The Great Smoky Mountains; Cades Cove
Given that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park attracts more visitors than any other national park in the States, Cades Cove gets a lot of traffic--in our opinion, undeservedly so.
Compared to Oconaluftee, Cades Cove was just a bunch of old buildings. We were surprised, however, to read that a couple churches in the area closed down during the Civil War (or War Between the States, depending on your political persuasion), either due to an even split between the congregation or in one instance, an overwhelming sympathy for the Union.
The churches we saw were incredibly poor, adorned with a simple cross on the middle of the floor made of bricks laid together. The podium was of old wood, the pews hewn from neighboring trees.
Not much to see here, unless you want to hike to a farmhouse or hike to a church. Not much in the way of wildlife either; the other tourists went nuts over a deer, but we were unimpressed.
I guess we're something of National Park snobs, at this point. At least, we have standards.
No comments:
Post a Comment