Valley of the Dead: Los Gatos

How to connect to the history of the Grateful Dead without a ticket.Here are the places where history happened.

Jun 18, 2015

Black and white photo of a man standing with his hands at his sides, wearing a short-sleeve button-up shirt and light pants, with a cigarette in his mouth and a serious expression. — Neil Cassady

Los Gatos Tire Company/
Los Gatos Meats

577 University Ave

Neal Cassady, inspiration to both the Beat and Woodstock generations, Further bus driver and monologuist at the Acid Tests, recapped tires here when he was paroled from San Quentin on a marijuana charge. Son John Cassady used to bicycle down just to watch him work. “He was running all the time,” John says. “He was amazing to watch.” Cassady taught Bob Weir to drive and took Jerry Garcia on white knuckled runs to Mexico. “There may have been drugs involved,” John hypothesizes.