Tennessee Tour to Cades Cove

Cades Cove is a lush valley nestled in the mountains and is one of the most popular destinations in the Smokies. There are 2 million visitors a year that tour the 11 mile, one way loop within the park. The drive can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours since there are numerous places to stop along the way, and traffic can be quite heavy. We were glad we didn't do this drive on a weekend in peak season!

Our first stop was the John Oliver Place, and it was a short walk back to the cabin built by John Oliver in 1826. The house remained in the family until it the park was established 100 years later. By the way, as you know by now, that is Jerry and Sandy posing for me. Don is somewhere behind me on the trail.

The loop includes wondrous views of the fields and mountains as well as many local historic buildings. Only the grist mill is in it's original location, all the other historic buildings were moved here. There are 3 churches: the Missionary Baptist Church, the Primitive Baptist Church and the Methodist church. All 3 churches ceased services during the civil war because the people were divided amongst themselves. There were Rebels within the Cove!
The Cable Mill area is the largest stop along the drive and includes the Gregg-Cable house seen below in addition to a cantilever barn, a grist mill, blacksmith shop, smokehouse and a visitor center. It took Don over half a hour to find a spot in the parking lot here! Jerry, Sandy and I all had gotten out of the truck and wandered around while he "idled" away his time in the truck.
This grist mill is still working and grinding corn into corn meal each day! John Cable built this mill about 1870. It had a dual purpose: not only was it used as a grist mill, it was also used as a sawmill, and the same water wheel provided power for both mills.
Another stop along the way was the Dan Lawson place. The trees behind the old smokehouse provided great color for my picture.
Boy, were we hungry by the end of the drive. It was way past our lunch time, and we decided to head back to a BBQ place we passed on the way in. It was the second day in a row that we partook of Kentucky barbecue, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do. In this area, they eat pancakes for breakfast and have barbecue for lunch and dinner. At least it looks that way when you drive through the towns of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Jerry and Don are ordering their lunch at the Smoking Pig stand.
Tables were set up between all the pumpkin displays. We really didn't care where we sat as long as we had good food! If you were a local, you could kill two birds with one stone by having lunch and buying pumpkins and gourds for your fall table.
Jerry is checking out the big smoker they use here. He has a much smaller one at home that he uses. I bet he wishes there was someway he could hitch this up to the back of the 5th wheel and haul it back home to Arizona.
What did they have in that BBQ??? Any moonshine? What has made us so dog-gone funny? I'm smiling, but Don is gagging and the guy behind us looks none too happy. Do we resemble the other "happy" couple behind us? I sure hope not!