Cades Cove

 

Anyone who has been to Cades Cove will immediately recognize this bucolic setting with the morning mist that gives the Great Smoky Mountains their name. It's an extraordinarily beautiful place.

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A coyote bides its time waiting for hunting opportunities at the edge of a meadow. Coyotes were a common sight during one of my visits. I got to watch them hunt mice and voles in a field. This one ate a few ripe persimmons and then sat under a pine tree. Have you ever seen a coyote sit still?

A coyote follows its nose to hunting opportunities. Coyotes are opportunistic, going after whatever is most promising. Everything from rabbits and ducks to mice and deer are on the menu. 

A two-year-old bear cub munches hickory nuts that it shook loose from a tree over the main loop road. One of the nuts thunked hard on the hood of a classic convertible sportscar. The owner said he didn't mind the dent: "It will give me a good story to tell."

A bear follows its nose up a tree to eat the tender buds of leaves in late spring. Bears eat a wide variety of foods. But in the early spring, they prefer skunk cabbage and other plants.

A bear climbs butt-first down a hickory tree. Bears go where the food is. Often it's in the tree canopy where they can get to ripe acorns.

A tom turkey is resplendent in its blue and red mating plumage. Turkeys are a common sight along the park road.

Morning is the best time to enjoy Cades Cove.

A blue morph Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly was a surprising find. Cades Cove is home to a wide diversity of wildflowers that attract butterflies throughout the summer.

A mama bear plucks acorns out of an oak tree while her cubs play in the thick foliage. I never got a clear picture of the little babies with all the leaves.

A cave waterfall is a highlight of Tuckaleechee Caverns just outside Cades Cove. The Smokies are home to lots of limestone caves.