Domínguez-Escalante Semiquincentennial Expedition Retracing and Tribute of 2026 (DESERT26)

DESERT26 crashes America’s 250th birthday party with a multicultural story about our oldest Western origins – it’s a Western that predates the genre, and ultimately a father-son journey about inheritance: what we carry forward, what we leave behind, and how we transform in the carrying.

Fifty years after my father led the 1976 Bicentennial reenactment on horseback, I’m embarking on a 2,000-mile journey to retrace the Domínguez-Escalante Expedition—the first documented crossing of the Colorado Plateau. Into the West meets 180° South in this epic documentary about what endures, what’s been lost, and what we owe to the future.

In 1776, while knowledge of the Declaration of Independence was being shared with the world, two Franciscan friars departed Santa Fe seeking a route to California. Their expedition would fail spectacularly – stumbling back six months later, starving and freezing. Had they succeeded in connecting Spain’s empire, the Western United States and its cowboy mythology might never have existed. Meanwhile, Spain was quietly bankrolling the Continental Army and distracting British forces in Latin America. Without this support, the Declaration might have remained a treasonous fantasy. Both stories are absent from America’s founding narrative.

Two centuries later, my father William S. Daley – a decorated Vietnam veteran – led a second expedition, creating an extraordinary archive of maps, journals, and photographs. Yet their story never made it beyond the Four Corners states. Now, as America approaches its 250th anniversary and Colorado celebrates 150 years of statehood, I’m following in my father’s bootprints. We’re departing Santa Fe on July 29, 2026 – exactly 250 years to the day.

Our film weaves three temporal threads through contested and sacred landscapes where descendants of the expedition’s first encounters are reclaiming their narratives. The 1776 journals reveal wonder and desperation; my father’s 1976 archive captures Vietnam-era America grappling with identity; our 2026 footage documents the raw reality of what it means to inherit complicated legacies in contemporary America.

We’re seeking support for documentary production and expedition logistics to capture this once-in-250-years story. Your contribution helps preserve three centuries of American history while it can still be traced. We’re also recruiting expedition participants – especially filmmakers and cinematographers with riding experience who want to be part of documenting this unprecedented journey. Whether through financial support or joining the expedition, you can help ensure America’s forgotten founding story finally reaches the audience it deserves.

For more information about supporting DESERT26 or joining the expedition, contact Ryan Daley at ryan.daley@gmail.com.