have made it a point to hit the gym regularly. Consequently, I am now proud to say that I can beat an older and stronger Kanush (she's 2 years now) to the top of any mountain of her choice. The problem I had with Srujan's suggestion is that the hiking group he had in mind were not toddlers. So where did I stand in the middle of that? However, the pictures were spectacular and I decided I had to do it.

Twelve of us were to gather at the base of the trail at 6:30 sharp .. Indian time. haven't heard of Indian standard time? To make it to a trail at 6:30 sharp Indian time, you should get up at 6:35. Then, take your own sweet time dressing up and be out of the door at 7:30. If you reach the trail before 8, you'll be the first one there. Srujan had sent out driving directions. If no one knew the way to the trail it wouldnt have been a problem but as it was, there was only one car of four people that dint know the way and had to follow Srujan's directions. Therefore, two cars reached the trail head and this one group ended up in a remote outpost with more coyotes than cars around them. They also saw a huge snow capped mountain that they thought was the one they were supposed to climb. Frantic phone calls to the rest of the group allayed their fears and by 8:00 we were all ready to start the hike. By now I was an experienced hiker. There was no way I was going to underestimate the height of the mountain or overestimate the limited capacity of my lungs. I took it slow, real slow. After a while, the long shadows of the trees and the eerie noises of the forest started to affect me. I was wondering if I should try and catch up when a friendly rattle snake nearby rattled it tail in greeting. I shot off in pursuit of the group and caught up with them beside a burnt out hollow tree. Dang .. these trails .. wont even let a poor soul take it at his own pace. My next best option was to fall in step with the next slowest group, Suneel and his wife Sindu. Suneel was going slow because 8 miles, by his standards, wasn't even worth going fast. He was a marathon runner. Sindu and I were on the same boat. 8 miles would be the average distance we cover in one year. I fell in step with them and Suneel and I got talking. Suneel had also trained for Badminton and the poor fellow did not realise what he was getting into when he told me that he used to play. All exhaustion left me as Nishant- former National champ took over. I started off with my tall tales.. the workouts, the glory, the pain, in short .. the full 25 course meal. 8 miles .. heck I could have gone 800 miles like that. But after a while Suneel started to feel the strain and so I stopped once we reached the top. The view was great. The rest of the group had this odd impatient look on their face which told me that had probably reached there a few hundred minutes before me .. but I assure you, if Kanush were there, I'd have beaten her.

We started down in a few minutes and I tortured Suneel with another couple of quick rounds of stories. He was saved by a group on horseback that we met. They told us the history of Cuyamaca and how beautiful it was before the fire. The were a riding club with a difference. Every week they would read some book, then ride up a trail, have a picnic and discuss the book. They were also very involved in work to restore Cuyamaca to its old glory. They worked with groups to plant trees all over the mountain. It would be another fifty years before they grow, but it's a start. A very erudite group, they had such beautiful tales to tell us that even I forgot to boast. Time flew and I was at the bottom in no time at all. I couldn't believe it when I was told that the trek had taken more than 5 hours.

I loved the trek. This group is going to Hike the half dome in Yosemite in June. I'm joining them, but for some reason Suneel has decided not to come.

Kanush's first trek - Fort Bhongir (June 2007)

Things had been pretty quiet on the wheelie front(biking/backpacking group in our office). Some core members got married, some had kids, and others were just plain lazy. So Sushim proposed that we have a short trip to get things started again and to introduce the newly joined spouses/kids. Atul proposed Bhongir or Bhuvanagiri as the locals call it It is a fort that is about an hour's drive from Hyderabad. "It's a pretty boring place, a studio of some sort, the climb is about 100 meters, If we go slow we might stretch it to 10 mins", he said. I wasn't sure I was up to it. Since the Hyderabad half marathon in November last year, all I had done was lay on my back and eat enough food to shame the average african elephant. Consequently I have started to resemble one too with a good 15 kg added mostly around my tummy. However, Pratibha and Kanush needed an outing and I decided to go for it.

