Cades Cove

On Sunday we had an early start, well at least the girls did.  While the guys were still sleeping and later playing golf the girls, Robin, Lisa and me, got up early and went to Cades Cove in the Smokey Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg.  It take a couple of hours to drive to Cades Cove from the house because of its location in the park but it is worth it.  We got there early because it can get very crowded and with the colors at their peak the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area is busy especially on a week end.  We got there right after that area of the park opened and were greeted with deer right away.  Cades Cove was a farming area until around the 1930s when the land was purchased by the park service and converted to a National Park.  The community moved out but all of their cabins, barns, etc were left.  The park service left the housing area and created an 11 mile loop you could drive, bike or hike to see what life was like in the mountains back then.  It also is a beautiful area with great views of the Smokey mountains.  We saw lots of deer this trip in all of the meadows and not just one or two but there were at least four to five every time.  We did not get to see any bears but heard they were around.  The weather was perfect, a little cool but sunny, and we had a great time.