The primary access to Cades Cove is the 11-mile, one-way Cades Cove Loop off of Little River Road and Laurel Creek Road. Our first glimpse of the Cove was spectacular!
Cades Cove is home to over 80 original structures. The John Oliver cabin in the oldest log home in the Cove, built in the 1820's. Typically, parents, infants and daughters slept on the first floor and sons slept in the loft. Simple tools were all that was required to build such a cabin: felling axes to cut down the trees and score the logs along their length, then a broad axe to hew the logs into a shape with two flat sides. The notched corners need no nails or pegs; gravity holds them together. A little mud to fill the chinks between the logs and hold the chimney together, and you have a home for an entire family.
The Olivers had a tremendous view of the valley from their porch!
With only five narrow, muddy, and steep roads into and out of the valley, residents learned to be self sufficient. Corn was a staple crop so several grist mills were set up. This one, the John P. Cable grist mill is now just a few yards away from the Cades Cove Visitor Center, which is a small structure designed to blend into the environment. Incidentally, the residents of Cades Cove probably got very tired of eating cornbread three times a day, so legal distilleries sprang up to make us of the grain. George Powell was one such who "forgot" to quit after Tennessee voted for prohibition....
The Carter Shields cabin was built by a wounded Civil War veteran about 1910. It shows that sawmills had arrived in the valley, and is typical of a house where logs were used for the walls, but sawn lumber was beginning to be used for part of the structure.
Returning to Gatlinburg, we marveled at how quiet the streets were! It's a Sunday afternoon, I guess.
We felt the need to be tourists while we're here, so we decided to get tickets for Dolly Partons Dixie Stampede Show in Pigeon Forge. Arriving this evening at about 5, we were treated to a warmup by the Mountain Ruckus Group. Click on the video below to hear a poor cell phone recording of Tennessee's most famous song.
After moving into the main building, we were seated in horseshoe fashion around a large sawdust floored arena. An estimated 1,000 people sat down to enjoy the dinner and show.
Flash photos were prohibited, but we managed to get a couple of "important" pics!
A Ringmaster on a white horse directed the show. We enjoyed a very intricate display of trick riding, barrel racing, and, in general, superb horsemanship.
A tribute to pioneers who went west,
led to a full-scale square dancing number.
Audience members were enlisted in the North vs South segment. The black chickens were "northern' chickens and the white were "southern". The kids were told to herd them to the finish line, and which ever color chicken crossed the line first.....well, you get the picture. The kids were presented with "olympic" medals one and all, and the audience (and parents) cheered them greatly.
The show ended on a patriotic note, with flag-bearing horses and riders performing intricate routines to the music of America The Beautiful sung by Dolly Parton (via recording, of course). Amazing and touching.
By the way, the dinner wasn't half bad either! We knew something was amiss when we were seated, the show started, and the vegetable soup was served in small bowls with handles. Looking around, we didn't see any spoons.....so we slurped the soup. A short time later, an entire roasted Cornish Hen was placed on the plate, followed by a serving of baked potatoes and a pork chop. Still no utensils....OK, here we go with the fingers. No wonder they call it the "most fun place to eat in Pigeon Forge!" The chicken was delicious, but we had to take the chop, potatoes, and dessert home (fruit turnover).
It's been raining heavily off and on today, but that didn't dampen our enthusiasm for the culture of Cades Cove or Dolly's show. It was a great day!
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