HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 07? TIP. OLD SPANISH TRAIL The V’adres sai the Old Trails Dedicated to those heroic souls, .the early Franciscan Fathers, who were the pioneers of the great highway that now connects Florida,, Mexico and California. They toiled across deserts and mountains thru imminent and deadly danger, hearing aloft the symbol of their order and inspired gsxz by their 'Lowe of mankind. while the ex'oloratioiis of the conquistadores flame on the scrolls of legend and history the works of the padres still stand as monuments and ruins along the Old Spanish Trail, witnesses of their faith and industry and architectural examples of their high resolve. Lands of Romance and Riches The Old Spanish '.’rail weaves together the ancient city of St. isugustine, the alluring country of the Gulf of Mexico, the lands of"the Spanish Southwest, the cities and towns of the Mexican Border, the golden coast of Southern California, as the all-year outdoor land for the people; it oens the Southern Borderlands as the last and greatest frontier to Settlement and development. The background of history is the oldest and most romantic in America. It reaches from St. Augustine, Florida, thru Pensacola, Mobile and Her/ Orleans with their colorful Spanish and French' periods; thru the old Spanish mission country of the Southwest-----San Antonio. «nd central Texas; 'll Paso, Texas and the Rio Grande Valley to Santa Fe, Hew Mexico; then Tucson and the aantu Crus Valley missions in Arizona and Mexico; and then the mother mission of California it San Diego where the explorers of today may continue northward to Los Angeles and San Francisco and visit the missions and relics that glorify the California Scost. The Conquistadores Those were the days of Spanish Splendor, of cavalier and conqueror, of Columbus, Cortez and Pizarro, of Ponce do Leon, Balboa, do Soto and Coronado, and of priestly names whose kingdoms were of C-oft. The romance and riches of Mexico and Peru rouse . prince arid peasant. The. Spaniards dreamed, of gold and glory and with expeditions worth a king’s ransom they struggled thru jungles, deserts and mountains to desnair and death while the phantom of riches raised others to follow; the Spanish conquests reached nearly half the continent. In South amcrica they sought for the land of the Gilded Ghief whom they called '.’1 Dorado; they searched for the Temple of the Sun and the Mnchanted City of the Caesars. In Forth America they searched thru ^rizona and How Mexico for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold, and in Texas and Kansas for the realms of the