Fort de Soto, Florida

I had the opportunity to  visit this Fort de Soto recently during the hot summer months. The beach is usually beautiful unfortunately the red tide and a recent storm caused the water to be littered with debris. I looks much prettier from a distance...

It must have been beautiful when the conquistador arrived at this spot. The water is a clear blueish-green.

The area is very hot and tropical with all kinds of wild birds nesting in the area.

Giant palm trees line the walk ways...

 

There are bike trails all over the park but by the time we arrived, they were already gone...

Although the Fort is named after Hernando de Soto, it wasn't built till 1898 as a strategic outpost for the Spanish American war. It was a fully functional fort with a barracks, holding cells, kitchen, mess hall, storehouse and even a hospital.

I cannot imagine how hot these jail cells must have been with the summer heat and humidity that Florida receives.

 

Since the Spanish-American was was called the "splendid little war," meaning it was an easy victory for the United States with very few casualties. I remember my history teacher telling us that more soldiers died from ptomaine poisoning than from actual combat or artillery. 

So the pride of this landmark goes to the types of weaponry on display. 

The remains of the military equipment are rare, one of a kind military pieces that are on display for the public. I'm sure most military enthusiasts would love to see these authentic weapons up close.

A Sacred Site

 I had an opportunity to visit an ancient Tocobagan Indian mound in Florida. It was near the site where some of the Spanish conquistadors first landed and the Tocobaga lived in this region with several other tribes. 

The family who bought this property were historians and they knew their ground was sacred. You can find this tour at discoverfloridatours.com. I really appreciate the preservation of the land that they have done. Some of the carved shells are laying exactly where the Tocobaga left them thousands of years ago. 

This mound is called the "Anderson/Narváez Mound" which is named after the previous and current owners of the land. The mound itself is considered to be in "pristine condition" by archeologists thanks to the efforts of the previous and new owners of the territory. 

There are four different reasons why Native Americans would build a mound. Burial is the most familiar but there are also ceremonial, trade and ritual purposes. No one knows why this mound was built and it has not been excavated. 

Many of the plants surrounding the mound are native to the region and were the same plants the native peoples used to nourish and heal their bodies. 

There are paths wandering through the jungle landscape that allow you to view all the vegetation and wildlife. They brought peacocks onto the land in the 1960s and they seem tame and feel right at home.

 

There is a nursery when you first enter the site where they raise a lot of native plants. 

Look at these beautiful orchids!

My photo skills are getting a workout! I photographed some early July 4th fireworks last night. 

Last time I posted photographs of fireworks,  it was suggested I have a foreground so I included some nice silhouettes in these. 

Thank you #qvproud Quail Valley Proud https://www.facebook.com/qvproud for hosting this event. 

I really like the shadow figure of the one setting them off. ISO 200 / F11 and the shutter varied from 2-20 seconds.

Sometimes when I go to events with a camera, people stare at me nervously like they don't want to be in the picture but they need to realize, that they are nothing more than dark silhouettes in the foreground.

It does help to have a foreground and silhouettes of people watching the fireworks really adds interest to the composition.