cades cove

Mike's goal for this trip was to hike the Ramsey Cascade, but mine was to go to Cades Cove, a part of the park we didn't get to see last time we were here. So Thursday morning we set out to do just that. We knew it was a popular area, so we figured if we left early, it wouldn't be too crowded. All I will say is that I would hate to see it when it's "really" crowded!

Along the way, we saw a pull-off at Maloney Point, and Mike asked if I wanted to stop. I'm not sure why he even had to ask, given the incredible sunrise we were treated to. When was the last time you saw a sunrise quite so colorful? Last time I saw one this great was probably when we were in Portland three years ago.

So, Cades Cove. It was beautiful, and still filled with fog, which made for some great pictures. But then right away we ran into a huge traffic snarl, and it turned out that the reason for the backup was that a momma bear and her three cubs were foraging for food near the road. Since we were stuck in traffic anyway, I decided to go out and get a picture, and Max and Henry came with me (sorry, Mike, but that's what you get for wanting to always be the driver!). We got fairly close to them — although definitely not as close as the 30 or so other people who were standing super close and taking pictures with super huge telephoto lenses. It was like bear paparazzi!

After that excitement, traffic started flowing again, so we got to see all the beautiful sights. We stopped at the visitor center, where there were probably half a dozen deer around the parking lot, grazing and doing their deer thing. On one side there were two bucks, and for one exciting moment, they charged each other and butted heads. Antler clash! Then I guess they realized that there was no female in the vicinity to fight over, or that there was plenty of room for both of them to get adequate morning grains, because there were no more fireworks. Anyway, we walked around for a while, checking out the historic buildings and the grist mill, and the deer were completely unbothered by us or any other humans.

On the way out, we saw another couple bears, one on either side of the road. The one on Mike's side was climbing a tree (!!) but we couldn't get a good shot of it. The one on my side was kind of wandering around, generally in a direction away from the road. I took some pictures, but Liam piped up from the back seat, "Yes, Mom, we'll get some great pictures of bear hindquarters!" Where did that kid get his snark? A mystery that will no doubt be lost to the sands of time.