The day before we started we decided that Pratibha would carry the kid all the way till the climb and I'll do the climb and descent with the kid and she'll take over after that. The morning of the trip, when we started out, we decided that I'll take care of the kid throughout and she'll carry the backpack. Eventually I carried the kid and the backpack. I really need to work on my bargaining skills. The drive was very pleasant. Started off at roundabout 7 and by 8 we were close to the fort. In continuation of a long standing wheelie tradition, we tucked into the local cuisine at the dirtiest roadside eatery we could find and, as usual, it tasted great. 10 mins from there and we were at the base of a hill we needed to trek to reach the fort. 10 mins .. Atul had said. Pratibha, Anita and Neetu had sandals. Chandini had her floaters on. Sushim and I were carrying infants and the 'hill' was a good 400 meters high. Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay wouldn't have made it up in 10 mins. Point to be noted, scratch Atul from the planning committee next time. Our spirits couldn't stay low for long though. The weather was perfect. Cloudy, so the sun wasn't out, and windy. Anand offered to carry my backpack and we set off. Kanush certainly dint appreciate being carried on a fine trail like that and she showed her displeasure by pulling my ears and kicking my neck. I finally gave in and put her on the ground. Bad move, In a few minutes I was huffing and puffing trying to keep up. "This stretch is risky dear, here, let me pick you up" I said as I grabbed her. She saw right through my ploy and started howling but I dint care. I had lost a lot of races but I had never lost to an 18 month old toddler and if I could help it I wasn't going to let that happen. We stopped for loads of pictures (http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pratibha_meee/album/576460762404246033). And a good 40 minutes later we were at the top. By then I had already run out of strong words to throw at Atul and even if I had any I was wheezing too much to be able to talk. Pratibha, thankfully was in the same state. So she could not make fun of me. The view from the top was magnificent. Green all round. The breeze was strong and rejuvenating. I forgot my aches and pains and whines and moans in an instant. The fort looked no bigger than a 2 bed apartment. It must have been a poor king who built that. But it was picturesque. Kanush and Pahi (sushim's and Neetu's kid) stole the show with cute poses and Kanush even did a little dance for everyone. Soon it was time to leave. Neetu had spotted a resort on the way and we decided to stop there for lunch. The menu was in a top secret code that few could decipher. We had 'plan non' (figured out that to be plain nan), polka (phulka) and what not. It was a varied spread on offer. There was rabbit, quail, goose. Sighting a rat on the rafters, the waiter offered to even cook that for us. We, however had had our adventures for the day and we chose just the regular items. We tucked in for all we were worth, cleaned out the whole kitchen and returned home, a happy, tired group. Sonu has now firmly bitten the trekking bug and I cant be happier about that. As for Kanush, next time, her mother will hold her .. and the backpack too.

P.S

Kanush is currently giving me a fine tutorial on the behavior of toddlers. She walks comfortably and all books on child rearing that I have filled my house with are of the unanimous opinion that I should now leave her to explore the world on her own. To do that we take all dangerous objects out of a room, fill it with toys, and leave her to play in it. A month back I left Kanush in an empty room with nothing but toys and a 15cm tall foot stool on which she sits. I had barely stepped out when I heard a 'thump' sound. I turned round to see Kanush on her hands, feet in the air. I started clapping and saw visions of a Nadia Comeneci coming out of my own home. My first instinct was to run for the camera to take a pic, but the thought of her mother, with the kitchen knife in hand, asking me how our baby ended up on her head, wasn't very enticing. Kanush had stood on the stool to see out of the window and had walked straight off it. Fortunately for her she had flung her hands out and she catapulted up to do a handstand. I rushed in and grabbed her legs before she could fall. She liked it a lot, wanted to do it again, even started crying when I took away the stool. Another time we ran into a dog that was barking madly. Everyone was running away from it and I too badly wanted to do the same, but unfortunately my daughter was running straight at it screaming 'bow bow' in an excited high pitched voice. She had never seen a dog that close. The poor fellow, scared by her antics, ran away and so she was saved.

Kalsubai (2006)

We have a trekking/biking/backpacking group in office. They call themselves the wheelies. I call them the crazies. What else would you call those who go trekking to forts, mountains, rivers et al in the peak of the monsoon and come back boasting about the number of times they fell and sprained their ankle. Like anyone else, I am not immune to moments of madness and in one of them I committed to joining them on a trip to Kalsubai.

Kalsubai is the highest peak in the sahyadris. The peak stands 1600 meters above sea level. The climb is approximately 1000 meters. That dint sound too bad. Google said the trek is an easy climb. How tough could it be, specially for a person who had been halfway down the grand canyon? It is strange how I always end up grossly overestimating my scarce talents. When I went down the canyon I was a person who would run a 5 miler at a good pace atleast twice a week. Now, two years, 1 marriage, 1 child and 15 kilos later I would huff and puff my way to the water cooler across the hall.

