The next day of trip we rolled out of bed at the crack of dawn. Wolfed down some waffles and quiche and hit the road towards Cades Cove. Cades Cove is a very popular attraction, which is about 35 miles from Gatlinburg. This isolated valley was the settling place for 100s of settlers in the 1800’s. It’s preserved homesteads, beautiful mountain views, and abundant wildlife are reasons why 2 million visitors come every year.
John Oliver’s Cabin
In the cemetery behind the primitive baptist church. We noticed that a lot of babies and toddlers were buried here. So sad.
Piano inside the primitive baptist church
Steeple
We saw a few deer
John P. Cable Mill
After several hours of driving through and walking around, it was time for refueling. We got back to the chalet, ate lunch, and then drove over to Ober Gatlinburg to hop on the Aerial Tram to Downtown Gatlinburg.
First on our list was Christ Museum and Gardens. This is $10/person. Truthfully, not sure it was worth it.
You’re not allowed to take pics of the exhibits inside, only the garden at the end of the tour.
From there we walked over to the Space Needle Arcade. We played a game of lazer tag as a family and then dispersed to use the tokens on video games, ski ball, etc.
We were ready for a snack at this point, so we hungrily found our way here for a foot long corn dog. I must say these are the best corn dogs I’ve ever had!
After we devoured that the boys got candied apples.
We enjoyed some hammer dulcimer & guitar playing and then opted for dinner at Blaine’s Bar and Grill.
Blaine’s was really good food and super fast, which was great since some of needed to catch the tram back up to the top of the mountain. We then drove back down the mountain to pick up everybody else, some of which are afraid of heights. 😉
See all the pics from Day 3 here.
More posts from Our 4th Annual 4th of July Trip:
{Day 1}
{Day 2}
{Day 4}
{the Chalet}