Cades Cove

Saturday morning brought perfect conditions for Cades Cove - blue skies alternating with light clouds, temperatures in the lower 70s.  We had planned to meet at the Camp Store/Bike Rental center, and when we parked we found two beautiful young bucks standing nearby to greet us.

Bicycles and helmets all sorted out, water and energy gels stuffed into pockets (I told Skip that bears loved the scent of energy gels) and iPhones into armbands, we were ready to go.

I had been looking forward to running in this beautiful place for a long time!  And I was not disappointed.  Fields of new-mown grass, goldenrod; wisps of morning fog rising to the peaks surrounding the wide valley:  absolutely beautiful.

The Methodist Church is the first structure on the loop road, with its beautiful steeple and two front doors, one for men and the other for women.  We have spent time in the past reading gravestone inscriptions in the cemetery out back.

The cantilever barn at the Tipton Place is also well-known.  There are more cantilever barns in this part of Tennessee than any part of the southeast.

The last stop on the loop road is the Carter Shields Cabin, thought to have been built in the 1830s. George Washing "Carter" Shields, a veteran of the Civil War who was crippled in the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862, called the cabin his home from 1910-1921.  I can readily imagine that a veteran of the Civil War might have come to this quiet sanctuary to live out his days in peace.

So it was a good day, with good friends.  We all fared well, but Highlands Roadrunner confesses that the twinge in that right knee became worse as eleven miles wore on.  Martha ran well, as did the others, and she produced a welcome bag of ice which I strapped on the knee almost immediately.  She said they had told her in the Camp Store that they were used to requests for ice.

A convivial lunch for most of us at "Smokin' Joes" barbeque rounded out the morning.  In the afternoon, Martha and I walked down to the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center and Historical Museum as clouds began to gather.

In the little village exhibit in the rear we found another cantilever barn, some well-preserved cabins, and a small African American church.

The cross behind  the altar had lovely flowers woven into it, which I thought was fitting for this beautiful area of the Smoky Mountains.

We decided that we had eaten plenty of "smokin' good" barbeque for lunch, so the eight of us who remained gathered around the firepit, sharing cheese and crackers and snacks that each had brought, watching a brilliant sunset that will cast long shadows of wonderful memories.