Anyway, Pratibha was in Trivandrum, and weekends were boring. So I decided to go ahead and do the trek. I wrote my last will and testament, signed it (and again at the witness page .. Since there was no one else), packed my bags and set off for mount Kalsubai. The train ride was great. The wheelies sure were seasoned travelers. There was cards, food, jokes, songs .. fun all the way. Each of the wheelies had a nickname that ended with 'baba (saint)'. There was 'rassi(rope) baba, cycle baba, vada paav baba, running baba, bhai baba, baba.latest and so on and so forth. The little knot in my stomach was beginning to dissolve. Ganesh aka 'baba.all' planned to take a tent and a sleeping bag with him when he climbed. I figured, worst case he could pick me up too if I collapsed.

Consensus was that we'd hit the sack early since we had a long trek the next day. However Ganesh had different ideas. His hoarse voice reminiscent of several donkeys braying in unison kept us awake till the early hours of the morning. Time flew, it was close to 2 O clock at night Anand and I had given up our miserable attempts at sleep and baba.all was still hee hawing in the background. Suddenly Siddharth aka vada paav baba rolled off the top berth. He was wide awake and sniffing the air like a greyhound on a rabbit trail. Then we got it too. The train rolled into Manmad and the tongue tickling smell of hot vada paavs filled our nostrils. vada pave baba took a running jump from the train. By the time the train stopped and we found him, he was already into his third one and had also ordered a bread omlette and 5 chais to boot. I don't discriminate between different foods. Vada paavs or Sonu's rotis, I eat till I can eat no more. And so we had a quiet 5 minutes when we tried to stuff as many hot vada paavs into us as we could before the train started again. Finally, fully sated and with a few more packed as backup, we boarded the train.

Couple of hours later we reached Igatpuri where we got down and boarded a bus to Bhandardara. Right beside the bus stop was the guest house where we had booked a 15 bed dormitory for all of us. But .. Before that .. More vada paavs. The few vada paavs we had packed from that stall in Kalyan had done little but wet the appetite of the other babas. Right at the bus stop was a tea stall. Wasn't much more than a few benches and a gas stove. But the food was awesome. I often wonder why food in these dingy places invariably taste better than those at post hotels. Take this fellow for instance. He had a very special chutney that his wife makes at home. It is fantastic. It gave such an awesome flavor to the vada paavs that we ended up gorging all of them and giving an order for more to take with us on the trek. Why is it that the high profile chefs with fancy degrees cant come up with a chutney half as good as this one?

Off we went to the dorms and got ready for the trek. True to his word, ganesh packed his tent and sleeping bag into his backpack. By 9:30 all of us were ready to roll. We went down to the bus stop paid for the vada paavs, forgot the packet there, and took off. After some searching we managed to find a jeep that would take us to bari from where the trek begins. 1 Jeep and 15 people .. not exactly a cozy fit. My added 15 kilos and ganesh's size let us down. I had put on so much weight that if I sat in the jeep I would take up the space of two people, likewise Ganesh because of his height, and space was at a premium. This meant that we spent the whole journey hanging precariously out of the back of the jeep. By the time we reached bari my calfs were aching and I was wondering if I should ask Ganesh to pick me up already.

The view from bari dint look too bad. 1600 meters can look deceptively simple. Consequently (and in retrospect foolishly) I ended up offering to take 2 more bottles of water with my current load. I also ended up doing the first leg of the climb with Anand and Ketan, two exercise freaks one of which runs marathons and the other bikes close to 100kms every week. Pretty soon I started to resemble a marathon runner myself. Tongue hanging out, foot dragging, stumbling every alternate step, I knew it was time for a break. As for the other two, I doubt if they had even properly warmed up.

Waving them ahead I sat down for a break. Just about when I had caught my breath Saurabh and Manoj aka rassi baba caught up with me. Saurabh dint look very different from me, drooping tongue, bulging eyes and all. He had a bottle of gatorade in his hand which he was stoutly refusing to open till he reached the top. They dint stop though and I fell in step with them. During the second leg of the climb, I completely forgot about my exhaustion. There were more pressing matters .. like how am I going to climb this rock face?? When your life is at stake you don't usually feel tired. There were ladders in the really tough portions, but the others weren't exactly a walk in the park. All along I was thinking "If I could only get my hands on the fellow who called this an easy climb" .. and "why oh why did I agree to come?" It culminated in a raw rock face. The drop was well over 500 feet. Saurabh and rassi were already 10 feet out, but I stopped. There was no way this could be the right route. We needed ropes for this. So I stood there looking at them go .. and then I noticed a very funny thing. Neither of them had looked down yet. Their plight reminded me of the old Tom and Jerry cartoons .. where tom goes over a cliff and still keep going for a few steps before actually realizing what happened. Saurabh was the first to look down. In a very small scared voice "guys!! ... er .. I think I am lost". rassi .. in an even smaller voice "Nishant .. If you haven't gotten onto the wall .. don't .. I don't think this is the right way" . Me "if this is the right way .. I turning round" . By now By now Saurabh and rassi were mumbling all the prayers they knew as they slowly made their way back. I retraced our steps till I found the right path and we continued on.

