Back To The Smokies At Cades Cove

It was supposed to be a beautiful Saturday, so I knew I needed to get out, but where? Since Deb's Mom had never been, but always wanted to visit Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). Well, that is where we decided to head too. We elected to bypass Gatlinburg, but we stopped at the overlook that gives great views of the town and Mount LeConte. Our next stop was the Sugarlands Visitors Center. This was Deb's Mom's first visit here, so we had to tour the museum inside. It has exhibits of plants and animals of the park. We planned to do the one-mile round-trip to Cataract Falls, but we then heard that there would be a ranger led hike to the falls, so we said why not. Our guide was Ranger Richard and he did give some useful information, but it was crowded and taking longer than we wanted, so we pushed on ahead, without the group. Deb and I came here in December, but this was a nicer hike today. While crowded, the 25-foot cascade had nice water-flow, so it was worth the effort. Once we returned to the visitors center we stopped at the gift shop and then headed down Little River Road toward Cades Cove. Before we got to the loop road, we stopped first at the Sinks and then Meigs Falls. While short, (10 feet) the Sinks has great flow rate and the large pool is popular with swimmers. Next was the 30-foot Meigs Falls which is visible from the road. After enjoying these falls it wasn't long before we reached the loop road. For those who don’t know the Cades Cove Loop is an 11-mile one-way road with a number of things including beautiful vistas, old cabins and churches. Just over halfway is the Cable Mill Historical Area and Visitors Center. There are a number of old buildings here including the Greg-Cable house and the Cable Grist Mill. While we viewed a lot of cool things the one thing missing was wildlife, including Black Bears. I have heard stories for years that you couldn't swing a dead cat not hit one. While I have seen bears elsewhere in the park this is my second trip here and no bruins in site. Even not seeing a bear it was a wonderful day and Deb's Mom seemed like she had fun too.