Smokies 9/22/2015

Today we decided to take the Cades Cove Road tour, an 11 mile one-way loop road that circles Cades Cove, a broad verdant valley surrounded by mountains. The first European settlers to this area came in the 1820s and several of the homes and structures they built are still here, preserved by the National Park Service.

Our drive was leisurely, and we took the time to see each stop along the way, and investigate the particulars of the people that lived here and how they made a life here. One of the stops was the Primitive Baptist Church. This was one of the earliest church communities in the area, dating to 1825. The church staunchly backed the Union side in the Civil War, which led to divisions tense enough within the cove, that it was actually closed during the war. When we arrived at the church during our auto tour, a park ranger was just beginning his talk explaining some of the history of the place. He pointed out that if you look up at the ceiling of the church (built in 1887), you can see handprints all over the wood.

If you zoom in on the photo, you can see the handprints left on the ceiling from about 130 years ago.

The church was constructed from green wood, and the oils from the hands of the men and boys that had built it transferred to the wood and their handprints were preserved there. Pretty cool.
The ranger explained how important the church organization was to the structure and success of the community. This talk was a highlight of the day.

Cantilever barn: common in this area. A rainy mountain climate with high humidity for much of the year makes protection from damp a continuing challenge, which this design meets nicely. Rain falling on a cantilever barn's roof drips off the eaves at a distance well removed from the supporting cribs; the overhang protects both structure and livestock, while the space between the cribs works with the continuous vents in the upper loft walls to encourage air circulation, drying the loft's contents.

The day itself was spectacular--low to mid 70s, dry and breezy. We stopped at one point and ate lunch in the shade of a huge oak tree, and laid on the ground watching the clouds drift by. Absolute perfection!