Misty Mountain Campground- Shenandoah, VA

 Misty Mountain Campground- Shenandoah, VA 

 Our first outing was to visit Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson.

Lisa is hanging out with Thomas Jefferson.  She has met many famous people in our travels.

Thomas Jefferson (1743 –1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nation's second vice president under John Adams and the first United States secretary of state under George Washington. The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating American colonists to break from the Kingdom of Great Britain and form a new nation.

During the American Revolution, Jefferson represented Virginia in the Continental Congress that adopted the Declaration of Independence. As a Virginia legislator, he drafted a state law for religious freedom. He served as the second Governor of Virginia from 1779 to 1781, during the Revolutionary War. In 1785, Jefferson was appointed the United States Minister to France, and subsequently, the nation's first secretary of state under President George Washington from 1790 to 1793. Jefferson and James Madison organized the Democratic-Republican Party to oppose the Federalist Party during the formation of the First Party System. With Madison, he anonymously wrote the provocative Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in 1798 and 1799, which sought to strengthen states' rights by nullifying the federal Alien and Sedition Acts.

Jefferson and Federalist John Adams became friends as well as political rivals, serving in the Continental Congress and drafting the Declaration of Independence together. In the 1796 presidential election between the two, Jefferson came in second, which according to electoral procedure at the time, made him vice president to Adams. Jefferson challenged Adams again in 1800 and won the presidency. After his term in office, Jefferson eventually reconciled with Adams and they shared a correspondence that lasted fourteen years.

After retiring from public office, Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. He and John Adams both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of U.S. independence. Presidential scholars and historians generally praise Jefferson's public achievements, including his advocacy of religious freedom and tolerance in Virginia, his peaceful acquisition of the Louisiana Territory from France without war or controversy, and his ambitious and successful Lewis and Clark Expedition.

In his advanced years, Jefferson became increasingly concerned that people understand the principles in, and the people responsible for writing, the Declaration of Independence, and he continually defended himself as its author. He considered the document one of his greatest life achievements, in addition to authoring the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom and his founding of the University of Virginia. Plainly absent from his epitaph were his political roles, including President of the United States.

The view from Monticello looking over the Blue Ridge Mountains was truly gorgeous, especially with the fall foliage in its glory.

Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home, was designed by him. He inherited great wealth at a young age. He was 26 when he began designing the house. The plantation sat on 5,000 acres. The first home he built on the land was completed in 1770, where he lived until the main house could be built. His home was generally completed in 1809, but he continued to remodel and make changes until his death in 1826. When he died, the house was in a general state of disrepair, largely because he was suffering significant financial debt. He lived beyond his means and financially supported many people which lead to his bankruptcy.  His daughter sold Monticello in 1834. In 1923, Monticello was sold to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which operates it as a museum. 

He was known to have extensive collections he liked to display in his foyer to entertain his many guests.  Shown are some of the artifacts from his collection in the main entrance of Monticello.

Upper and lower jaw of a mastodon discovered in Kentucky that belonged to Thomas Jefferson. 

He had an extensive art and book collection.  Many of his books were donated to establish the Library of Congress.

A copy of the Declaration of Independence, which he is credited with writing. 

Lithographs of Niagara falls were on display.

Dumb waiter that allowed wine to be transferred from the wine cellar to the dinning room. This was only one of the many things he designed in his home.  He was quite fond of his wine.

The University of Virginia is seen in the distance from his property.  After he retired from politics, he founded the University.

The museum has tried to recreate the property, including his gardens.  The museum sells heirloom seeds and cuttings of plants from Monticello. The plantation was designed to be a sell contained community. He was known to have owned over 600 slaves during his life. DNA has proven he had multiple children with one of his mixed race slaves, Sally Hemings, after the death of his wife. Ironically, Sally was his wife's half sister- they shared the same father.  He inherited many slaves, including Sally, from his father in law. Sally was three quarters white and was described as being very beautiful. Sally and Thomas Jefferson began their affair when he was in Paris. Sally was a free woman in Paris. She agreed to come back to Monticello with Jefferson if he agreed to free her children once they became 21. He honored this agreement. He never granted Sally her freedom, even upon his death. After his death, the slaves were sold by his daughter. His daughter did give Sally her freedom and spared her from the slave auction.  

Thomas Jefferson's gravesite is part of a large family cemetery on the property.  There is also a separate slave cemetery on the property. 

He designed this plow that was used on his plantation.

Lisa and Karma on a hike in the Shenandoah valley.  

Karma ventured off by himself on a hike.

We hiked to Dark Hollow Falls in the Shenandoah National Park. 

Lisa and Karma with Dark Hollow falls in the background.

Rose Hill Falls in Shenandoah National Park actually was a bit more impressive in real life.

Lisa and Karma were getting ready to cross the bridge to continue our hike out of Rose Hills Falls.

We were overlooking Shenandoah valley on one of our hikes. We recently had a lot of rain and strong winds that brought down a lot of the beautiful leaves. We missed the peak fall foliage here, but it was still beautiful.