The experience had pumped so much adrenalin into us that the rest of the climb was cake. Before we knew it we had joined Anand and Ketan on the top. About half an hour later the rest of the group caught up. They were held up in a tricky portion of the 2nd phase where some people needed a hand up. Lots of photos later realization dawned on us that we had forgotten the vada paavs in the tea shop. A blame session followed when everyone blamed everyone else and vada pave baba gallantly agreed to shoulder all the blame. The less said about the descent the better. Suffice to say it was so slippery we spent more time on our butt than on our feet. As for the second section, I consider it a miracle that I made it down in one piece. Another precarious jeep ride later we were back in the dorms eating our sorely missed vada paavs.

The next day we split up into two group. The hard core wheelies went on a second trek to ratangad. The rest of us spent the day lounging around the guesthouses, did a little boating and finally caught a Jeep to kasara. Here we were joined by the wheelies. From Kasara we caught a local train to Kalyan.

Local trains in Bombay are fascinating from a distance ... Once inside the perspective changes. The first thing you do as soon as you are in is to get as far away from the door as possible. Woe be you if you fail to do that. If by the time you reach the next station, you are still near the door, a flood of people would push you out and unceremoniously dump you on the platform. Without so much as a second to protest, you should pick yourself up and shove into the second flood of people to get back into the train. I watched this pattern for a few stations from the safety of a seat that I managed to capture and very soon Kalyan came up. I picked up my bags, joined the flood and was washed onto the platform of Kalyan station from where we caught our train to Hyderabad.

Will I do it again? Sure .. Because 1) I like the wheelies 2) I love the vada paavs and three 3)Kalsubai rocks :):):)

Trip to Grand Canyon (sometime in 2003)

It all started when my brother came to Las Cruces on a visit. He and his friends are jolly good fun and they hit off real well with my roommate and close friends (Vidya, Wiplove and Srujan). So we decided that we should visit them for the spring break too. A rough plan was chalked out and then we forgot about it. Close to the spring break the idea caught heat again. But Albuquerque (where bro is) is only a few hours away and we wanted a road trip. In came Elephant Butte Lake, Sandia peaks and the incomparable Grand Canyon. The car rental (Dodge Stratus) came to 250 bucks. So we scouted around for another traveler to join us. Enter Harshad. That made five of us. A quick trip to Walmart (supermarket) and supplies were in place. Maps were downloaded from yahoo and we were ready to roll.

We set out close to the midnight of the 22nd. High spirits was not the word. We were on air. Once in the interstate we settled down to a comfortable speed (80mph-abt130kmph) and the party started. Food was pulled out, cokes were opened and loud music filled the night air. Words can't describe the exhilaration we felt. We were off to the canyon, one of the seven wonders of the natural world. A couple of hours later we had all settled down. I was in the navigator seat and Harshad was driving. Music was off and the rest of the guys were slowly dozing off. That's when Vidya looked out of the window and up to the sky. It was picture perfect. Quarter moon painted on a clear cloudless sky with twinkling stars dancing to a merry tune. We pulled over to the shoulder an got out of the car. All were quiet taking in the marvel called creation. After a quiet few minutes we got back in and set out again.

At abt 4 o clock harshad and I gave way to vidya and wiplove (Wiplove driving and vidya navigating). That's when the trouble started (Vidya would say I missed the trail but I strongly contest the statement ). The map pointed to a Coronado trail (god knows if it exists) about 120 miles from where vidya took over. We were supposed to take it and join up with interstate 180 a few miles later. Wiplove drove for abt 300 miles...no trail. The sun rose...still no trail. Vidya threw up his hands and gave up. Our savior came in the form of a Ranch (full scale with horses and stuff). We got in and asked for directions. Much to our relief we were on a road parallel to the highway we were supposed to take. So we dint have to turn back. The ranch owner gave us a sumptuous breakfast (sumptuous for the non-veg guys.. harshad and I ate salad, bread and jam). It is amazing what a full meal does to your attitude. Our confidence restored we set out again to the canyon. A few gas stations for directions and we were back on the route.

