Tennessee – Smoky Mountain Wildflowers
Category: Travels in Tennessee
Tennessee – Cades Cove
There’s something about the Great Smoky Mountains that connects with my soul, a sense of peace that I crave. After rescheduling my May trip due to Covid-19 lockdowns, I made the trip this month and immersed myself in the beauty and calm of the Smokies.
One of the first things on my list was to drive the Cades Cove loop. It’s an eleven mile, one way, slow and scenic drive with a high likelihood of seeing wildlife. It never disappoints.
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Tennessee – Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community
On this trip I explored the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community for the first time, discovering a number of artists offering “Create Your Own” art. Looking specifically for less crowded attractions, I found Fowler’s Clay Works and signed up for a pottery class, something I’ve always wanted to try. Owner Mike Fowler was friendly and welcoming. Our instructor Rachel was fun and knowledgeable, guiding myself and my classmates, three ladies from Florida celebrating their birthdays in the Smokies. Separated by distance and plexiglass, we each created a piece of pottery while laughing and sharing stories. I fell in love with the cool, wet clay and the focus required to shape it into a wonderful memento of my trip. It will be fired, glazed and shipped in a few months. I can’t wait to see it!
On an “art high” after my pottery class, I drove on to explore other Create Your Own offerings and found Sparky’s Glassblowing. After a brief chat with Sparky I signed up for a class the following week.
When I arrived for my class, his lovely wife got me suited up in a leather apron and protective eyewear. She explained Sparky would be masked but that the extreme heat of the torch would protect me from any airborne germs and the glassblowing booth was surrounded by glass. To my amazement, I made a glass bear and two blown glass ornaments in the span of an hour. Sparky has a great teaching style – safe, encouraging and a clever sense of humor that reminded me of Spence. The class was a delight!
With time before my next class, I continued exploring the art route and came upon Firefly Glassworks. Up a steep one lane drive, it’s a “drop-in” (no classes) fused and dichroic glass studio and adjacent workshop. Owner, Nancy Huff, was knowledgeable and fun to chat with while I designed a ring dish using colorful pieces of mirrored and dichroic glass in an abstract pattern.
My final class was at A. Jann Peitso Art. For 2 1/2 hours I painted side by side with Jann, (both of us masked), creating our own unique paintings using Yupo paper and alcohol ink. It was a fascinating process and I fell in love with it. Jann, an artist in her 80’s, is a soft spoken southern lady, superb teacher and has a lovely gallery filled with her artwork. She closes the gallery during classes so there are no interruptions. By the time I left, I had a completed painting (including matting), a certificate from the class, list of materials and resources for future painting endeavors and a conversation that I won’t soon forget. I’ve already acquired the materials to continue my exploration with this medium, I’m hooked!
NOTE: The classes were extremely affordable and for those items that needed firing, shipping was included.
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Returning to Tennessee – part eight
When visiting the Smokies the food is a major part of the appeal. There are endless choices – I’m highlighting a few that I love.
My longtime favorite bbq spot, Smokin Joe’s in Townsend never disappoints. While I’ve had their brisket and ribs this time I ordered the pulled pork with fried okra and corn nuggets (fried cream corn). OMG.
A new find was Trailhead Steak and Trout House also in Townsend. I started with fried green tomatoes, a Caesar salad followed by their grilled trout that was perfectly prepared. While I neglected to photograph those meals (too hungry?) I did manage to capture the following:
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Returning to Tennessee – part six
Driving the Cades Cove Loop you’ll find several churches with small cemeteries. It was early Sunday morning when I came upon them and I was able to hear parts of the sermons and hymns at each as I walked with reverence around the graveside pathways. It was peaceful and I was in awe of the history in this place.
Cades Cove
Methodist Church
Lazarus Oliver
1827-1902
William Hamby
1744-1840
The Dan Lawson Place, which was originally constructed in 1856, is a transitional piece of architecture – the home features both sawn lumber and hewn logs. In addition, the pioneer cabin featured a modern chimney made out of bricks.
