VIf you follow me at all on social media, you know how much I love Cades Cove. When I think about travel destinations, I realize how blessed I am to live only one hour from one of the most beautiful travel destinations – The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
I grew up going to the mountains with my family – many of my grandmother’s siblings (she was a younger one) were raised in a community in the park called Greenbrier. My great-grandfather was a Baptist preacher in the community and traveled on horseback to share the Word. I wish I had listened more closely to my great-aunts and the stories they told.
Today and in more recent years, I have grown to love hiking and biking and even a tiny bit of camping but let’s not get carried away.
While I have been to Cades Cove numerous times as a kid, I now see it as a place of peace and refuge from the busy-ness and stress that life can bring. One of my dearest friends began biking the Cove a couple of times a week and I would join her from time to time. Cades Cove is closed all days on Wednesday’s during a limited time of the year for pedestrians and bikers. So last year (2020), I joined my friend and we biked nearly every Wednesday from May to September. I was still heavily social distancing at that time so Wednesdays were my most favorite time…we shared a picnic and made at least a half day of it.
Now it feels like it is part of me. The views are stunning every single time and it is a beauty you never ever tire of seeing. We always stop for pictures – of the breathtaking smoke on the mountains with the sun peeping through, of the lush green landscape, of butterflies flitting here and there, of beautiful deer, and of course of the bear sightings each week. I feel a calm wash over me as I start that first descent into Cades Cove as we begin the loop. I feel alive as a fire builds as we climb the first hill. It is meditative in a sense as I find myself focusing on the beauty around me and am overwhelmed with gratitude that this is my life!
If you have never been to our beautiful park, please come for a visit. If you are a local and haven’t enjoyed this luscious playground in our backyard, make a picnic and make a plan!
