(Sometime in October 2003)
Today we went out in the late evening with Sharat. He took us on a long drive through the Calaveras Mountains. There is a circular route carved through the hills for bike riders though cars can also make use of it. The road was always narrow and winding sharply all along, with the fear of veering off the edge and plunging into the unknown always looming ahead of us.
Yet the sight of animals in the ranches flanking the narrow road was so refreshing. It was such a welcome relief, watching the other animals after dealing weeks and weeks with only workaholic humans. We spotted a couple of horses in stables near the foot of the mountains. Higher up there were cows grazing peacefully, with calves bounding towards their mothers as night drew nearer. The cows here have a thick coat of dark fur, apparently to fight the cold winters.
Occasionally a deer would spring down to the wooden fence bordering the road and throw curious glances in our direction with its big black eyes. We started on a 2 lane road at the foot of the mountain but the 2 lanes gradually merged into one. However Sharat proved to be an expert driver as he negotiated the curves of the road smoothly, like a figure skater on ice.
The best part of the trip was when at the highest point of the road. We parked the car and came out to a breathtaking view of the entire Silicon Valley. To our right was San Francisco, with the huge silvery sheet of the bay absolutely calm in the twilight; one could have so easily mistaken it for a big piece of land polished and shone diligently. We could also make out the bay bridge joining Oakland to SFO, like closely spaced twin ribs against the body of the bay. To our left was San Jose with the high rise downtown buildings like match box constructions from that height. And in between were the Sunnyvales and Cupertinos, the Mountain Views and Santa Claras, all so tranquil in the fading light.
The entire bay area (barring the outlet to the ocean) is surrounded almost circularly by hills – the reason it is called Silicon Valley. At the time of viewing, the Sun was behind a patch of clouds, just preparing to dive below the horizon. Shafts of sunlight stole through sometimes, bathing a patch of land below in pale orange. Most of the surrounding hill ring appeared to be a high plain solid gray wall with a jagged top, since sunlight wasn’t illuminating the hills directly and we couldn’t make out the individual contours and folds.
You have to view the bay from that precise point to appreciate that the heart of the world IT industry is in a valley.
The return journey was no less exciting. Our car hurtled down a steep incline of a road, like a roller coaster. No sooner had Sharat jammed on the brakes than a strange rubbery odor filled the car interiors and a wispy white smoke emanated from the front. We stopped immediately and parked the car in a gas station. A preliminary inspection revealed that the brakes had overheated. We let it cool down and cooled off ourselves by sipping on some hot French Vanilla coffee available in the nearby store.
Yet the sight of animals in the ranches flanking the narrow road was so refreshing. It was such a welcome relief, watching the other animals after dealing weeks and weeks with only workaholic humans. We spotted a couple of horses in stables near the foot of the mountains. Higher up there were cows grazing peacefully, with calves bounding towards their mothers as night drew nearer. The cows here have a thick coat of dark fur, apparently to fight the cold winters.
Occasionally a deer would spring down to the wooden fence bordering the road and throw curious glances in our direction with its big black eyes. We started on a 2 lane road at the foot of the mountain but the 2 lanes gradually merged into one. However Sharat proved to be an expert driver as he negotiated the curves of the road smoothly, like a figure skater on ice.
The best part of the trip was when at the highest point of the road. We parked the car and came out to a breathtaking view of the entire Silicon Valley. To our right was San Francisco, with the huge silvery sheet of the bay absolutely calm in the twilight; one could have so easily mistaken it for a big piece of land polished and shone diligently. We could also make out the bay bridge joining Oakland to SFO, like closely spaced twin ribs against the body of the bay. To our left was San Jose with the high rise downtown buildings like match box constructions from that height. And in between were the Sunnyvales and Cupertinos, the Mountain Views and Santa Claras, all so tranquil in the fading light.
The entire bay area (barring the outlet to the ocean) is surrounded almost circularly by hills – the reason it is called Silicon Valley. At the time of viewing, the Sun was behind a patch of clouds, just preparing to dive below the horizon. Shafts of sunlight stole through sometimes, bathing a patch of land below in pale orange. Most of the surrounding hill ring appeared to be a high plain solid gray wall with a jagged top, since sunlight wasn’t illuminating the hills directly and we couldn’t make out the individual contours and folds.
You have to view the bay from that precise point to appreciate that the heart of the world IT industry is in a valley.
The return journey was no less exciting. Our car hurtled down a steep incline of a road, like a roller coaster. No sooner had Sharat jammed on the brakes than a strange rubbery odor filled the car interiors and a wispy white smoke emanated from the front. We stopped immediately and parked the car in a gas station. A preliminary inspection revealed that the brakes had overheated. We let it cool down and cooled off ourselves by sipping on some hot French Vanilla coffee available in the nearby store.
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