Juan Bautista de Anza was the first European to establish an overland route from Mexico, through the Sonoran Desert, to the Pacific coast of California. He was born in Mexico in 1736, joined the army in 1752 and served on the Northern frontier of Sonora. In 1774, he led a small expedition from the presidio in Tubac (now part of Arizona) to the mission in Monterey, California. In 1775, he led a second expedition to establish the mission and presidio...