Stevens Creek
Mtn . View Memories
By Nicholas Perry Past President
While looking for images of Stevens Creek to include in this newsletter , I rediscovered a whole series of pictures I hadn ’ t seen in years buried in one of my external hard drives . The photos were taken during an afternoon exploring Stevens Creek with my grandpa , Simon Sias , nearly 17 years ago , back in March 2005 . At the time , I was taking a landscape architecture class focused on creek restoration in Mediterranean climates . When I needed to select a local creek as a case study for my term project , I chose the creek I knew the best : Stevens Creek .
I ’ d forgotten my grandpa decided to accompany me as I ventured out along the Stevens Creek Trail to photograph it for my project . The two of us enjoyed going on random day trips together , exploring interesting spots around the Santa Clara Valley , especially places where the landscape reminded him of what our area used to look like when he �irst arrived here as a child during the Great Depression . The photos on this page are from that 2005 walk along the creek together ; just a few years before my grandpa passed away . It ’ s just one of many happy memories along the banks of Stevens Creek .
My earliest memories of Stevens Creek are rainy day drives up the winding roads around the reservoir and up Stevens Canyon , admiring the gushing creek and spotting the small waterfalls that emerged after a good storm . This was especially exciting in the years after the big 1986 – 1992 drought �inally ended .
My middle school and high school years were the trailblazing years for Mountain View ’ s stretch of the Stevens Creek Trail . Every few years a new segment of the trail opened , offering new places to explore by foot or bike . It was especially exciting once “ Reach 3 ” opened in 1999 , with its big blue bridge over Central Expressway . Suddenly , it was easy and safe to bike from my home
in the Shoreline West neighborhood all the way to the open waters of the San Francisco Bay , a ride I ’ ve enjoyed many times over the years .
One of my favorite memories is walking the trail after watching the Independence Day �ireworks at Shoreline Amphitheater . My family , as well as many others , decided walking home along the trail would be more enjoyable than sitting in post-�ireworks traf�ic . I remember the sounds of laughter , crickets , and frogs , with �lashlights and the moon lighting our way on that warm summer evening .
Do you have special memories of Mountain View ’ s creeks ? Share them with us by emailing : info @ mountainviewhistorical . org .
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