That's when we came to Holbrook, A quiet town off Flagstaff (which is a pretty big city). Pristine and peaceful, we were caught in its spell. We parked at some corner of the town and another photo session followed. Then off we set to flagstaff. It was abt 9:30 in the morning by then. The sun was well up and time was slowly becoming critical. The speedometer slowly crawled up to 90mph. Flagstaff came and went. That's when the whole route turned green. I've never seen nature more brilliant. What hues and colors for flora and fauna. To top it the conifer forests beckoning like some irresistible force. We knew we had to stop. And stop we did.. not once but many times.

Finally at close to 11:30 we reached the canyon. Our first view of the canyon was a humbling experience. We were overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude and splendor of Mother Nature at its peak. The Colorado River was so small in comparison. it was incomprehensible that that was the architect of this marvel. For those of you who go to the canyon I would suggest you don't just stop at the first drop, take a few pics and push of. I've known many who did that. They felt there was nothing more to see. The thing to do is to hike down the 'Bright Angel Trail' down to the bottom of the canyon. The trail is 4 feet at the widest and as thin as 2 feet at places. On one side is the sheer drop of the canyon and the other is the security of the canyon wall. The descent itself is something one would treasure for the rest of ones life. But what lies below is even better. The Colorado river in all its splendor still digging deeper into the earth as if what it has made is somehow not enough, greenery not seen anywhere else in the world, Rock formations better than any sculpture. A world on it's own. Those who go down should take camping equipment and camp for the night as the descent would take a whole day. We dint have any of those. So we went halfway down and then climbed back up. All of us have resolved to go back someday and go all the way down.

There's something about the trail that brings out the adventurer in you. There were so many things we did there that I would never have done even on a wall 10 feet high. I remember a rocky ledge jutting out into the canyon with a hole in it. It was called Angel's window. The ledge was abt 1/2 foot wide (no kidding). A slip would mean a sheer drop. And all except Srujan were bold enough to climb onto the window for pics. We played ice catch on the trail. we laughed, we screamed, we ran, for that short period we were free from the world. We wanted to be there forever but time stops for no man. Evening had come. We visited the Grand Canyon museum and bought a few souvenirs. Albuquerque and Indian food beckoned and so we set out again

Harshad and I took over again (me driving this time). The drive was pretty much uneventful. Halfway through Srujan took over the wheel while I took a nap. Pretty late into the night we reached Albuquerque. That was where we saw the first and only hitch of our hasty planning. I dint have my brother's address. A few phone calls and a long wait saw us through that. It was too late for the Indian hotel though. We settled down for a good sleep after more than 24 hrs in a car. The next day we went to an Indian Hotel. It was the first time I was going to an Indian hotel after coming to the US (we don't have one in Las Cruces). We showed it there too. Forks and spoons were thrown aside. Words came to a halt. For the next half hour the only thing I saw was Pulav, Nan, Kurma, Paneer Palak, Payasam etc. Gorged to the hilt we got up not without a tinge of regret that the meal was over.

Everybody was very sleepy. Harshad Vidya and Srujan went back to the flat. Wiplove and I however were not done with exploring. Off we went in search of Sandia peaks. It's a winter ski resort. Both of us knew it would be closed this time...but hey what the heck. Gas station again pointed out the way to us and soon we were climbing the hills to Sandia. We clicked a couple of photos on the wayÂ… and suddenly we ran out of reel. A quick discussion and we decided to junk the photos and continue. The climb was genuine fun. Hair pins, U - turns and what not. The Dodge held gamely and soon we were on top. A spectacular view of Albu was a fitting reward for foregoing the sleep. We hung around for abt 15 mins and returned to my bro's place. We were at the final leg of the road trip and by 7 o clock we were on our way back. The enthusiasm had still not died down and so we decided to go to Elephant Butte lake (which is close to Las Cruces) the next day. We dropped Harshad off at his flat and returned to sleep in our flats.

The next day we set out for the Butte. A drive of abt 1 hour took us there. The lake was amazing. Clear blue set against a flawless sky. The sight is to be seen, not described. We checked out the rate for speedboats, concluded it was too high and so chucked that plan. We had a small picnic at the sands of the lake and set back to Cruces, our wanderlust just whetted by what we had seen.



P.S ... I've still not gone back .. but I will .. but I will