Colorado State Capitol Virtual Tour

Captain Don Bernardo Pacheco

Don Bernardo was the chartographer and diary keeper for the Dominquez - Escalante expedition of 1776. Fathers Francisco Dominguez and Silvestre Escalante, Spanish priests, may have been the first Europeans to see Arizona as they traveled on foot from Santa Fe, New Mexico through western Colorado, to Spanish Fork, Utah and then down through northern Arizona back to Santa Fe. They consequently opened the Spanish Trail, a trade route between Santa Fe and Monterey, which became a major link connecting New Mexico and Southern California from 1829 to 1848. Pacheco explored and recorded more unknown territory than Daniel Boone or the Lewis and Clark expeditions.

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last modified June 20, 2003