Early in July, 1771, a little party of Spanish missionaries, headed by three Franciscan padres, walked into a beautiful, oak-mantled valley near the coastal region of central California. Here they pitched their camp and, as was their custom, began to …
Due to the location of the rugged Santa Lucia Mountains, which tumble down to the sea in central California, the overland route between San Diego and the second mission at Carmel turned inland the latter half of the journey. Thus …
In the summer of 1771, a little group of Franciscan missionaries headed by Padres Junípero Serra, Miguel Píeras and Buenaventura Sitjar entered the Valley of the Oaks. In this secluded valley, the Padres hung a bell on the branches of …