Continuing on the route from San
Luis Obispo County, travel north on G14 to Jolon. Turn left
on Mission Road to Mission
San Antonio de Padua, located within Fort
Hunter Liggett. (The Historic Route continues on Army lands
and is not available to the public.) Leaving the mission, take G14
north to US 101 north. Exit US 101 at Arroyo Seco Road (before Soledad).
Go west on Arroyo Seco Road to Fort Romie Road/G17. Turn north on
Fort Romie Road; it becomes River Road and continues to Hwy 68.
Turn left (west) on Hwy 68 toward Monterey. Hwy 68 merges with Hwy
1 to Monterey. Continue on Highway 1 south, and turn right on Rio
Rd., or follow the signs to the Mission
San Carlos in Carmel.
The expedition's Camp #87 was at Los Correos, where a courier was
sent ahead to Monterey. The expedition followed the Salinas River
to Buena Vista near Spreckels and along the present day Highway
68.
In Monterey, visit the Pacific
House Museum (located at 20 Custom House Plaza) and walk the
Path
of History. To continue north, return to Highway 1 north and
take Highway 68 to Salinas, where it becomes Main Street. Travel
north on Main St. until it intersects with San Juan Grade Road.
Turn right on San Juan Grade Rd. and travel north to San
Benito County.
Hiking/Biking Ideas
Walking or cycling opportunities on Fort
Ord public lands: Take Reservation Road to Portolá Rd.
to Creekside Road. Toro Park is across Hwy 68 on Portolá Road.
Dancers from
the Alta
California
Troupe perform
traditional
dances at a
historical
festival.
Photo: Monterey County
Convention & Visitors Bureau
About
Your Visit to Monterey County
From Toro Park, one can see the slender valley that
the expedition passed through on March
10, 1776 on their way to Monterey. The Monterey Presidio
was the interim destination of Anza's settlers. They rested
here in this northernmost frontier outpost of Alta California
while Anza and a small party of soldiers went north on March
23 to select the sites for the San
Francisco Mission and Presidio.
Sites of Interest
A.Mission
San Antonio de Padua and Expedition Camp #85
The mission was founded in 1771. Along the entrance road to
the mission, a large wooden sign describes the Anza expedition's
visit to the mission on March
6, 1776. Today, it is a working parish
managed by the Diocese of Monterey. Located on Mission Rd.
on the grounds of Fort
Hunter Liggett, it includes a museum featuring exhibits
on the life of the Salinan people. On route to the
Mission, travelers can visit the Lake
San Antonio (located at 2610 San Antonio Rd.) and enjoy
recreational activities such as picnicking, camping, fishing,
hiking, and swimming.
B.San
Lorenzo County Park and Expedition Camp #86
The expedition followed Sulphur Springs Canyon into Kent Canyon
near King City. Camp was made north of King City at Los
Ositos on the banks of the Salinas River (then
called the Monterey River). Nearby, travelers can visit the
Monterey
County Agricultural & Rural Life Museum (1160 Broadway
in King City), and learn how farming developed after the first
settlers arrived.
C.San
Carlos Cathedral and Expedition Camps #88 and #90
The current cathedral (at 500 Church St., Monterey) is on
the former site of the Spanish Presidio and the site
of the Royal Presidio Chapel known to the expedition as San
Carlos de Borromeo de Monterey. Take a walk 1 block south-east
and follow the shoreline of Lake El Estero to the flat, polished
black stones of the Anza Walk sculpture that mark the expedition's
path.
D.San
Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo and Expedition
Camp #89
For March
11, 1776, Father Font writes, "...the fathers, who were
seven, welcomed us with singular joy and festive peals of
the good bells there…to which the soldiers replied with volleys
and a salvo…entering the church in a procession, we intoned
the Te Deum…". Father Junípero Serra, who is
buried there before its altar, founded Mission Carmel in 1770.
The church
seen today was built after Anza's visit.
