Cades Cove

We had a wonderful weekend in the mountains of East Tennessee, this weekend.  As a child, we lived about 30 miles from Cades Cove and would bike the loop with my parents more often than I liked.  I finally grew up and now actually appreciate biking in the mountains.

My dad hit a milestone birthday this summer, so my sister and I rented a cabin in Townsend (in the Smoky Mountains) to celebrate his birthday.  

Saturday morning we hopped up and biked the loop road, kids in tow.   There were lots of dear and turkeys and we saw two black bear.    My husband took this photo of the bear that was about 10 yards away from us.....

I know.   I'm glad he was busy getting back on that bike.

Cades Cove was a thriving community in the 1800's.  The buildings have been well preserved and are fun to look in.....

There are several cute churches that are still standing.....

The Cades Cove loop road is closed for bikers only- on Saturday and Wednesday mornings.  It is a beautiful 11 mile loop, and you can circle as many times as you like. 

Here is a map of the loop road..

And the location of the Smoky Mountains .....

And this shows where Cades Cove is....

(far left of map)

 

And here we are....

We also spent Saturday afternoon tubing down the Little River in Townsend.  It was a perfect day - and the water was nice and cool. 

(I don't know these people. 
I didn't want a wet camera - so I found this blurry photo on the internet.)

Our cabin had a firepit - so we built a fire and made smores.....

I do know these people.


Nice memories for the kids.

Now we are back to reality.

Have a great week!