CADES COVE AND ABRAMS FALLS

Today Mr. W and I went to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.  Mr. W has never been there.  When we drove in, he got SO EXCITED! It was so funny.  He kept saying, "Honey, we are in a National Park."  I guess it goes without saying that he LOVES National Parks.

He had been researching trails that we could hike. He decided we would hike to Abrams Falls. It is 5.0 miles round trip.  "They" describe the hike as Moderate in Difficulty.  "They" also describe it, "the trail takes hiker along a pleasant and LEVEL course." Just in case you want to know, "they" lie.

I had heard from others at the rally who had driven the scenic loop at Cades Cove that there were plenty of bear sightings and I was anxious to see a bear. We ended up leaving a little later than we had planned so I did not see a bear but saw several deer.

 This deer was right by the trail we were walking on.  It never moved and believe me, we were not quiet.

This deer was right next to the road.  Cars were driving up to where it was and taking pictures.

Just entering the park was beautiful.

Cade's Cove has an 11 mile scenic loop that thousands of people drive each year.  The first place we came to was John Oliver's Place.  John Oliver arrived in the cove prior to 1820 and bought this land in 1826. It remained in the family until the park was established more than 100 yeas later.

Side view of John Oliver's home

Front view of John Oliver's home

The next thing we came to was the Primitive Baptist Church.  Some of the earliest settlers established this church in 1827.  They had built a building that served their needs until they replaced it with the one there now in 1887.  The church closed during the Civil War. Official church correspondence after the war explained it all. "We the Church in Blount County in Cades Cove, do show the public why we have not kept up our church meeting.  It was on account of the Rebellion and we was Union people and the Rebels was too strong here in Cades Cove.  Our preacher was obliged to leave sometimes, and thank God we once more can meet." Some of the early settlers are buried in the cemetery right outside the church.

These tombstones are so old that no writing was left on them.  They were smooth and the stone had eroded away to make the tombstones different sizes.

Inside the church

We continued down the scenic loop and here are a couple of shots along the way.

A young family having lunch with a spectacular view.

Then we arrived at the trailhead for the falls.  The sign at the trailhead said the roundtrip on this trail would take anywhere from 3 to 4 hours.  What?  Did I just read 3 to 4 hours?  Mr. W wouldn't let me go back and check.  That should have been my first clue.

I finally reached the falls.  I'm really glad I took the hike.  The falls were beautiful! I had packed a lunch so Mr. W and I sat on a couple of big rocks, watched the falls, listened to the falls and ate our lunch.

These are some shots from the trail on the way back.  Did I mention that I'm not in shape? You know the book of the train that says, "I think I can; I think I can."  Well, that was me except I was saying, "I have to; I have to; because there is no other way back to the truck!" But, really it was beautiful and I am so glad that I made the hike!

There was a lot more of this happening on the way back!

You know the old saying, "Does a bear s**t in the woods?"

Well, the answer is yes and here's the picture to prove it. So, I don't see a bear but I see bear poop. Go figure.

We finished up the scenic loop at Cades Cove and headed back. A little detour to get frozen yogurt and a steak for dinner.  What could make for a better day?