Cowboy’s All Roads Lead To Cortez
Travelers for centuries have passed through Cortez, Colorado following the Old Spanish Trail. The Domínguez–Escalante expedition was a Spanish journey of exploration conducted in 1776 by two Franciscan priests, Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, to find an overland route from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to their Roman Catholic mission in Monterey, on the coast of modern day central California.
The Trail runs through six states, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah connecting Northern New Mexico (Santa Fe, NM) with Alta, California (Los Angeles, CA)
Cortez, Colorado became the center of trade for Four Corners ( intersection of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.
In present times, US-491 comes from Utah through Cortez and on to Shiprock, New Mexico or Kayenta, Arizona. Joining this highway is US-160 coming from Durango, Colorado thus all roads lead to Cortez.