Elijah Oliver was John Oliver’s son, and he was born in Cades Cove in 1824. After a time away from the Smoky Mountains, he returned to Cades Cove after the Civil War. Notice the “strangers room” enclosed on the front porch. Cades Cove hospitality was so well known that hunters and fishermen travelled, knowing that…
If you are in Gatlinburg on a Smoky Mountain vacation, don’t forget about one of the most fun and unique activities … a leisurely shopping trip along the loop of arts and crafts shops that make up the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community. Head out of Gatlinburg on Route 321 and watch for the…
Halberd-leaved Violet (Viola hastata) is a very early bloomer in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, showing its yellow blossoms as early as late March. The name halberd actually refers to a medieval battle axe, which apparently is shaped like this delicate little flower’s leaves. Look for this yellow violet along the Greenbrier Road or…
The story goes that the Methodist Church in Cades Cove was constructed in 115 days at a cost of $115 by a man who served for many years as the minister. The current frame building was built in 1902, replacing the log structure that had served from the 1820s. Please stop in and visit me…
The guinea hens above were relaxing on a bridge just outside the Big Creek entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I stopped to take their picture, and listening to their distinctive guinea hen cackling, I remembered raising some of these crazy birds back in the 1970s. I had a farm in West Virginia,…
Goat’s Beard (Aruncus Dioicus) is a member of the rose family, and blooms during May to July in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You can find these plants blooming along the Rich Mountain Road, climbing out of Cades Cove, and also along Newfound Gap Rd. Please stop in and visit me to see…
The Primitive Baptist Church in the Cades Cove section of the Great Smoky Mountains was established in 1827 in a log structure that served the congregation until the current church was built in 1887. The graveyard behind the church has some very old tombstones with familiar Cades Cove names, such as Sparks, Oliver, and Shields….
This morning, out walking the usual loop through the deserted development behind my cabin, suddenly there are big, muddy bear tracks crossing the road! There is a mud-hole from recent rains beside the road that he plowed through to get his muddy feet. The boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is less than…
It’s that time of year when the late-spring woods are lit up with various shades of orange, yellow and red of the Flame Azalea. The large wild azalea above was found along the Rich Mountain Road above Cades Cove, and the ones below were seen along the road between Big Creek and Cataloochee. Please stop…
John Oliver was a pioneer who built his log cabin around 1826 in the Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains. The homestead is typical of the time with logs trimmed with a broad ax, fit together with dovetail corner joints, and the cracks filled in with a mortar that is little more than…
Beech Grove School was built in 1901 and was one of three schools in the Cataloochee area of the Smoky Mountains. The school term, oriented to the agrarian society, ran from November through January or sometimes through March. Beech Grove had two rooms and is the only one of the three schools remaining in the…
Bowman’s Root (Porteranthus trifoliatus) is a spring bloomer, preferring dry woods and roadsides. The most curious feature of Bowman’s Root are the five uneven and twisted petals of the flower. Supposedly, the crushed root of this plant induced vomiting. Please stop in and visit me to see the complete display of Smoky Mountain Photography at…
It’s Philosophical Friday again, and we’re continuing on with yesterday’s post into the creepy interior of the Palmer House. The image above might be crying out “What happened? Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday that Jarvis and his wife were rising at dawn, rushing out into the Cataloochee sunshine.” If walls…
The Palmer House in Big Cataloochee Valley was originally built around 1860 by George Lafayette Palmer. It was a “dog-trot” house, with two log cabins joined by a common roof. By 1900 the Palmers were prospering, and the house was fancied up with siding on the outside and paneling inside. The homestead included a barn,…
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park began a program of releasing elk into the Park in 2001. Elk were once native to the eastern forests, but they disappeared in the early 1800s, victim of over-hunting and loss of habitat. The best place to view the elk herd is in the Cataloochee Valley. The elk above…
George Washington “Carter” Shields lived in this cabin from around 1910 to 1920, although the cabin dates from the 1830s. Carter Shields cabin is one of the stops along the Cades Cove loop road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Carter Shields was a Civil War veteran, crippled at the Battle of Shiloh April…
I live in Gatlinburg TN, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Smokies are a very spiritual place, and I attempt to capture some of that spirit in each of my photographs.
If you are in Gatlinburg, please stop in at my gallery .
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