Road Trip in California: Jan 26,2022
I often wonder what would life be without poets ? These magicians appear to me as being personal assistants to God Himself. They see and feel the same things as we do and go one step further to put the experience into words and thus make it more wholesome. They can speak about pain or despair and bring hope and peace in the same breath. A mountain, a road, a bird or a sunset take on a whole new personality when expressed by a poet.
One such poem that brings a simple evening alive is this one by the well known Marathi poet, the late Smt. Shanta Shelke. Hi Vaat Door Jate….this road goes a long way !
She muses as she watches the long stretch of the road. It takes her to the imaginary village of her dreams and she wonders if there she will meet the beloved she dreams about. Raavaa in Marathi means a parrot. It could be a metaphor for a free spirited person.
ही वाट दूर जाते,
स्वप्नामधील गावा
माझ्या मनातला का
तेथे असेल रावा
ही वाट दूर जाते…
2 days back my husband and me made an impromptu decision to take a drive to the Trona Pinnacles. These are natural rock formations in the California desert, a very popular location for film and music video shootings. We had heard about them for a while but never been there in all these years of living in California. It was mid week. I only had one scheduled virtual meeting post lunch. I wrapped it up and by 2:00 pm we were on the road.
The hills on the outskirts of our city were lush green after the recent rains. After a long time it was a clear day, cold but sunny.
Once again I was reminded of how beautiful California is !!
Right outside the eastern boundaries of our city begins a canyon, the Kern Canyon that takes the narrow two way single lane road along the Kern River on one side and the tall rocky cliffs on the other. It curves, many times very sharply, and slowly climbs up to elevations above 4000 feet.
We passed by the dam waters and town of Lake Isabella. Several of my patients live there and travel the 45 miles drive through the canyon to get medical care. The canyon road often closes down in the winter months due to snow fall or rock slides or both. As my husband was driving I was absorbing the imposing geography of the canyon while somewhere inside praying that no rock falls on our car.
Once out of the narrow confines of the canyon I could spot an osprey circling high up in the sky. I was enjoying being a passenger and taking pictures but riding in the slowest car on the road was bothering me, to put it mildly. Finally after insisting we pull over I quickly got behind the wheel and we were back on the road. The better half took on role of navigator.
Freeway 178 that actually passes right through our city carries on through such beautiful terrain after the canyon and past Lake Isabella. There are small towns, farmlands and beginning of the California Desert along the way. Suddenly the Joshua trees make an appearance on both sides of the road. There were so many picturesque spots we were passing by but couldn’t stop for pictures as I had aimed to reach the pinnacles before sunset. It was proving a longer drive than I had anticipated.
Route 178 briefly shared a segment with California state Hwy 14 before turning towards the towns of Inyokern and Ridgecrest. Ridgecrest is the last town on the east side of Kern County ( our county).
About 14 miles past Ridgecrest on route 178 was the road turning to the Pinnacles.
It was good I had done some prior reading about the road so I had an idea of what to expect. This is a 5 miles stretch of gravel road in the Searles valley leading up to the pinnacles. From a distance I could see the sun was already low on the Western hills. The pinnacles were already partially in the shade. I had to rush but could only do so much on that rough road. Passed by a railroad track and a parked train while getting closer to the pinnacles. Surrounding it were flats of salt ( soda ash and borates). The middle of nowhere railroad was too inviting to ignore. Took some quick photos before hurrying on to the pinnacles.
We had a few precious moments to catch before the last of the sun rays would caress the valley. It was indeed a magical place. Miles and miles of open space with mountains in the distance, the Pinnacles clustered in the center, a dusty road seen winding towards these rocks when observed from the vista point, the distant horizon decorated with clouds that were becoming colorful by the minute as the sun descended on the western mountain range. Occasionally some birds were seen crossing overhead.
जेथे मिळे धरेला,
आभाळ वाकलेले
अस्ताचलास जेथे
रविबिंब टेकलेले
जेथे खुळया ढगांनी
रंगीन साज ल्यावा
माझ्या मनातला का
तेथे असेल रावा
ही वाट दूर जाते…
Between taking a few pictures and absorbing the beauty and silence of the place we were racing against time. Strange that the quiet secluded place that could bring so much peace in daylight started to become a reason to worry for our safety after darkness. There was a trailer or two seen in the distance parked closer to the Pinnacles. A couple of bikers passed by us as we were standing at the vista point. Indeed a concern lurked in my mind that if we encountered mischief we had no way to call for help. There was no phone service in that area. Mom and our son were home but they didn’t know where we are. The 5 miles of rough road had to be crossed before it became pitch dark. So despite wanting to enjoy the place longer I got into the car and started on the way back.
Once on the main road, we were headed west. Dusk time sky was still bright enough to see the mountain silhouettes in the distance but details of the surroundings were no longer visible. A few minutes into the drive as it got darker a dim Jupiter became visible high up in the western sky. Slowly more stars began to appear. Jupiter soon became the brightest of all.
घे साउली उन्हाला
कवळून बाहुपाशी
लागुन ओढ वेडी
खग येती कोटरासी
एकेक चांदणीने
नभदीप पाजळावा
माझ्या मनातला का
तेथे असेल रावा
ही वाट दूर जाते…
( Shadow/ darkness wraps her hands around sunlight. Mad yearning( for the babies) brings the birds to their hole/nest in the trees. One by one the stars light up the sky. Is this where I will find my sweetheart?)
This was the same route I was tracing back home. Except the entire landscape that we had enjoyed earlier in the day was engulfed in darkness. This time however I had a glowing Jupiter smiling at me and playing hide and seek around every turn on the road. Occasionally another car would pass by us. For the most part it was us driving under the cover of a starry sky and a joyous silence within and around us until we were back home just in time for dinner.
There itself began the mundane routine of going to bed with an alarm set to start the next morning in preparation for work. The trip to the Pinnacles would seem a dream but Shantabai’s poem would be enough to take me back on the dream road and experience that evening all over again.
स्वप्नातल्या प्रियाला,
मनमुक्त गीत गावे
स्वप्नातल्या सुखाचा,
स्वप्नीच वेध घ्यावा
माझ्या मनातला का
तेथे असेल रावा
ही वाट दूर जाते,
स्वप्नामधील गावा
ही वाट दूर जाते…
( To reach the destination of my dreams, I must travel there in a dream. There I can sing to my heart’s content to the sweetheart of my dreams. The happiness that I yearn for, I must search for it in my dreams . Nowhere else. This road goes a long way, leading to the village of my dreams)
The saree is a Dhalapathar weave from the Khurda district in Odisha. It is woven on a pit loom by the Rangani community. Mercerized cotton is used for the saree. The motifs are usually inspired by nature. Flowers, birds, fish motifs are woven using extra weft. I love the soft comfort of this saree.
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