Winter 2009
John MarkoffJohn Markoff: The Value of Open Space
- Growing up in Palo Alto in the sixties, during
summers each day I would pedal my bike
out behind Stanford. As I peered up at Skyline,
the wind was in my face, and the fog hung
perpetually over the Santa Cruz Mountains.
It seemed that no matter how warm it was on
the Peninsula, by the time I got to the top of
Old La Honda Road, I would be shrouded in
the mist as the redwoods dripped on me.
- For almost a half century I’ve bicycled and
hiked in the hills above Palo Alto. I’ve ridden
Highway 1 from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz
and made my way up and down Bear Gulch
Road to San Gregorio long before Neil Young
fenced the road off. I skipped classes in high
school to wander the trails in the then-brand new
Palo Alto Foothills Park. I lived for a while in
a rustic one-room cabin at the southern end of
Skyline Boulevard. I have seen bobcats and
mountain lions and followed their tracks while
wandering through abandoned apple and pear
orchards still heavy with fruit.
- The Santa Cruz Mountains are a touchstone
for me. I grew up here, I have celebrated
birthdays here, I was married here, and again
and again I find myself drawn back to a
place that seems to have changed so little in
five decades.
- What is perhaps most enjoyable about my
love affair with these mountains is that while
they’ve remained constant, like a secret place or
some multifaceted jewel, they gradually reveal
themselves to me with each visit.
- It’s hard to place a value on something
that has been as much a part of your life as the
air around you. Yet I’m convinced that keeping
large portions of the Santa Cruz Mountains
pristine has helped define Silicon Valley and
that underscores the importance of the work
of POST.
- There is something more, too. The idea of
quality of life doesn’t do it justice. It’s a sense
of place, something that remains constant in a
world that is perpetually transformed. The local
landscapes that surround us offer a point of
reference, a prism that brings that world into
focus. They serve as landmarks for our minds,
compass points for the imagination. They shape
our identity and give our lives perspective, no
matter where we may find ourselves.
- John Markoff is a senior writer for
The New York Times. Considered
one of the nation’s most influential
computer and technology reporters,
he has covered Silicon Valley for The
Times since 1992. He has taught at
Stanford University’s Department
of Communication and lives in
San Francisco.
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