April 29th - Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), philosopher of the American Revolution, is best remembered as the author of the Declaration of Independence. The ideas of the Declaration - that "all men are created equal" and have a right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" - established the foundations of self-government and individual freedom in America. Jefferson's eloquent words of 1776 still inspire people around the world today.

Jefferson was a deep thinker often referred to as a "Man of the Enlightenment and Nation Builder". He was strongly influenced by the Enlightenment, the 18th-century movement stressing human reason, knowledge, and inquire - and how they could be used to improve the human condition. The American democratic system was founded on Enlightenment principles. After writing the Declaration, Jefferson spent the next 33 years in public life, serving as delegate to the Virginia General Assembly and to Congress, as governor of Virginia, minister to France, secretary of state, vice president, and president from 1801 to 1809.

During his presidency, his most notable achievements included the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. After he retired, he founded the University of Virginia. In addition to his public service, Jefferson, an "enthusiast" in the arts and in many branches of applied science, contributed to architecture, horticulture, ethnography, paleontology, archaeology, and astronomy, to name but a few.

Monticello, his plantation near Charlottesville, Virginia, was the center of Jefferson's world. The work Monticello in Italian means "little mountain.' To understand Thomas Jefferson, one must understand Monticello" it can be seen as his autobiographical statement. Monticello was a house, an ornamental landscape, a farm, a plantation, a small mountain, and a large and diverse community. It encapsulated the interests, talents, ideals, ambitions, dreams, and realities of one of the most complex and interesting members of the bold and creative group we know as the Founding Fathers. Today Monticello is the only house in America designated as a United Nations World Heritage Site.

For more information on Thomas Jefferson, please click on this link:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/tj3.html

For more information on Monticello, please click on this link:

http://www.monticello.org/

Thomas Jefferson is buried on the estate at Monticello in the cemetery laid out below the main dwellings. This monument marks his last resting place.
We had a delightful tour of the property, and really enjoyed ourselves there. It is interesting to learn about this man who authored the Declaration of Independence, and who was involved in setting up the democracy of the United States. There appeared to be no limit to the intelligence of Jefferson. It's quite obvious that there were no limits on his desire to learn.

We also went to the Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center and Museum. There we learned more of the scope of his interests and about the times he lived in. I guess we all know about Thomas Jefferson and the DofI, but when you see everything about his life encapsulated in one building so that you can go from start to finish in a short span of time, it makes you realize just how difficult it must have been to be a man of such foresight in a time which would not allow you to actually LIVE the lofty morals to which you aspire. Jefferson did not want to have slaves, but he obviously realized the necessessity of them to continue the way of life of the plantation owner.

For the man who wrote the words "all men are created equal" to continue to live as a slave owner, must have been difficult, if he truly believed what he wrote. However, the laws of Virginia at that time did not allow him to free his slaves until HIS death. Even at that, he could not free all of them, because he could only free those that actually had his name on their "title".

Interesting.

April 28th - Natural Bridge, Virginia

Yesterday we joined up with Harold and Joyce again at Bristol, Tennessee. Today we drove on in to Virginia and stopped at a place called Natural Bridge. Of course, there had to be a reason for the name, and it turned out to be exactly what it said it was.... a natural bridge. As seen from below, the bridge appears as a vault rising to 150 feet at its center above Cedar Creek. At the crown of the arch, the solid mass of calcareous rock which forms the vault is 49 feet thick on one side and 37 feet thick on the other. The bridge spans a canyon about 90 feet wide and 200 feet deep (there are 137 steps down to the canyon floor!!!). The span contains 450,000 cubic feet of rock and weighs approximately 36,000 tons. (I might add here that I REALLY would like to know what kind of a scale they used to weight THAT baby!?!?!?!) It was used as a bridge for travelers on foot and horseback when Thomas Jefferson owned it, and it still serves as a bridge for a major north-south traffic route, US Hwy 11. Geologists indicate that the rocks which compose the bridge are early Ordovician (about 500 million years old). The internal forms of the rocks, the folds and breaks in the layers, were imposed on them during the Appalachian Mountain building process, toward the end of the Paleozoic Era (200+ million years ago), but the formations of the stream drainage and the carving out of the bridge started much more recently, probably no more than a few million years ago. The creek was in flood. They told us that we could not go up to the falls because the flooding had washed the underpinnings out from the little asphalt bridge further down the path and it had been closed for fear it would totally wash out.
A young George Washington surveyed Natural Bridge, originally owned by the English crown head. You can see where he carved his initials in the wall on the opposite side of the walk, under the bridge. (They have conveniently painted a white square around the initials so you can't miss them!!) To further substantiate Washington's presence here, two stone markers engraved with his initials and surveyor's cross have also been found in the area. One was directly beneath the bridge, the other in a nearby field.

On July 5th, 1774, King George III of England, sold the rock bridge and 157 acres of surrounding land to Thomas Jefferson for 20 shillings. Jefferson called the rock bridge "undoubtedly one of the sublimes curiousities in nature". He visited Natural Bridge often and surveyed and made a map of the land with his own hands. In 1803, two years after he was first inaugurated, President Jefferson built a two room cabin which was located not far from the site of the present hotel.

The Indians tell a story about the natural bridge that goes as follows:

"When our ancestors first began to arrive at Natural Bridge, they moved in small family groups of 18 to twenty men, women and children. Along the way, the Monacan were being pursued by war parties. The Monacans found themselves backed onto a great gorge with no way to cross. Even the strongest of the Monacan warriors could not jump the great chasm that separated them from safety.

It was then that the Holy men and women gathered their people together into a sacred circle. Locking their hands together, they began to pray, sing, and dance. The Holy men and women offered the creator gifts of tobacco, sang their death songs, and prepared to meet their fate.

The Algonguin warrors gazed on quietly and with much reverence, for that was the way of their people. Suddenly, the earth began to tremble and shake. A great mist rose from the deep chasm and the sky grew dark as night. When the mist drifted away, it revealed a great bridge spanning to the opposite cliff, which allowed the Monacan to cross safely to the other side.

Both nations understood that a great holy event had just occurred, and with haste fell to their knees. After offering tobacco as a gift for what they had just witnessed, the Algonguin turned and headed north away from the Monacans."
The washed out bridge that we were not supposed to cross over. I waited until they got to the other side, and when it looked like there was no problem, I bravely ventured forth and followed!! The falls at the end of the path!! So worth the walk!

A footnote: Included in the ticket to see the Natural Bridge was a ticket to the "Light Show" that occurred at 9 PM every night. Well, never ones to pass on an adventure, we returned for this great event. It was cold, windy and wet. Of course, we got there early in case we couldn't get a seat. We sat with a bunch of other cold, shivering people, and huddled together for warmth. FINALLY, the wonderous show of light started. At least that was what they told us!!!! Oh my! Was it ever B O R I N G. They used white and red lights. Turn them on. Turn them off. Someone in charge needs to take a trip to Las Vegas and go downtown and get an idea of what a "light show" is all about!!!! However, all was not lost as we got to see the difference in the level of the creek in just a few hours!!! What had been an angry raging river was now just a softly flowing creek. Quite amazing.

My recommendation on this would be to definitely go see the bridge.... it's amazing. Take a pass on freezing your butt for the light show.... DEFINITELY a two-thumbs DOWN experience!!!!!