Sometimes, understanding time-lines comes in handy. It's like understanding that as your dad is growing up in New York...your mom is growing up in California. They're living totally different lives, in totally different states, on totally different sides of the continent. That's what the history of our country is like. While our "founding fathers" were framing the Constitution of the United States and English colonies declared their independence in 1776, the presidio was built in San Francisco. By 1781, the fighting had ended on the east coast as the Americans won their independence from Great Britain. At the same time, many Spaniards lost their lives in the Yuma Massacre. (The Yuma Massacre happened when the Spaniards were trying to establish an overland route for their Missions.) In would be less than 100 years and the paths of these two lands would cross! 2010-07-27