By Mike Monroe
Mike Monroe
Have you ever come across a landscape scene that is so beautifully sublime that you want to keep the location to yourself?
Picture a snowy egret perched upon a fallen tree limb that arches across a slow moving creek with a gentle breeze rustling through the shady tree canopy. It is almost too perfect to describe as you absorb the moment through all of your senses.
Because I want to keep this place as unspoiled as possible, I will not disclose the whereabouts of the site in print for fear of a popularity explosion.
For me, the serenity and tranquility of that Sunday morning was as close to a transcendental experience that I can ever recall. And it was right here in Morgan Hill. I was doing some historical background research this week because I stopped for a quick peek at two historical markers on Santa Teresa Boulevard. Both say that the Anza expedition passed nearby in 1776 on their way to establish a new mission and settlement in San Francisco.
So I wondered — who was the first European to explore the southern Santa Clara Valley? The Ohlone (Amah Mutsun) were the Native Americans living in the valley with a number of villages situated near creeks and rivers and other waterways.
This was their home (for the past 1,500 years or so), into which a Spanish military officer by the name of Pedro Fages walked into and changed their world forever.
Fages led a small military expedition up the valley floor in 1770 from the recently established Presidio at Monterey. He returned again in 1772 along with Father Juan Crespi, reconnoitering the area for possible mission sites and naming Llagas Creek and the San Benito River.
They named the valley “San Bernardino” and established the original El Camino route — today’s Monterey Road.
If you enjoy the great outdoors and conversation, please join me Sunday June 22 for a historical walk in the Valley of Heart’s Delight.
Mike Monroe is a business owner and amateur naturalist. He is docent for Santa Clara County Parks and an Adopt-a-Creek member.