E.Fort
Ord Public Lands (Bureau of Land Management)
Basket making was still a tradition at the time of Anza's
passage through the area. A wayside exhibit interprets the
use of native plant materials such as Sedge (Carex barbarae),
located near the exhibit, in Ohlone basket-making.
F. Salinas and Expedition Camp #91
The colonists remained in Monterey, and Anza's exploratory
troop set out for San Francisco, traveling a direct route
north-east to Natividad. They camped
near Natividad Creek Park, where today, a wayside interpretive
panel describes the indigenous use of native plants located
there. Its location is on Laurel Drive (accessible via Highway
101) at Constitution Boulevard.
Monterey's San Carlos Church
(Royal Presidio Chapel)
Monterey's Anza Walk Sculpture
at El Estero
Photo: Greg Smestad
Photo: Greg Smestad
Learning
On The Trail in Monterey County
Questions on the Trail
From March until June 1776, Anza's colonists
spent most of their time in the Presidio's Plaza
(square). Within a block of the San Carlos Cathedral
(Spanish Royal Presidio Chapel), a sign describes
the boundaries of the walls of the presidio.
Question: About how many city blocks was the Presidio?
Question: Where is the U.S. Presidio of Monterey
Museum?
Visit the Carmel Mission and learn about Father
Junípero Serra.
Question: Was Father Serra alive when the Anza
expedition arrived?
Question: What Spanish explorer is commemorated
with a statue outside the Monterey Conference
Center?
Question: Colton Hall (on Pacific St. in Monterey)
was where California's constitution was written
in both Spanish and English. Why were both languages
used? Does the Anza expedition have a plaque on
the sidewalk outside Colton Hall?
On the CD: Father Font's "Te Deum"
According to some scholars, Nicetas of Remesiana, an
early 5th century Greek bishop, theologian and composer,
wrote the Te Deum Laudamus, an important Latin
Christian chant of thanksgiving. Diaries tell us that
the Te Deum was sung by Father Serra at the founding
of Monterey in 1770 at the Vizcaíno-Serra oak
tree, and again at special occasions such as the arrival
of the Anza expedition. The version shown here, from
the Mission Santa Clara Archives, has a handwritten
note from Father Florencio Ibáñez (1740-1818),
a Franciscan who served at least four missions: Carmel,
San Antonio, San Juan Bautista, and Soledad. He is buried
at Mission Soledad.
Te Deum in Latin
[and English]
Te Deum laudamus,
[We praise you, O God,]
te Dominum confitemur.
[and acknowledge you as Lord.]
Te aeternum Patrem...
[You, the eternal Father...]
The Te Deum
(Santa Clara University Archives)
Photo: Greg Smestad
Play MP3 file of Font's
Te Deum,
preceded by Carpenter Birds (woodpeckers):
John Warren (Chant)
(playing time 3 minutes 18 seconds)
Additional Resources
San Antonio Mission - Mission Road, Fort
Hunter Liggett, Jolon, CA; 93928 tel.: 831- 385-4478,
web: missionsanantonio.net
Monterey County Parks & Recreation Department - PO Box 5249,
Salinas, CA 93915;
tel.: 888-588-2267,
web: co.monterey.ca.us/parks
San Carlos Cathedral and The Diocese of Monterey - 500 Church
Street, Monterey, CA 93940;
tel.: 831-373-2628,
web: dioceseofmonterey.org
Carmel Mission - 3080 Rio Road, Carmel, CA 93923;
tel.: 831-624-3600,
web: carmelmission.org
Bureau of Land Management - Hollister Field Office, 20 Hamilton
Court, Hollister, CA 95023;
tel.: 831-630-5000,
web: ca.blm.gov/hollister
Monterey State Historic Park - 20 Custom House Plaza, Monterey,
CA 93940;
tel.: 831-649-7118,
web: parks.ca.gov
Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District - 60 Garden Court,
Suite 325, Monterey, CA 93940;
tel.: 831-372-3196,
web: mprpd.org