Today we headed for Cades Cove, TN in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This popular historical site is hidden away in the farthest recesses of the park, down 78 miles of narrow, winding roads.
Once there, it was a beautiful, idyllic location full of preserved dwellings, churches, farms and a grist mill. The first dwelling on the Cove Loop Road is the John Oliver Place, a one room log cabin, which was built around 1820 and continuously occupied until 1945. The cove is also filled with wildlife, including deer, wild turkey and bears. Boyd and I encountered a deer almost immediately upon entering the cove. We has stopped a few yards apart to take some pictures when the deer ran across the road between us. Further down the road, a black bear crossed the road right in front of us.
While we were visiting the grist mill at the far end of Cades Cove, thunder began to rumble and the skies darkened. We quickly donned or rain gear and headed for the exit hoping to beat the rain. Unfortunately, about a couple of hundred other vehicles had the same idea. Before we got very far, the skies open up and released a very hard downpour. The traffic was so slow that we could not keep enough air flow on the face shields to keep them from fogging and the rain so hard that we could not see the narrow, rutted roadway. Bill, on the lead bike, soon decided to pull off at one of the abandoned log cabins where we all took refuge until the rain let up and the traffic cleared. We were soon underway again but encountered another problem. The rain had brought out the deer to feed. Every open field was occupied by grazing deer and at every open field cars would stop on the one-lane road to view the deer. It took forever to get out of the cove. However, as we exited the cove, a doe and new born fawn crossed the road in front of Bill and he managed to get some great photographs that he will be sharing in the future.
Once out of the cove, we headed for home as quickly as we could on the wet and winding roads. We were all happy to get home and into some dry clothes, but all agreed that the trip was worth the effort.
The day was capped off by a trip to Sylva for some great ribs at a small restaurant. We arrived just as they were about to close up due to a lack of business. However, the owner agreed to stay open to feed six hungry bikers. He even called back his waitress who had already left. It turned out to be a great decision for them and us. I will definitely go back there if I am ever in the area again.
Gunny
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