Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Cades Cove

Two summers ago, I took an epic solo road trip to five National Parks I'd never visited before. It was such an amazing experience that I made plans back in February to do something even bigger and better this summer.  Then COVID-19 happened, and it looked like I might need to scrap the whole idea.

But wait... there's nothing particularly challenging about maintaining social distance when hiking and camping.  Wearing a mask in visitor centers is no different than wearing one at the grocery store.  And as much as I enjoyed eating in brewpubs and getting drinks at coffee shops last time, I could sacrifice that for drive-throughs and meals in the car.  So the plans got modified, and the road trip was back on!

First stop -- Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I've truly never seen anything like GSMNP.  The lushness and density of the vegetation just completely overwhelms and envelops you.  Not two minutes after driving into the park this gorgeous cascade just popped up on the side of the road.  I didn't even notice a sign and don't believe it has a name.  THAT'S HOW COMMON THIS TYPE OF SCENERY IS.

One landscape orientation, one portrait orientation, and move along.

I wanted to start by shooting Cable Mill -- a grist mill built in 1867 that's still operational.  But I'd been warned that the one-way, 11-mile loop road there can take hours to get through on busy summer days, like the one I was there.  I thought for some reason I could get to the mill without taking the loop road, but discovered that was not the case once I was well and truly stuck on said road.  Inevitably I became caught in a bear jam, but that at least gave me the opportunity to capture this American Crow on a fence post from the comfort of my RAV4.

 

I was delighted to also see this Pileated Woodpecker, a bird I'd only seen on a couple of other occasions!

The bear jam eventually broke up, and the bear who caused it was sadly out of sight by the time I got to where it had been spotted.  So I delayed my own progress by stopping at a beautiful overlook of the valley.

Eventually I reached the mill and got the shots I had visualized in my mind.

The wheel was actually turning when I first arrived, then a volunteer came by to turn it off.  He was gracious enough to ask if that would affect my photos, which I appreciated.  Carrying a tripod gives one a certain credibility. :)

The barn on the premises had some cool old farm machinery.  I purposely left the shadows dark to reinforce the abandoned feeling the place has.

I have not converted these last two shots to sepia tone.  Everything is just honestly that brown!

The whole barn for context.  I read that it was moved from another location, which must have been quite an undertaking.

Continuing my drive I came across a Wild Turkey strutting her stuff along the roadside.  The loop road has a number of other historical structures, but those have never really been my jam.  I was there for the wildlife and scenery, and felt like I was off to an auspicious start!