I needed a photograph of poplar trees the other day, so I traveled over to my nearest "river", the San Francisquito Creek area of my neighborhood. I walked along a river trail they have just put in and then crossed over to a neighborhood park, for a few more pictures. Valenica Heritage Park was built by a developer (Newhall Land) and after completion, the park was given to our city, for use by its citizens. It is a small piece of land just before the creek enters into the larger Santa Clara River area and I give kudos to the developer of this small park. They pack a lot into a couple of acres. I had been there once and remembered they had a California Bear covered with images of local history and I wanted to get pictures of it. I remembered specifically that the Priest who married me was on the hind quarter of the bear.
Worthy enough for me to take time out to get a shot of it. :-)
They put the decoupaged bear under a very old heritage oak, which makes a wonderful photo op. We have an oak ordinance, that restricts how many trees they can destroy, while developing a piece of property and this one was saved for that reason. The bear shows lots of local milestones, via pictures and the major disaster that befell my area of the world: The St. Francis Dam disaster. When the park opened, I was glad to see acknowledgement of this significant event, memorialized there. A rare thing, especially from a developer who generally tries to hide all ugliness.
A bit more about the park itself, the restroom structure is done in the arts and crafts style of architecture, a nod to Gamble House and Greene and Greene, I am sure.
There is a tennis court area, a play area for the children and a soccer field. What's so cool about the soccer field is that the parking lane that leads to it ends in a cul-de-sac that is ringed by soccer balls. The kids love it and I found it very photogenic.
I hope you enjoyed the tour.
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