Cades Cove Camping

During fall break this year, the girls and I headed to Cades Cove to camp with Terri Bradshaw for a few nights. We went up Sunday evening with Greg and Rob to get all of the tarps staked down, to put up Mary Alison's tent, and to unload the firewood and chairs. Mary Alison invited Corie Beth to go with her. Leah, Loran, Austin, Rhonda and Erica came up Monday afternoon to go on the ranger-led hay ride through the cove. Greg came up for the hayride too and brought the girls' bikes. The ranger told of the first settlers in the cove and gave information about the creatures in the park. As she described the different animals, she passed around hides from many of the critters she discussed (otter, bobcat, fox, wolf, bear...). The girls enjoyed touching the fur and playing with the hides. They actually got a little silly--imagine that! We went back to the campsite and cooked hot dogs over the campfire for dinner. Loran stayed with Mary Alison and Corie Beth in the tent. The girls rode bikes Tuesday morning then we packed our coolers and food in Terri's truck and drove around the loop, stopping at the sites of the different schools that were once in the cove (for Molly's social studies project) and the churches that are still there (for Emma's social studies project). We grilled chicken for dinner on Tuesday and had a big campfire--good for making smores! Wednesday was much cooler than the first two days. We broke camp and loaded up. Greg came and we took one more trip through the cove then we headed home. PHOTOS