Ben and I spent a nice, quiet Valentine's Day weekend in Townsend, TN in the Great Smokies. My parents gave us the gift of weekend away, keeping Luke in NC and then meeting us to visit Cade's Cove on Sunday. My sister and Mamaw came along for the trip, making it a nice family outing in the park. We saw lots of deer and make stops to visit the remaining homesteads, mills, and churches in the huge valley that made Cade's Cove a natural site for a frontier community in the otherwise rugged mountains of east Tennessee. Luke had fun running to and fro on the grounds, exploring the old log cabin homes, trying to fish pennies out of the working millrace, and pointing out the wagon and different tools left for posterity in the barns and sheds.
If you ever make the trip to visit the Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, take the time to go the "quiet side of the Smokies" and spend some time in Cade's Cove. You can cover it hiking, by car, on bike and even horseback, so there's a way for everyone to enjoy it's beauty and the history of the area.
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