After my trip to the Masters, I stopped Great Smoky Mountain National Park for 3 days on my way back to boring Illinois.  I stayed on the quiet side of the mountain in Townsend Tennessee.  Several of the photographers I follow recommend and stay at Dock’s Motel.  I read the reviews on trip advisor and was a little nervous since the April and May rate is $35 a night for a sleeping room.  Everything was great, the room was clean, hot shower, soft bed and internet for $35 a night.  It would have cost me $17 a night to camp in Cades Cove with no power, bed or hot shower.

My sister loves her mountains, in fact they are called her mountains, but she has agreed to rename Cades Cove to Kent’s Cove.

I spend 3 full days in Kent’s Cove looking for wildlife.  I was a week to 10 days too early, but here is some of the photos I was able to capture.

Couldn’t find any wildlife but I thought this stump looked like a howling wolf.

Love my Mind Shift Gear Rotation 180 Pro.  Notice the Bear Horn sticking out.

Was able to find a few wildflowers that were starting to bloom at the lower elevation.

Virginia Blue Bells

Trout Lilly

Great White Trillium

Yellow Trillium

Pink Trillium

Wild Turkey

Short Eared Owl

Yuck, one of the riding horse in Cades Cove Riding Stable

Eastern Screech Owl

Coyote

On the last night with less than 15 minutes of shootable light I found my only black bear.  He didn’t want to get close and just kept sticking his head behind brush every time I tried to move into a clearer position.  Oh well, at least I found one after more than 15 hours of hiking all over the mountains.

Hopefully I will get to go back towards the end of September for the Elk rut.

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Thanks for stopping by!
Kent