Talk:Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
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Interest in creating a national trail along the route of the Anza expedition materialized in the early twentieth century. California historian Herbert Eugene Bolton published Anza's California Expeditions in 1930. In the five volume series, Bolton translates the diaries kept by Anza and expedition priest Pedro Font. Using their observations, Bolton navigated the cross country journey, helping to reestablish the route that the Anza expedition used in 1776.
Interest in the Anza Trail again peaked forty years later during the celebration of the Bicentennial of the United States in 1776. The two-hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the Anza expedition in California provided westerners a local historical icon that corresponded to the national holiday. To commemorate it, longtime California trail advocate George Cardinet helped organize a reenactment ride that took equestrians in historic Anza era uniforms along the trail route, ending at the Golden Gate Bridge. The 1,200-mile trip caused such an upwelling in interest that legislation was quickly passed to fund a National Park Service study to create the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.
The studies determined that the Anza Trail was indeed nationally significant and should become part of the system of national trails. In 1990, Congress passed the final legislation and President George Bush, senior, signed the enabling documents creating the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.
Today, the National Park Service helps publicize the trail and works to create a continuous recreational trail along the Anza Trial route. Currently, over 300-miles of trail are open to hikers, bikers, and equestrians. Drivers can follow an auto-route that generally follows the historical route used by the Anza expedition.
