Pointing The Way???
Snapped at the Junípero Serra rest stop. Not the most beautiful piece of artwork, but it has been a landmark for decades. The statue is quirky I know, but the view of Crystal Springs Reservoir and the coastal range is beautiful.
Father Junípero Serra founded 9 of the 21 California Missions the Spaniards built to claim the land of Alta California. Each mission was designed to be about a day's journey from the next (approx. 30 miles) and today, you can still visit replicas of these original missions as you drive on highway 101, then called El Camino Real ( The Kings Highway) that largely parallels the Pacific Ocean along its route north and south. The most southern Mission is in San Diego.... the northernmost and last one built is in Sonoma.
Because the construction of the missions utilized locally available materials such as adobe brick, there are only a few mission remnants (walls, cornices, towers, etc.) from the original structures that have survived devastating earthquakes and neglect. The replicas of the original missions, however, provide experiences that allow children and adults to relive the California mission era that began in 1769 and ended not long after the last mission was built in 1823.
Pointing The Way???
Snapped at the Junípero Serra rest stop. Not the most beautiful piece of artwork, but it has been a landmark for decades. The statue is quirky I know, but the view of Crystal Springs Reservoir and the coastal range is beautiful.
Father Junípero Serra founded 9 of the 21 California Missions the Spaniards built to claim the land of Alta California. Each mission was designed to be about a day's journey from the next (approx. 30 miles) and today, you can still visit replicas of these original missions as you drive on highway 101, then called El Camino Real ( The Kings Highway) that largely parallels the Pacific Ocean along its route north and south. The most southern Mission is in San Diego.... the northernmost and last one built is in Sonoma.
Because the construction of the missions utilized locally available materials such as adobe brick, there are only a few mission remnants (walls, cornices, towers, etc.) from the original structures that have survived devastating earthquakes and neglect. The replicas of the original missions, however, provide experiences that allow children and adults to relive the California mission era that began in 1769 and ended not long after the last mission was built in 1823.