Exploring East Tennessee: Winter Edition

It still amazes me that CH can take me to places in East Tennessee where I've never been. Actually, I guess it shouldn't surprise me. He loves to go exploring. While growing up, we didn't get out much. Daddy didn't just say, "Hey! Why don't the 12 of us hop in the car and see where the road takes us?" The only time we all got in the car at the same time was when we went to church, or in the summer when we went swimming in the mountains to escape the heat.
So...CH is introducing me to places in the area I never knew existed. Saturday, we went to Cosby, Tn. This is a very small town near Gatlinburg, but in a different county. It's actually in a county that doesn't have a great reputation, but that's beside the point. Cosby is so small, it doesn't even have a website. Seriously.
We specifically went to Cosby for lunch. Yes, we drove a little over an hour to eat lunch. Oh, but it was soooo worth it! Our view:

 It's hard to see, but there's a birdhouse on the top of one of the limbs in the picture below. (I didn't take my big-girl camera in.)
The food was excellent, the view spectacular, and the company wasn't too bad, either. I definitely want to go back in the spring when the apple trees are blooming. Oh! And the fall, too. One of my sisters goes in the fall & gets some amazing apple pies. There is also a market on the site, where you can buy fried apple pies, apples, chow-chow relish, apple butter, along with various jams and other fruit items. Oh, and they have different varieties of apples, too. 

During the season (which I'm assuming would be any season except for winter), there is a candy store and a couple of other buildings that are open for business.

When we left, we had the choice to go back to the interstate, or take the scenic route. We decided on the latter, and headed toward Gatlinburg. We saw the entrance to the Foothills Parkway and thought about taking it. We turned, and then realized that it went to the interstate (we're pretty sure that's where it goes, anyway.) We turned around, but not before we saw these guys:
As we drove closer to Gatlinburg, we decided to drive through the Artists' Colony, which takes you on back-roads and allows you to miss all of the traffic and congestion in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. Most of the places were closed for winter, but I would highly recommend visiting this area if you're in G'burg. As we were driving, we saw some animals on the hill. CH said, "Those look like buffalo"; then we saw a sign that said they were indeed buffalo. He didn't stop so I could change my camera lens and get a better picture; but, in his defense, I didn't tell him to. Guess he wasn't mind-reading at that moment!

We ended up checking out a couple of stores in Kodak, which is right off of the interstate. If you've driven to G'burg from I-40 and have taken the exit where Bass Pro is, then you've been to Kodak. You just didn't know it.
To summarize:
Drive to Cosby. Eat at Carver's. Visit the G'burg Artists' Colony. Get out and just ride around. You'll never know what you'll find!

7 comments:

  1. Wow! That is beautiful country!

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  2. The Artist Colony is my favorite part of Gatlinburg - all the "REAL" talent... you can find the most beautiful & unique things.

    I live about 10 minutes from an orchard that has apples in the fall & has a market - I'm always loving stopping there for their produce & their homemade goodies... so glad its so close to me

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  3. Looks like you had a nice time. Yes you must go back and get apples in the fall. I love doing that!

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  4. How I love East TN! Chris and I hope to retire there one day...fingers crossed! I agree...so many great places to explore!

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  5. You got some great photos! I love doing that...we call it going on an adventure. Sometimes we even get a little lost!! :)

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  6. enjoyed the pictures. I live in Chattanooga tennessee

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  7. I love these kinds of drives. Slow. Meaningful. Peaceful.

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