Over the years, Lawson expanded both his land holdings and his residence. By the time of his death, the cabin had been expanded to have a large porch and an additional second story. The large, covered porch was used as a post office that Dan ran from his house.
I visited Cades Cove on three occasions this trip and my posts only provide a glimpse of the beauty. The peaceful meandering loop road connects you to nature. At any hour of the day you’re assured of unforgettable scenic views and often wildlife sightings making it a must-see when you’re visiting the Smoky Mountains.
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Returning to Tennessee – part five
Since my last visit in 2016, the Foothills Parkway was completed. The Wears Valley entrance was less than a mile from my cabin and I decided to check it out. I drove it several times during my stay; it’s scenic with many turnouts for taking pictures and little to no traffic.
”The Foothills Parkway is a national parkway which traverses the foothills of the northern Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States”. Wikipedia
I pulled off on a side road to take this shot. This is Wears Valley.
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Returning to Tennessee – part four
A trip to the Smoky Mountains isn’t complete without driving the Cades Cove Loop. I drove it three times during the trip choosing daybreak, midday and late afternoon to experience the changing light and wildlife sightings. It’s a one-way 11 mile drive that progresses slowly as you savor the scenery, take photos and stop for animals.
I get a thrill seeing the black bears that are a beloved fixture in Tennessee. I’d been following several Facebook groups in the weeks before my trip with numerous posts of mother bears with multiple cubs. I’ve always had multiple bear sightings on past trips – my hopes were high. I saw one bear cub on my late morning drive. He scampered across the road in front of me and was gone before I could get a photo. He was my only bear on this trip but there’s always next time.
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Returning to Tennessee-part three
I was a tad early for the full array of fall colors but managed to capture the beauty of autumn surrounding my Wears Valley cabin.
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Returning to Tennessee – part two
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Travels in Tennessee – part five
Spence and I stay in a secluded log cabin in the mountains of Wears Valley when we travel to Tennessee but love that within ten to fifteen minutes we can be in Townsend, Sevierville or Pigeon Forge and within twenty minutes, Gatlinburg.
We’ve found several fun spots to enjoy a cold adult beverage, people watch, talk to locals and other tourists. If you’re traveling in the area, these places are worth checking out.
Dick’s Last Resort – Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg – From outlandish decor and servers with “attitude” this is a fun bar with tasty eats such as the Wicked Gator bites (yes gator – tastes like chicken) accompanied by deep fried jalapenos. And yes, there are numerous bras hung over the bar. Hilarious.
No Way Jose’s Cantina – Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg – Spence and I love Jose’s with ice cold beer and their outdoor cantina (in Gatlinburg) which overlooks the river. Food here is excellent as are the complimentary chips and salsa.
Loco Burro Fresh Mex Cantina in Gatlinburg – On a sweltering day, we walked by a doorway and felt a swoosh of cool air – that was all it took to lure us in. We hopped on the escalator to the second floor bar and restaurant (forgoing the rooftop bar one floor up). When we saw the funny barstools, we decided we’d sit there. Chris, our bartender, whipped up the most refreshing frozen banana dacquiris for me while Spence had beer. Chris was entertaining as were the tugboat captain and his wife from New Orleans that we bantered with. The menu looked great but we weren’t hungry – next time….
Crawdaddy’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar in Gatlinburg – While they have indoor seating, this second floor venue has a wrap-around-the-corner outdoor balcony, overlooking a main street in Gatlinburg which is a people-watchers dream – we always sit out there. I love their pina coladas and we typically order 1-2 dozen oysters as well as oyster shooters. Great service and a full menu of Cajun and seafood selections.
Friendly Falls Food & Stuff in Sevierville – This quaint place borders the Little Pigeon River as you drive along the curving mountain roads. Not only can you sit and have a cold beer overlooking waterfalls, you can walk down to Norbert’s Gem Mine and pan for gems and crystals (watch for a future post). It’s a fun, quirky, friendly place that is always on our list of things to do when in Tennessee.
