Dominguez-Escalante Expedition

The Dominguez-Escalante Expedition was conducted in 1776 to find an overland route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Spanish missions in California. Francisco Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, Franciscan priests, and Don Bernardo Miera y Pacheco, a cartographer, traveled with eight men from Santa Fe through present day western Colorado to Utah Valley, now in the state of Utah. Along the journey they were aided by three Timpanog Ute guides. Due to hardships experienced during travel, the group did not reach Las Californias, but returned to Santa Fe through Arizona. The maps and documentation of their expedition aided future travelers. Their route became part of the Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominguez-Escalante Expedition