El Camino Real, The Royal Road.

In the late 1700's, the Spaniards who occupied what is now California created a footpath "highway."
It began as a narrow footpath to bridge the gap between the Missions established by the Catholic church. For you dirt-bag mountain bikers, "footpath" translates to "singletrack." The Royal Road ( that's El Camino Real, translated) ran from San Diego in the south to Sonoma in the north. Missions were established to be one day's walk apart along the path, generally working out to about thirty miles.
As traffic and populous grew, so did the El Camino Real. After the United States settled the Treaty Of Guadalupe Hidalgo, "Alta California" became California. This treaty was actually signed across the street from Universal Studios Theme Park, and the adobe building still stands today! As the Americans poured in, the path grew into a road. Wells Fargo used this road to deliver supplies and people to Backbone's team sponsor, The Union Hotel in Los Alamos! Once the car replaced the coach, highways 101 and 1 were built almost exactly on top of the El Camino Real.
As you drive the coast along the 101 between Santa Barbara (there's a beautifully restored mission there) and Santa Maria, look for small yellow mustard flowers alongside the highway. Native to Europe and NOT to California, the flower's seeds were spread by the Spanish missionaries who used them to follow the route and not get lost. Those mustard flowers are direct descendants of those dropped so many years ago. The Royal Road served twenty one missions, and continues to serve them by sharing there beauty and history to modern day travelers along California's golden coast

Photos are of the Mission San Juan Capistrano, the "jewel" of the mission system. She was finished on Nov. 1st, 1776 under the direction of Padre Junipero Serra. Partially destroyed by earthquakes, it has been under reconstruction as long as I can remember! You can find her in southern Orange County, off the 5 freeway at the HWY 74 exit.