We’re savoring the last week of summer before school starts back! I can’t believe that summer is almost over. We just got home from our last summer jaunt with my family last night. I think I am officially a vacation crasher since I’ve already crashed a trip to White Lake, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC in addition to this one.
But we have had a blast doing it!
We drove over to Cades Cove, TN from Pigeon Forge one day of the trip. Cades Cove is a national park with an 11 mile road circling the cove. There are multiple historic buildings, including homes, barns, a grist mill and churches that are open to the public for exploring. Some are right along the road while others are accessible by hiking.
A park ranger was giving an information session about the Primitive Baptist Church in the cove while we were there. Side note: You can still see the handprints on the wooden ceiling of the church where the members used green lumber over 125 years ago when they built this church. Is that not amazing?
The views in the park are spectacular. There are several stops along the road where you can park and take pictures or hike. We even saw a few poor souls people on bicycles or hiking through the entire park.
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| Me and my sweet girls |
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| Sister and her Mister |
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| a terrible picture of me but whatever…Mom and Annya look good. |
The 11 mile road takes you through both open spaces (above) and wooded areas (below).
We parked and hiked the trail to the Elijah Oliver house. It was a 1 mile round trip hike that wasn’t too strenuous.
The house had three rooms and a loft…a kitchen on the back, a small room built on the porch and the “living room” in the photo below. The loft upstairs would have been where the boys slept.
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| Elijah Oliver House |
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| Mom taking a picture of me taking a picture… |
Pretty sure they didn’t have any fall mantle roundups going…
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| Miss A by the Mantle and Fireplace in the “Living Room” |
A deer walked right out onto the front lawn of the house while we were there. It was less then 20 yards away. (When we were driving we were less than 10 feet from a different deer.) We have seen bear and turkeys on other trips to the Cove.
This was their refrigerator. They used a hollowed out tree to funnel cold water off the mountain into a trough inside this little house. It was a little larger than a dog house. The cold water off the mountain allowed them to keep the milk cold enough to last 8 hours or so depending on the weather.
There is also a waterfall at the Cove but the hike was 5 miles round trip so we passed on that one because we weren’t trying to be overachievers and my Granny is almost 80 years old. She hiked into the Elijah Oliver house like champ though!
We packed a picnic lunch and had an all-around awesome day!!! But one thing is for sure…I wouldn’t have lasted 5 minutes back in the day! Can you imagine running to the fridge in the dead of winter to get a glass of milk?
I would highly recommend a trip to Cades Cove if you are in the area!