Mothers Day 2009

Two women, two professoinals--on a week-end road trip through the Rockies at Colorado....

"The magnificience of these sandstone rocks is captivating"...:"Hmm. you can feel the touch of the greatest sculptor, The Almighty. No wonder its called the Garden of the Gods', as the Native Indians considered it to be."

"Can I have one more scoop ple-e-ease?".. "Dont you think you have had enough ice-cream for today?"

"Could you please walk a bit faster?"..."Dont run, I cant keep pace with you."

"This place is spooky, Mama. Hold on to me tight"..."Dont worry dear, I'm right there."

Wonder what these are? Bits of conversation picked up on the way? No, these are a few tidbits that went on between these two ladies travelling together-- one in her twenties, the other in her fifties. Who else but the mother & daughter duo could delve into such varied moods of conversation!

So began our week-end trip from Denver, where my daughter came from Buffalo to pick me up, aftter a conference, I had come to attend there.

We drove down to Colorado Springs, late that Friday evening, only to bundle off to sleep in a cosy little hotel,wondering what beauty awaited us next morning.A quiet sleep with your 'baby' nestled in your arms is a pleasant treat for a mother residing 12,000 miles away from her kid!

Next morning the soft sunrays of dawn woke us up at 5:45 AM--an early and colourful dawn heralded a real bright day.We started off after a quick coffee, towards the Garden of the Gods.A wonderful drive through the plateau region took us to the Garden of the Gods Trading Post, from where we got a grand view of the mighty mountain range of the Pikes Peak.

This trading Post was built by the Indian trader, Charles Staussenburg, way back in 1900. Largely expanded today, yet maintaining its heritage, this place now hosts a classic art gallery. a unique gift shop and real good food at its Balanced Rock Cafe.

From there we went into the Garden of the Gods--strolling at ease on foot through the magnificient red sandstone rocks, formed at the fancy of nature; the touch of the magic hand of the Eternal Scuptor could be felt everywhere.We were awe-struck at the beauty and intricacy of these natural monuments-- the Balancd Rocks, the Kissing Camels, the Siamese Twins, to name a few. Sprawiling over 1350 acres stood numerous such structures, which had been built slowly, over 300 milliion years, as sand and salts deposited layer by layer, beneath flowing streams. As geologists speculate, in another few milliion years, these huge sturdy rocks will again crumble down, back to sand and gravel. Thus we all come, we grow and we perish and the Eternal Cycle continues.

Colourful chirpy birds broke the silence, as if to say, "Come on, come alive and be happy."

After an enchanting couple of hours up there, we came back, only to utter, "Truly, a Garden of Gods"

It was 11:30 and we were hungry--we drove on to Manitou Springs, looking for a good place for lunch. Suddenly a colourful stage-coach caught our eyes and we walked into the historic 'Stage-coach Inn'. The ambience took us back down memory lane to the log-house-stage-coach days and we had a sumptuous lunch. The food was delicious with a country-side flavour.

Outside the inn, I felt a sudden tug at my sleeve--turning my head I found two imploring eyes meeting mine.The tug, the look spoke a language I was used to 15 years back!! "Mama please....look at those bears!!"

Yes, it was a wayside shop with wood carved bears on display: bears of differnt sizes and in different moods.My daughter dragged me across the street and we treated our eyes to the wonderful wood carvings.They looked real alive, holding up 'Welcome', Good By' and other placards. Of-course the one my chimp-turned-young lady chose was a 'Go Away' sign!

There were lots more to see and only one afternoon in hand, so we had to choose from a list of 'to-go's. We chose to go for the Pikes Peak mountain. We would drive up to the 14,110 ft summit, a 19 mile drive to the top...that was thrilling! The roads were real scary, with surprisingly no guard rails on the narrow hilly roads and hairpin bends. All the way the view was magnificient with snow-clad peaks all around, pine trres and hiking trails through them, and reservoirs reflecting the white peaks enhancing the beauty all the more. It was a pity the over cautious driving effort kept my daughter from being able to enjoy the beauty. For once, I felt sorry that I couldn't drive. Anyhow, once at the top we felt we had achieved our goal. It was reassuring and real boosting to spot the peak we had reached as we descended back. Mountains always spoke of enormity and grandeur to me--reminding me of how tiny and insignificant we mortals are, compared to nature & the Eternal. The tiny efforts to reach the summit is all we have to hold on to.

After a three and half hour enchanting drive, we returned to the base and drove back towards Manitou Springs. On the way as we stopped at a coffee shop for coffee, a glance at the next shop attracted our attention. There stood a wooden reindeer with a scene painted on it. As I was trying to decipher the paintings, a motherly lady came forward saying "Thats the fire. Please see the otherside-- that shows our fight, our struggle." A look at the name of the shop, 'Born of the Flames' and her commentary brought back the story vividly-- the story of the devastating fires of 2002 in Colorado and the brave story of fighting back to life.This ever-positive effort to survive tragedy---to create out of destruction---the untiring effort of an evergreen lady of seventy overwhelmed me.With all the woods burnt out, they had recovered the wood from the core of the Aspen trees, from which beauties in the form of vases, coasters, trays, lamps and many more were carved out. Each was a piece of art with a story to tell. Fire had destroyed a lot for these fate-struck but courageous people, but it had kindled a new fire in them, a fire of inspiration to survive and create. My hats off to Ms Ginger Krabbenhoft and her team.

Having gathered enough treasure for our eyes and mind, we now returned to Manitou Springs downtown--for a leisurely stroll before returning to the hotel.

Little did we guess what this dainty little downtown had in store for us! This small downtown was a treasure house for local arts. We went from one shop to another to encounter a display of varied arts--from glass blowing to jewelry, from wood carving to metal work--it was all there.Seldom do we come across such a thriving art community now-a-days. And shopping with your daughter always means a tug at your sleeves, an imploring 'Mama..', a fond indulgence with a false frown---even if she is the tour guide and its her credit card! These are small gestures which, I guess, we both cherish a lot.

Thus our day long Colorado trip came to an end--a merry, satisfying trip, where we enjoyed every bit of it-- taking in the beauties of today soaked in the nectar of fond remembrances.

Two professionally busy women at two opposite ends of the world, but bound by the strongest of bonds of an invisible umbilical cord, are suddenly brought together after a year--very, very close---on a one day trip to the Rockies. So what could be more fulfilling to a mom on Mothers' Day?