GSMNP - Cades Cove Loop

It's a long drive from Gatlinburg to Cades Cove Loop Road, but well worth the trip!  Follow the link to learn more about Cades Cove, a former mountain community that includes pioneer homesteads, barns, businesses, pasture and farmland.

It's main attraction for visitors to the national park is the abundance of wildlife. You could almost trip over the turkeys here! 

We also saw a very large red headed woodpecker, and toward the end of the loop road we spied this cute black bear cub hurrying along.  He looked a little anxious, and after peeking around a bit he trotted across the road and got going pretty fast, probably wondering where his mama went without him. We spoke to a ranger and he said that like humans, some bears are attentive mothers, and some bears aren't!  We saw a few more bears after we had lunch and drove through again, but definitely none as adorable as this one was.