It’s a Spiritual Sunday in late April, and today we’re just out for a walk and stopping for a meditation on the beauty of a spring day in Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains. Most people who come to the Smokies pay a visit to Cades Cove, and for good reason … it may be one of the most majestic and spiritual places on earth. I’ve probably written more blog posts about Cades Cove than any other area of the Smoky Mountains.
My strategy is to go early. I’m parked at the gate before sunrise when the Park Ranger drives up to open the loop road for the day. Then, rather than drive the 11 mile loop, I pick a spot, park the car and take a walk. There are many places to do this, and getting out of the congested traffic gives you the opportunity for photos that aren’t the standard scenes that everyone else gets. But best of all, it gets you connected to the spiritual side of the Smoky Mountains, off in a field with just you and the mountains, and maybe a deer or two.
On this morning the weather was looking dramatic, with shafts of sunlight scanning the central meadows. I decided to park along Hyatt Lane, one of the gravel lanes that cuts across the paved loop road. The early spring grass is still short and easy to walk through, so it’s off into the fields we go, just wandering out to the point where it feels like nothing but you and nature and the mountains all around.
As always please stop in and say hello at the William Britten Gallery along the Historic Arts and Crafts Loop on Glades Rd. in Gatlinburg. My complete selection of photos of the Smoky Mountains, as well as mugs, notecards and magnets are all on display most days throughout the year.
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