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Lecture number 3 entitled "The Great American Desert" was about all the expeditions that took place on this land throughout the last few centuries, more specifically since 1541 when the Spanish Conquistador Coronado set out to find the 7 cities of Cibola. In class Dr. Isern discussed the Spanish, French, American, and finally British reasons for dispersing across and exploring the vast land called "The Great Plains". Each people(s) had their own specific reasons to why they wanted to explore this land: The Spanish for the possibility of gold and later a claim for security, French for the possibility of fur trading with Native Americans among others, Americans to see the land they have recently purchased (Louisiana Purchase), and finally British for an eye on possible development (including the Great Plains now extending to the 49th parallel). Along with others in the class, I too, found the exploration of Lewis & Clark the most interesting. I enjoyed the story Dr. Isern told the class on how Lewis & Clark actually were able to move upstream in the spring of the year. I found it very fascinating that they would often have to use ropes around trees upstream to pull themselves forward against the strong currents of the mighty Missouri. This is something I have never really thought about but I could only imagine how frustrating this would have been to the many of men that were on the expedition. One item of information that I would have liked to go into more detail about was the interactions between the Natives and the explorers. We learned a little bit about Lewis & Clark's stay with the Mandan tribe but it would have also been kind of interesting to know about how other explorers interacted with the Natives.