Cades Cove

As promised, we spent a great afternoon at Cades Cove. It's a beautiful drive along the river from Gatlinburg. Plan on 30-45 minutes, depending on traffic and the number of times you stop to watch the activity along the river.

We made the whole loop at Cades Cove, stopping a couple of times to check out the old graves behind the churches. At one of them, we were joined by a "live" resident, who was also enjoying the area!


The main area has a visitors center and several old structures. For example...


We enjoyed the old mill - actually working. They were grinding corn into corn meal.



Becky Cable's house. She actually lived here until the 1940s.



One of several old barns in the area.



The sorghum molasses production area. In a few weeks, there will be a horse or a mule attached to this pole, walking around in a circle. The sorghum plants (which look like corn) will be fed into the press in the center, which will squeeze out the juice. Then it will be cooked over an outdoor stove, which is just to the right of this picture.


We saw several more deer on our drive, and a bear in the distance. Then, on our way back, we saw a flock of wild turkey. It's not unusual to see wildlife when you go to Cades Cove.


This is just one more of the many great sites to see when you stay at Smoky Mountain Tower.

Ober Gatlinburg Tram

As promised last Saturday, I've got some more information for you about the Ober Gatlinburg tram. When we were staying at Smoky Mountain Tower last week with our friends, we drove across the mountain to Ober Gatlinburg. Parking was $4, which is cheaper than parking downtown. Then we spent $10 round trip to ride the aerial tram from Ober Gatlinburg to downtown.

It's a great trip. The tram runs every 20 minutes from 9:30 am to 9:30 pm. Each car can hold up to 120 people. The trip takes about 10 minutes each way. There are actually two cars on the same cable - one coming up from downtown, one going down from Ober Gatlinburg - so they pass in the middle.

But here's the really good news. Your $10 ticket entitles you to ride as many times as you want that day and the next day! We made our round trip down and back, then drove down the mountain, did the Roaring Forks Motor Trail, and went to the Cherokee Restaurant (next to Calhoun's) for dinner. After dinner, right about dusk, we rode the tram up and back. That was really nice, because we got to see Gatlinburg at night.

They're pretty loose about paying for rides, because they seem to make their money off the attractions and shops at Ober Gatlinburg. When we bought our tickets, they stamped our hands with an ultra-violet ink. But they said, "If the ink wears off, just tell them John (our driver) sent you!"

Try it! You'll see the house owned by Dunkin' Donuts, the house owned by Delta Airlines (with wings for a roof), and a Barbie house. You can see the bear dean at Ober Gatlinburg from the air (instead of paying $6 to see it on the ground).

And you get a great view of Gatlinburg - and even all the way to Pigeon Forge - as you're coming down the mountain.

For more information on the tram, visit this site: http://www.obergatlinburg.com/newtram.htm. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!