Cade’s Cove

A slight change of plans.

If you want to stay in a plurk, you’ll have to make reservations early. I tried…but they were booked up by the time I was able to confirm which night exactly I would be passing through the area. So, I detoured and stayed in Asheville instead.

I got up the next day, and based upon Marsha Stevens’ recommendation, I drove to Cade’s Cove. From the time I left the Chattooga River until I arrived in Kentucky, my phone communicated a consistent message, “No service available.” A little tricky for me since I depend on my phone for directions, maps, twitter and facebook updates, and oh yeah, communicating by voice.

Luckily, I printed out directions at the hotel before I left for Cade’s Cove. However,  when I wasn’t trusting my printed directions and for sure not my sense of direction, I stopped at a diner, went up to the bar, ordered a cup of coffee and asked if I was heading in the right direction. Because I was in the DEEP South and several miles off of any major interstate (which by the way, the farther away you are from an interstate the friendlier the people seem to be.) I asked one simple question which turned into a 30 minute conversation about where I was from, where I was heading, why I was heading there, what my momma and daddy did, what I did, why I wasn’t married yet, and then the answer to my original question, “yes, you are heading in the right direction.” I love this country.

Over the river, via a covered bridge, through many, many woods, and in my Japanese six-cylinder sleigh, I arrived in Cade’s Cove. I enjoyed getting to Cade’s Cove. Driving past vegetable stands and souvenier shops, general stores, old churches, draft horses, and long and winding roads.

What I didn’t enjoy was all the people that were doing the same thing I was. Cade’s Cove is an eleven mile loop through one of the early settlements of the area. They have restored the settlement houses, farms, churches and have enabled you to drive through the area, pullover and walk in the structures so that you can imagine what it must have been like to live in Tennessee in the late eighteenth century.

After stop and go traffic, which just seemed wrong, I stopped at Carter Shields cabin. Mr. Shields was not home and hadn’t been in quite awhile, so after having a seat on his front porch, imagining him doing the same thing well over 200 years ago. I decided to cut out early and head up to Kentucky. I want to go back, and spend more time with the Shields and the other residents and their beautiful churches. I’ll do it when it isn’t high season and when I’ll have more time to visit and won’t be in such a rush. Mr. Shields would want it that way I’m pretty sure.

At the base of Cade’s Cove is about a hundred tubing outfitters. Next time, I’m going tubing down this river. It is one of my favorite things to do and is SO relaxing. The lazy rivers at the water parks are good, but there is no substitute for the real thing.