spring comes to Cades Cove

[kamoshika]

Thanks for the kind words; Cades Cove is a ridiculously photogenic place so it's pretty easy to capture nice shots there. As for the black bears, I saw some silly human behavior last week but the bears seem to be remarkably tolerant of our foolishness. The mother bear & cub (she had two w/ her) in the first shot above were about 30 yards away while I was snapping pics, but there were dozens of people milling about and when she wandered closer to the road while feeding, some folks stood their ground and she ended up being just 15-20 feet away from them...not smart, especially since her cubs were tagging along.

The young bear who crossed the road in front of me started grazing as soon as he got to the other side, eating new plant shoots. I was only about 30-35 feet from him but I stayed in my vehicle, and he paid no attention at all to me. Earlier I'd driven by a field and seen five people standing there with their cameras & watching a bear that was up in a tree about 50 feet away; again, not smart, but many people find bears to be irresistible photo subjects no matter the risk.

F250Glock, as far as bears are concerned you'll be perfectly safe while biking on the loop road; I saw many folks biking/walking there last week. Just watch for cars while going up/down some of the hills, as there are a few blind spots on the curves and some people drive faster than they should.

[F250Glock]

Thanks for the advice! We'll definitely get over there to ride our bikes. No way would I be so foolish to stand my ground with a momma black bear walking towards me with her cubs...yikes. Talk about natural selection!

[JoshB]

Hey you, yea you the guy who posted the pics kam. Lets see a calender! Your photos are always amazing and you have a great eye for truly spectacular pictures.

Josh

[danielj72]

What great photos, and looks like you were lucky enough to see all this without too much tourist congestion in Cades cove. The last time I was there people were chasing the bears around with cameras. Cades cove is a truly beautiful place no matter what though.

[kamoshika]

I ventured again to Cades Cove earlier this month, camping for 3 nights at the campground there. Spring may very well be the best time to visit with comparatively sparse crowds, abundant wildlife, and beautiful foliage.

[kamoshika]

[ndfi78]

So beautiful!

[kamoshika]

Originally Posted by ndfi78

So beautiful!

Thanks, Cades Cove is a truly unique and special place. It's too bad that most visitors only experience it as a 3-hour traffic jam during the summer or fall, which makes it really hard to savor what you're seeing.

Here's one more shot of a coyote that was just hanging out in a field one morning.

[timothyjames14]

VERY well done.

You captured the beauty which lures me to the GSMNP every chance I get.