We rode the cable cars to the Gatlinburg Sky Trail – Hike in SkyPark for fun. I included a couple of odd things we saw in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Enormous pickup trucks and SUVs are the norm down south.
Gatlinburg is 1,893 feet (577 meters) above sea level. And Clingman’s Dome (we drove there) in Smokey NP is 6,643 feet.
On our second drive though Roaring Fork I concentrated on nature. The Smokies are full of wildflowers in the spring. I saw many new species. I added a couple of things seen other places to this post. I welcome corrections to my attempts at identification.
“The 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, also known as the Gatlinburg wildfires, were a complex of wildfires which began in late November 2016. Some of the towns most impacted were Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, both near Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The fires claimed at least 14 lives, injured 190,and is one of the largest natural disasters in the history of Tennessee.
By December 12, the fires had burned more than 10,000 acres (15 square miles) inside the national park, and 6,000 acres in other parts of the area. At least 14,000 area residents and tourists were forced to evacuate, while over 2,000 buildings were damaged and/or destroyed.
One of the largest wildfires was the Chimney Tops 2 Fire, which burned more than 10,000 acres, and closed the Chimney Tops Trail.
The Great Smoky Mountains wildfires were the deadliest wildfires in Tennessee, as well as the deadliest wildfires in the eastern U.S. since the Great Fires of 1947, which killed 16 people in Maine. In addition, the fires were also the most deadly and destructive of the 2016 Southeastern United States wildfires.
American country singer and notable local resident Dolly Parton was among many notable figures to pitch in to assist victims.” Source: 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires – Wikipedia
Built in 1866, the Elijah Oliver Place is one of the oldest surviving structures in Cades Cove. After the original farm was destroyed during the U.S. Civil War, Elijah Oliver rebuilt and created this historic farmhouse. Today, visitors can tour the house, gaining insights into the past while appreciating its significance as a National Register of Historic Places site.
The little room on the side was built for guests.
We stopped and explored many of the old cabins on our drive around Cades Cove in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee. Here is a bit of the History of Cades Cove – Great Smoky Mountains National Park (nps.gov). And here is a page with information about 12 Historical Structures in Cades Cove.
3 Historic Cades Cove Churches (visitmysmokies.com)
The National Park Service has some interesting maps Great Smoky Mountains National Park (nps.gov)
Some rustic cabin doors at Roaring Fork for Thursday Doors: https://nofacilities.com/2024/05/23/in-memory-of-too-many/.
White-tailed deer, black bears, coyotes, turkeys, and other wildlife are frequently spotted in the open valley of Cades Cove. There are 3 bears in the last photograph. That sighting caused a bear jam (cars stopping to view the bears).
