Road Less Traveled - Cades Cove

Cades Cove was once a remote place in the Great Smoky Mountains. One of the few ways through the Smokies and into the cove was along Cherokee hunting trails. Some of those trails were improved into wagon roads.

Settlers didn’t begin to arrive in the valley until 1818. Arriving with little more than household goods, tools and seeds, they made a life for themselves by clearing the area’s trees and planting the first crops. Using the trees they had fell, they built log cabins, barns and fences.

As I watched the rising sun slowly light this isolated road on a foggy morning, I couldn’t help but wonder who else has passed this way?  Where were they going and where did they come from? 

It is rare that the gate to enter Cades Cove is open before sunrise.  I was photographing along with a small group of photographers who had permission from the National Park Service to enter early so we could be there at sunrise. 

As you drive along the scenic loop road that winds through Cades Cove, you'll feel as though you've been transported to a bygone era.