Cades Cove, Tennessee, is glorious. With 6800 acres of quiet, rolling, tucked-away land in the Great Smoky Mountains, the cove holds the widest variety of historic buildings of any national park, but it’s the rough-hewn, still-standing cabins that we love most.
If you’re lucky enough to get up early on a Saturday morning and bike along the no-cars-allowed-before-10:00 Loop Road, you can meld into the landscape and pretend you were a settler in one of the pioneer log cabins. It’s there that you can find your muse as we have — reflecting on how life was in the early 1800s and resolving to carve out more quiet times in unspoiled places whenever you can.
Nature photographer Bill Lea said it simply after his visit to Cades Cove, and we agree: It’s where my heart is.
For more musings in the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Muse, click here.
nuurdesigns
It is lovely. What a give. Please do post view like this more.
Thanks
Oh, the Places We See
Thanks for taking a look. And if you ever get this way, check out Cades Cove. So beautiful!
Jodi
beautiful photos! charming place!
Oh, the Places We See
Thanks for the comments. Cades Cove really is beautiful as well as historic. Come see us anytime!
cynthiamvoss
I’ve been there a few times and loved every visit. It is easy to imagine living there as you walk around because the cabins are so beautifully preserved in the landscape. Lovely shots!
Oh, the Places We See
Thanks for the compliment. But it’s really quite easy to take good photos, if you can dodge the visitors! I’d like to get there early, early one morning. We seem to never make it before 11:00 simply because we come from Knoxville and stop for a country breakfast along the way!! 🙂
cynthiamvoss
Gotta love a good breakfast 🙂
Judy @ NewEnglandGardenAndThread
Beautiful. It just needs a horse and buggy tied to the fence to complete the feeling. 🙂
Oh, the Places We See
I’ve never seen a horse and buggy, but there definitely were some when the residents actually lived there. Now, we see a lot of deer, groundhogs, and hawks. Love all of it!
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Sue
I can see why this place inspires you!
Oh, the Places We See
Thanks, Sue. It may be the setting — old cabins and all. But part of it is the quiet. Just can’t imagine this much land between dwellings and the trees, critters, streams, etc. It’s wonderful!
Sue
I love the look of the old cabins….
Dawn
The family went to Cade’s Cove when I was a kid. I had my first ‘real’ camera. I loved being there. I have often thought about that place. Nice to know it’s still there. I’d definitely like to be there prior to the cars. Thanks for bringing back sweet memories.
Oh, the Places We See
So glad you remember Tennessee favorably. We have a beautiful state, and Cades Cove is a must-see for anyone who comes to the eastern part. Just love what you experienced!
whichwaynow101
There is something very appealing about weathered old wooden buildings.
Oh, the Places We See
You bet! Love the quiet here, too. Thanks for taking a look.