Tuesday provided another beautiful day with little rain and much adventure!

We began the day with breakfast (and coffee!) and then headed to Cades Cove, about a 30 minute drive from our campground. Cades Cove is a beautiful place with much history. Dozens of people used to live in the Cove and their houses, barns, and history still lives there. We began the tour driving through the beautiful country, seeing and visiting waterfalls, wildlife, homes in the cove, churches, and beautiful woods and mountains.

We stopped at Abrams Falls, a lovely 5 mile walk to a beautiful waterfall. There were a good number of people on the trail and at the falls. Abrams falls is a moderate hike and appears to be very popular. Lunch at the falls provided a wonderful spot for dining!

After hiking the falls we returned to our car and toured the walking tour around the small village there. Again, our auto touring guide was of much assistance!

We finished Cades Cove a little earlier than expected so decided to visit Tuckaleechee Caverns. These caverns were recommended by my Aunt Marianne and they were a highlight of our trip. How amazing for an underground cave to be so large!

We were able to tour about 1/2 mile of the cave but the tour guide said that this cave was around 4 miles in length – much of the cave is just too narrow for groups to go through for touring.

After finishing the caverns we visited the store there where I bought a lovely cookbook before returning to our tent.

For dinner this night I had the bright idea of cooking frozen pizzas over the campstove. This was sorta a take-off of a friend’s suggestion to cook pizza, only her idea was better. This idea did not work well and ended with not much dinner for us. You must follow, as she said, cooking the crust first, then adding toppings – don’t try the frozen pizza on a camp stove idea!

Tips from Tuesday:

- Head to Cades Cove EARLY! Don’t wait around because it gets very busy the later you go.

- Hike Abrams Falls and other very popular trails either early or late – there were alot of people on the trail when we went.

- If you eat lunch at a waterfall, don’t eat right in front of it where people are taking pictures – we had trouble getting photos of the waterfall because a group was eating lunch right in front of it.

- Tuckaleechee Caverns was a great find – we decided to plan it in for a rainy day or for a day when, like with Cades Cove, we finished up a little early and wanted something to do the rest of the day.

- If you want campstove pizza, try taking your crust, tomato sauce, and cheese separately – not in a frozen pizza!

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Dear Friends & Family, Merry Christmas! Ryan and have had a wonderful year in 2009 and cannot believe that we have now been married for more than 6 months! The Lord has truly blessed us this past year. We spent most of the first half of 2009 planning the biggest day of our lives - our wedding! The wedding, on June 20th, →

Our wedding video is now online! Check it out! Be sure to watch all of the "parts" to the video from ceremony through reception!

Be sure to check out the Wedding Vows. You can find them in the "Wedding" menu at the top.