If y’all were checking out our Facebook page (if you haven’t you totally should) a couple of weeks ago you’d know that Alex and I took an anniversary trip to Pigeon Forge, TN. One of the places we were able to stop was Cades Cove which is a several mile loop through the Smoky Mountain National Forest. The day we went was overcast, but that fact let me so clearly capture why they are called “The Smoky Mountains.”
The interesting thing about this road is yes, the photo opportunities, but also the fact that unlike many parts of the national forest it is NOT a hike. (Which was mighty convenient given we were doing this visit as we were “driving home” our last day.) No, what Cades Cove is, is a one way road you drive passing past old churches, wild turkeys, and AH-MAZING photo ops. The catch is…your driving. So you have a long line of cars behind you wanting you go gosh darn it.
So my way to resolve this was, for 90% of these images dangle out of the car with my tooshie on my door, Alex driving, my foot looped through the seat belt (for safety…that’s right safety), and the camera and my body leaning over the roof the car. Advantage me! I was able to take shots even if a car was pulled over because my “tripod” was WAY taller. 
Luckily there were a few places where many cars could pull over because occasionally we’d get REALLY lucky and see some amazing shots like when we saw these “wild” horses. I don’t honestly know how wild they were given they were in a fenced in area, but then again it was a national forest so I’m not sure what they were. Well beyond gorgeous. They were so clearly gorgeous.
At one point on our drive we did stop and explore a homestead and mill. Both Alex and I felt it was quite imperative to put our noses to the grindstone at this point. We didn’t want anyone to think we were slacking on our vacation!
I would definitely recommend driving through Cades Cove if you ever get the chance partly because not everyone can make a hike and this allows you to see some amazing views from the comfort of your car OR get out and explore a various points and places.
Ive gone through that area many times, but have never done Cades Cove. We might do that instead of Dollywood on our way back from Maryland the end of this month. Trouble is, like you say, it’s often foggy or cloudy and you can’t see much. Your pics turned out great! (I’m not hanging out of the car window to take them though……..)
Beautiful!! We’re headed up in that general direction in two days. Thanks for whetting my appetite!
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I guess I will have to tour there this coming December. It looks really awesome. Great shots!
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Gorgeous pics – I feel all peaceful just looking at them. They remind me of some of the mountains we saw on Kauai, Hawaii.
Visiting from TALU.
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I live in western NC but have never been over to Cade’s Cove, will have to check it out. I love the Smokies!
Talu
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Twitter: collectiblelady
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what beautiful photos! I love landscapes. most of my paintings end up being landscapes whether i want them to or not. I’ll be visiting Pigeon Forge for the first time this upcoming February. What a great preview of what’s to come :)
TALU
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Twitter: KateWhineHall
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Oh, I LOVE Cades Cove. The Smokies are my and my husband’s favorite National Park. So beautiful. We were able to see bears when going through the cove. But, we were on bikes, so I was a little nervous. But there were a lot of people closer to the bears than me, so I figured if they were going to come down from the trees, the bears would go after those bozos while I was tearing off on my bike.
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Forgot to say TALU.
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Hi Stephaine, I’m Anne from Life on the Funny Farm (http://annesfunnyfarm.blogspot.com) visiting from the TALU.
I’ve heard of Pigeon Forge, as friends of ours have vacationed there a few times, but I’d never heard of Cades Cove. Looks awesome, thanks for sharing.
Anyway, it’s nice to “meet” you. I hope you can pop over to my blog and say hi sometime if you get the chance.
Twitter: jessicaalouette
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How beautiful! Looks like an amazing trip!
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Wow! These are gorgeous photos. I really want to go to Cades Cove one of these days. Thanks for sharing!
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