Gatlinburg, TN Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Originally, the Cherokee's "Land of Blue Smoke".  Over 14.1 million recreational visitors (tourists) in 2021 making it the most visited National Park in the U.S. The park is over 100 years old.

 After our morning visit to downtown Gatlinburg for breakfast and a walk along the Skyway Bridge, we journeyed through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The scenic ride leading into the Park was picturesque post card worthy in and of itself. The few photos that follow will attest to that. But once we began the Cades Cove Loop Drive the leisurely hour long, 11-mile open museum trip provided us photographic opportunities with unparalleled views of meadows, streams, green carpeted mountains and resident wildlife that made me appreciate this beautiful country even more than I already do. From many photos taken, I've included only a few and captioned them with interesting facts I've researched. Enjoy them and enhance the experience by clicking on the links above if you haven't already read past blogs.

Many of the photos were taken from Tony's moving vehicle hence the blurring.

There are over 2,900 miles of streams in the Smoky Mountains.

Each one beckoned the onlooker to sit or wade in the shallow stream for a cooling refreshing break.

Cades Cove is an isolated valley in the Park. The valley was home to numerous settlers before the formation of the national park. Today Cades Cove, the single most popular destination for visitors to the park, attracts more than two million visitors a year because of its well preserved homesteads, scenic mountain views, and abundant display of wildlife.

The park encompasses 522,419 acres (816.28 sq mi), making it one of the largest protected areas in the eastern United States. A third of the trees in the Park are over 100 years old.

 The Smoky Mountains are estimated to be between 200 and 300 million years old, making them one of the oldest mountain ranges on earth!

Within the park a total of sixteen mountains reach higher than 5,000 feet.  About 19,000 species of organisms are known to live in the park, and estimates as high as an additional 100,000 undocumented species may also be present. There are more than 4,000 plants, 140 species of trees, about 65 species of mammals, 200 varieties of birds, 67 native fish species, and more than 80 types of reptiles and amphibians.

We saw grazing deer...

Wild turkey

Rule of thumb for wildlife viewing. Hold your arm out straight and, if you can't cover the animal in your line of sight with your thumb, you're too close.

(moving vehicle) About 1,500 bears are said to call the Smokies home!
2 bears per square mile. This bear seen behind the Tipton House.

One of the lesser known Smoky Mountain history facts is that the first settler to the area was a woman. Although William Ogle is credited for building the first home in the area, it was actually his wife, Martha Jane Huskey Ogle, who first moved here. William passed away before he could settle into the home with his wife and kids.

The Cades Cove Methodist Church. The two entry doors separated males and females. 

Blacksmith Shop at Cable Mill

Even caught a glimpse of a wedding photo shoot.

After returning to our campground in Pigeon Forge, we enjoyed dinner nearby at  The Old Mill Restaurant. Click on the link and read the interesting history behind this old grist mill and how the town came to be known as Pigeon Forge. Drool over the menu as well. My choice was the traditional turkey dinner. (No alcohol served).

...starting with delicious potato soup, salad, hush puppies and a biscuit.

"Oven-roasted daily in our kitchens, tender slices of moist turkey are served with a generous helping of our cornbread dressing (under the turkey slices), covered with made-from-scratch turkey gravy and accompanied by cranberry sauce."

A full delightful day. Next, on Thursday, 5/12th, we attended the Hatfield/McCoy Feud Dinner show. See you then.