A Frosty Tour of Cades Cove

I know it's not the first time I've taken you on a tour through my favorite part of the Smoky Mountains, but this is the first winter tour so grab a cup of steaming coffee, cocoa or tea and enjoy the ride as over the winding road and along icy Little River we go.
Cades Cove is a valley between the mountains, a cove where several hundred mountain folk lived before the Great Smoky Mountain National Park came into existence in the first half of the twentieth century.
It's the most visited national park in the United States of America.
Cattle grazed here just a few short years ago, but now commercial interests are taking a forefront with horses to ride for a fee, of course.
A lone male turkey with a beard that touches the ground while grazing.
Those two doors speak of a bygone era when gentlemen and ladies entered the church through portals of a different gender.
Inside another church in the cove.
The Cable Gristmill where grain was ground into flour and cornmeal is frozen today, really frozen.
It was too cold to picnic at a table in the park so we lunched in the suv and watched the wildlife show from front-row seats.
A doe with her yearling fawn.
Bee gums, although there are no bees working them now.
In my mind the most wondrous man made building in the cove is this cantilever barn.
Every board is pegged together; not a nail in the structure.Hope you enjoyed this lil short tour. We'll talk about the cabins another time, the good Lord willin'. :)

Shared at:  Roses of Inspiration