I don’t know how many times I have photographed this tree over the years. I’ve been on this trail hundreds of times and each time I run past this grand Oak perched high above Stanford University’s Hoover Tower and Palo Alto beyond, it takes my breath away. I have run or walked the 5.2 miles of The Stanford Dish more times than I can count over the many years I’ve lived here. Each of my babies tagged along in joggers and baby bjorns or backpacks for many of them. I’ve gone alone with only me and my thoughts or with dear friends who’ve made me laugh with every step. Either way, when I’m done with these hilly miles, I’m refreshed and grateful.
Going through old photos recently, I discovered how many times I’ve photographed the many Live Oak trees, vistas, wildlife and even rainbows joining me each time I’m up there that continue to inspire me to stop, smell the air, take in the view and remember the natural beauty we are lucky enough to be surrounded by here in the SF Bay Area.
There are countless entries in my mental and physical gratitude journals beginning with this place and why it is so dear to me. I often forget to be grateful for those who own and protect this land, Stanford University. With it’s more than 8,000 acres around the mid-peninsula, Stanford University has more than 60% of their space open. The original purchase of 650 acres by Jane and Leland Stanford has grown immensely since 1876. The lands now includes not only a world class university, but a research park, student and faculty housing, acres and acres of gorgeous open space, and a shopping center. It truly is the heart of the mid-peninsula. I am forever grateful for the beauty and the bounty. While some of my favorite moments on “The Dish” are not been digitally captured, they live on in my heart always.
