Smoky Mountain Camping Trip-Day 3

Day 3 of our Smoky Mountain camping trip. :)  Sierra and Addie slept outside...what's a little dew?  LOL!

I made this new recipe for breakfast called Sheepherder's Breakfast.  I really thought it was tasty - the only thing is we cooked it a little too long because the egg yolks were not runny anymore but hey, you learn. :)

3/4 pound bacon strips, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 package (30 ounces) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
8 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion over medium heat until bacon is crisp. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup drippings in pan.
Stir in hash browns. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until bottom is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Turn potatoes. With the back of a spoon, make 8 evenly spaced wells in potato mixture. Break 1 egg into each well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cook, covered, on low until eggs are set and potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese; let stand until cheese is melted.

Summer reading a psalm for devotions.

On Wednesday, we decided to do the auto tour of Cades Cove.  

The first stop on the tour was the John Oliver cabin.  The Olivers were the first permanent white settlers in the cove.  The cabin is not held together with nails or pegs.  

It was definitely a favorite stop for me in the cove.  I absolutely loved the setting of the cabin.

Perfect porch view!  Wouldn't you die to have a secluded place like this cabin with those mountain views?  I definitely would!

Happy sigh!

Going on a bear hunt...there they are!

I LOVE these old churches!  I guess probably because I grew up worshipping in these old church buildings.  They give me fond memories. :)

This is one of the churches in the cove - Primitive Baptist Church. 

 It was established in 1827.  This building replaced the original log building in 1887.  It actually closed during the Civil War.  Isn't that an interesting fact to think about in our current day?  I think so.  I just love learning history of our nation in its early day.

Another thing I love to visit is old cemeteries.  And boy, this one was neat!  It was neat to see each church had its own cemetery.  Faith and death were most surely connected to these pioneers.  Some were so old and dilapidated that they weren't readable. :(

We were like, wow!  when we saw this headstone!  Isn't this neat?  What a piece of history right here!

So, so interesting!

The next church in the cove was The Methodist Church.  Notice it has two doors to enter.  That is because they used the blueprint to build this church from a church that had segregated seating and entry for men and women.  Even though this church didn't do that.

The original church was built in 115 days with $115 in the 1820's.  It was replaced by this building in 1902.  The man who built the original log building became one of the pastors.

What a peaceful setting.

Hyatt Lane, marked by this sign, was once part of a Cherokee Trail.  Such history!

Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church.  
It was a split off from Primitive Baptist Church there in the cove.  Founded in 1839 - this building was built in 1915.

What a beautiful pasture and view!

Bears crossing the meadow.
Now...just sayin'...I enjoyed seeing bear.  BUT, the Karen that stopped EVERYONE because they wanted a photo of a bear...Please, don't do that again.  Look, everyone can see what Karen does to miles of cars on a one-lane, one-way road.  Ok, rant over.

So we just pulled over and ate our lunch beside of a parking area. :)

Notice the line of cars in this photo.  Just saying, it nearly ruins the experience of the cove when this happens!

A butterfly that wouldn't leave us alone while we ate.  Ha!

Lunch, outside with a view, is always THE BEST!

This is the cabin of Elijah Oliver, son of John Oliver whose cabin we saw very first.  Elijah was born in this cove in 1824.  After he married, they moved out of the cove before the Civil War.  After the war, he bought this property and moved back.

This was the springhouse built over the creek to keep things cool.

More outbuildings.

The next area you can visit is the Mill Area.  This was the flume that ran from the creek to the mill.

This was an example of a cantilever barn which design came from Europe.

This grist mill is on its original site.  The other buildings were moved here later from other places in the cove.  John P. Cable bought land in the cove in the late 1860's.  He built this water-powered grist mill and sawmill about 1870.  

More typical style barn for TN.

The Gregg-Cable house.  Aunt Becky ran it as a boarding house and even a store, raised her brother's children there and took care of 600 acres.  She died in 1940 at age 96.  After her death, the house was moved here.

The road was closed to see the Henry Whitehead home.

The other side of Hyatt Lane.

This is the Dan Lawson home.  He built this home in 1856.  The chimney is unusual because the bricks were actually made on site which is unusual for this time and locale.

We didn't stop and see the Tipton home.  We were going on six hours for this eleven mile auto tour which I was like-  What??...we were getting a little tired of being in the car.

This is the Carter Shield's cabin.  It is actually one of the "newer" places in the cove.  It was built in 1910 by George Washington "Carter" Shields.  He had been crippled in the Battle of Shiloh.  It was a very lovely spot in the cove.

Our campground was right on the Little Pigeon River. They had a cool little swimming hole for the campers.

They had a deep part next to the rock where you could jump off.

Cooked up dinner - steaks with shrimp, onions and mushrooms with fried potatoes on the side.