On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
Monday April 12, 2021 Cade’s Cove
Planning this day of our trip was frustrating. Our original reason for choosing Pigeon Forge for our celebration was to visit Dollywood. From their website:
Spanning 160 acres in the Great Smoky Mountains, Dollywood offers more than 50 world class rides, high-energy entertainment, award-winning dining and the friendliest park atmosphere in the world! We even received an award for being so friendly!
40 years of visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and we hadn’t made it to the theme park. The call of the outdoors and nature had always been more powerful. Credit card in hand, I read online the requirements for visiting the park, make a reservation, wear a mask, purchase tickets ahead of time and reserve a scooter for my husband. With my husbands unpredictable health, it felt impossible. I slipped the credit card back in my wallet. We would see how the elements came together.
Sunday night we decided to once more pass on visiting Dollywood. Instead we chose to visit one of our favorite places in the park, Cade’s Cove.
The valley has a rich history. For hundreds of years Cherokee Indians hunted in Cades Cove but archeologists have found no evidence of major settlements. The first Europeans settled in the cove sometime between 1818 and 1821. By 1830 the population of the area had already swelled to 271. Cades Cove offers the widest variety of historic buildings of any area in the national park.
Scattered along the loop road are three churches, a working grist mill, barns, log houses, and many other faithfully restored eighteenth and nineteenth century structures. Pick up the self-guiding tour booklet available at the entrance to the loop road for information about the buildings you’ll see in the cove and the people who lived here.
https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/cadescove.htm
Years ago when our children were small we enjoyed an evening hay ride along the loop road. It appeared the hay ride was not being offered when we would be there but a carriage ride was. The carriages were booked on a first come basis. We needed to get moving early! And we did. We were the first ride of the day. Unlike the hay ride, the carriage ride was through the woods.
Our driver was a “talker” and shared funny and interesting stories. At one point he stopped on the hewn path and explained we were riding on the equivalent of an 1800s interstate. I have a new appreciation for earlier generations who rode in carriages and wagons. I understand why they are shown traveling slowly. It was bumpy!
After the ride, we circled back to the loop road. We hoped to see deer and maybe even a bear. We didn’t see a single one even though we drove slowly and peered into the woods. I guess they had retired for the day. We did see some of the beautiful horses and spring fresh trees.
Our last visit to the cove, I saw a family picnicking in the field next to the cabin above. I had my heart set on picnicking there this trip. My husband being more forward thinking than I, wasn’t excited about the idea, but he went along with it. As he was taking a picture of my daughter and I, a woman in a truck on the loop road called out and offered to take a family picture. Wasn’t that awesome?
I soon discovered my husband’s forward thinking. I easily sat on the blanket, but getting up with nothing to hold on to was tricky and embarrassing. Notice he didn’t sit, merely knelt.
We were pleased to learn that one of the lesser known roads out of the cove, Rich Mountain Road was once again open after being closed due to the previous year’s pandemic. It is an unpaved one lane road that was used by the early settlers. In the past we have seen wildlife and even a bear on it, but not this year! From an overlook into the valley there is a beautiful view of one of the churches. It was a gorgeous day.
After leaving Cade’s Cove we headed back to the time share for a little R&R. While my husband rested, my daughter and I went to the swimming pool area. She was anxious to spend some time in the hot tub, loosening her tight muscles. I totally forgot to pack my swim suit but I enjoyed sitting under the shade of an umbrella and enjoying the view.
We weren’t in the mood for dinner out, so I made a run to a nearby Publix grocery to get my husband’s favorite meal, Publix fried chicken.
At the end of the day, I was completely happy to have spent the day in the cove, rather than in Dollywood. Maybe after Covid has passed and we can make a spontaneous decision, we’ll try again.
After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience. Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites, Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix
In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books
My 2021 goal is continue touse my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.
Old Things R New 
Lovely trip
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