As a child,  growing up 15 miles from the Townsend entrance to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, we frequently took day trips to the park. During the summer, we would swim at what we called the “Y” and at a swimming hole about 100 yards downriver from the Y. My absolutely Afavorite destination in the Park was Cades Cove. We would picnic at the picnic area at the entrance to Cades Cove. If we had our bikes, we would take off on our bikes to ride around the 11-mile Loop Road, without any worry about anything happening. What an adventure! There was so much of beauty and interest to occupy my ride--Abrams Falls, the old churches & cabins, the grist mill, the abundant wildlife, including frequent bear sightings. There were many creeks to ride over and play in with lots of crawdads. The cove and the mountains that encircled it were beautiful! The summer lightning bugs were everywhere. The colors from spring blooming to lush greens of the summer to the fall colors to the white blankets of snow in the winter were stunning. As a child, riding my bike around Cades Cove, I decided I wanted to live in Cades Cove. I even knew a professor at Maryville College, Stanley Shields, who grew up in Cades Cove before it became a part of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. I have seen a lot of the amazing beauty of God’s world, but my favorite place, the most beautiful place I have ever seen, is still this unbelievable Cades Cove. I still would love to live in Cades Cove.  

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