Help Improve the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail

The City of Moreno Valley is looking to residents for their suggestions on the local branch of the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail that extends from the Town Gate area to Lake Perris. Residents are invited to attend Project Information and Community Meetings to learn more about the local part of this federally-funded project and to provide insight to project planners. The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail is a 1,210-mile historic route from Nogales, Ariz. to San Francisco, Calif. The trail commemorates the story of the 1775-1776 Spanish Expedition whose members, consisting of some 30 families, experienced this overland route on their trek to Alta (or upper) California. The expedition founded and established the Mission and Presidio of San Francisco, the Mission in Santa Clara and the Pueblo of San José. Most settled in what is today the San Francisco Bay Area. Comment sessions will run from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Dec. 7, 2015 at the Town Gate Community Center located at 13100 Arbor Park Lane in Moreno Valley. Residents can also provide their comments and recommendations on Dec. 10, 2015, at the Moreno Valley Conference and Recreation Center - Alessandro B Room, 14075 Frederick Street. A daytime meeting will be held Dec. 9, 2015 from 3 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. at the El Potrero Park covered shelter located on the southwest corner of Lasselle Street and Arroyo Park Drive. For those planning on hiking the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail there is an online guide. The Anza Trail Guide was created by Greg Bernal-Mendoza Smestad, Ph.D., a descendant of several expedition members. The guide has chapters for each county along the trail in Arizona and California and has detailed information about the trail's history, route, and sites of interest that hikers can visit. There is a soundtrack described in each chapter so that you can listen to authentic music, interviews, and sounds. This on-line site is an expanded version of the printed guide available through Los Californianos titled Antepasados, Volume XI: A Guide to the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. (http://www.loscalifornianos.org/publications.html) The on-line version includes Web links to resources and sites of interest. Additional background information and details about the displays along the trail are included in the Anza (http://www.solideas.com/DeAnza/TrailGuide/AnzaTrailToday.html). Each county page has a "Learning on the Trail" section offering some educational extras that are especially suited to students. Find out more about Learning on the Trail (http://www.solideas.com/DeAnza/TrailGuide/LearningOnTheTrail.html). For more information on meetings for the on the local branch of the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail please call Tony Hetherman, at (951) 413-3163