While her little brother Kaison was at a doctor’s appointment in Nashville, this Mimi had the pleasure of hanging out with Willow for a couple days. We spent one of our awesome days together hanging out at Cades Cove. It’s about a 45 minute drive from where I live. Willow was (of course) all cute in her pink car seat.
![Me and Willow headed to Cades Cove](http://lifeinthesmokymountains.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IMG_1583-rotated.jpg)
Cades Cove Historic Churches
Our first stop was The Methodist Church, where Willow enjoyed testing out the piano.
![Cades Cove Historic Church](http://lifeinthesmokymountains.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IMG_1585-rotated.jpg)
We had to walk around the cemetery out back. Willow didn’t quite understand it all, but it was interesting to her nonetheless.
![Cades Cove Cemetery](http://lifeinthesmokymountains.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IMG_1590.jpg)
Cades Cove Historic Cable Mill
We stopped at the old Cable Mill, located about half way around the loop road. There is a washroom and gift shop, as well as a few historical buildings in this area. It’s well worth the stop to walk around for a bit.
![Cades Cove Cable Mill](http://lifeinthesmokymountains.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/web-Smoky-Mountains-3862.jpg)
![Cades-Cove-Historic-Cable-Mill](http://lifeinthesmokymountains.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/web-Smoky-Mountains-3865.jpg)
So Many Historic Sites In This Smoky Mountains Gem
Willow really enjoyed the historical homes in Cades Cove. Here she is sitting in front of the fireplace of a historical home near The Cable Mill area.
![Cades-Cove-Historic-Home](http://lifeinthesmokymountains.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/web-Smoky-Mountains-3875.jpg)
This is an historic barn in Cades Cove. Willow just HAD TO look inside every barn, climb every ladder, and peek inside every door. Ahhhh, the curiosity of the 4-year-old!
![Cades-Cove-Smoky-Mountains](http://lifeinthesmokymountains.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/web-Smoky-Mountains-3884.jpg)
And then of course, just to be the diva that she is, she needed to climb this stump and pose for one last picture of our day.
![Cades-Cove-Tree-Stump](http://lifeinthesmokymountains.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IMG_1602-rotated.jpg)
All in all, it was a GREAT day! Willow did awesome, and she was way more interested in the historic buildings than I thought she would be. This Mimi really enjoyed our day out!! I highly recommend taking the kids to this Smoky Mountain Gem! Go early or pack your patience though, as the 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road can get pretty crowded at times!