The De Soto National Memorial Park is located in Braedenton, Florida. It consists of a Visitors Center, outdoor exhibits and hiking paths. The Visitor Center has a film, some exhibits discussing the history of the area, and a small shop. As usual, I watched the film, and it was a great introduction to who De Soto was, the first explorers of the "new world", the challenges they faced, and the consequences of their presence in the area.

De Soto was actually part of Christopher Columbus' expedition. Once they returned to Europe, several other expeditions were planned - everyone wanted to come to the new world to get the gold and riches that were found. De Soto led an expedition, to land in this area, just north of what is now Tampa. He decided to go north, and explore areas untouched by Europeans.

The Native Americans in the area, however, had been warned about the European explorers. In an effort to keep them from pillaging their communities, the Native Americans would tell De Soto that the "real" riches were further north. Eventually, De Soto was aware that he was being had, and made one member of the tribe to help guide the group to the next community. Along the way, many of the Native American tribes suffered from disease brought by the explorers.

De Soto's group never found any gold, but he did explore the new world further north than anyone else had to date. His group did not do well over the winter, and returned to Europe. The NPS site for this National Memorial Park is at: https://www.nps.gov/deso/index.htm

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