We've never stayed at Caves Cove, but it was always written up as a good place to camp, in the camping books. We did camp near Cherokee, N.C., at one of the Indian operated campgrounds. It was along a large creek and was really nice and cool at night. It was called Stoney's Camp. I've seen the name in some of the current camp books. If i remember right, it was on a road that ran off the highway that goes over the mountain toward Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge. Been years, and memories fade, things change. Cherokee has lots to see! Rusty

Dave-If you are talking about Gum Swamp, we went there, but it was mostly dried up and the few logs that I flipped produced nothing. I'm sure there were better areas in Cades Cove, but we spent so much time in traffic we didn't have time to check them out. Dan-The one I called a pigmy was very small (only about an 1.5in) and I thought Ocoees had a straight line down their backs not wavy like this one. I found a couple of pigmys that were obviously pigmys (typical yellow chevrons) but then I found some small ones like this that just had a wavy red or yellow line down the back. I knew the one below the Jordan's was some type of dusky, because of the line from its eye to jaw. I guess I just didn't know that imitators got that big. Thanks for the ID. Can anybody tell me what the first 5 dusky pics are? I imagine they are probably a mix of Ocoees, imitators, and Santeetlahs (because of the high elevation).

Hi guys, first post here I live along the cape cod national seashore on cape cod, mass a historically ATV/Dirtbike unfriendly area unfortunely :( I just thought id provide some insight, Throughout most of the cape stretches a cleared area, probably about the size of a football field in width which has powerlines in the middle, and large access roads on each side aswell as some areas have a paved bike trail which runs off to the side, Alot of these powerlines are on town lands, and atv riding is generally allowed, however for me the area of the powerlines I live on is governed by the electric company, aswell as the NPS which leads to some problems. Heres a sattelite photo- The black line, shows the powerline route http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/xbreaka/Pit.jpg If you follow these powerlines to the south of where I live you reach a large sand/gravel pit which is now closed but the owner allows riding there. I have always riden on the powerlines, but today I was stopped by the rangers and issued a 300$ ticket for it? 1.I have several problems with this, first off the info is not posted anywhere, iv scoured google, and the cape cod national seashore website trying to find a spot where it says "ORV riding under the powerlines is prohibited" and have failed to find it. 2.The ranger vehicles themselves are much bigger than my dirtbike, and cause much more damage to the access road than I ever have. 3.They threw the book at me for it, I will be contesting the ticket however in the district court, I dont expect to win but will not tolerate getting ticketed with disturbing of wildlife(nothing lives on or around the powerlines its all sand), tresspasing on private property(the pit owner gives atv permission to ride there). Its these things than infuriate me, sure I dont condone riding in the habitats, in the dunes or in disturbed areas. However this is just ridiculous, riding on a all sand access road, which is uninhabited by any threatened or endangered animals or wildlife. The Cape Cod ORV community is slowly disapearing because of the actions of people like the ranger who stopped me, riding in a place where you dont disturb anyone, dont damage anything and then getting ticketed for the most BS offenses iv ever heard. Frustrating Sometimes.

What type of experience are you looking for? Are all the adults into nature - hiking or driving around looking at the fall colors? Do you need to be near restaurants or will you be cooking all the meals in your rental place? If you are a group of nature lovers who plan to cook the whole time, you might look into the state parks. Some of them have cabins or lodges. They would have beautiful hiking trails just right out the door of the cabin. I've stayed in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg several times. Neither of them would be my pick if I was traveling just my husband and myself. I'd much rather stay in a state park, hike, canoe and grill. But with a group I might prefer some place like Gatlinburg. There are a lot of beautiful trails nearby for the nature lovers, shopping for the shoppers, and lots of restaurants. Its also small enough that most people could get around just walking from place to place. Asheville is very nice, too, and I love the Biltmore. Pigeon Forge does have a lot to do, as Addyson_Anders says. If you have people who want to go to shows and do a lot of shopping, it's a great place. It's more spread out than Gatlinburg, as best I remember. Dollywood is nearby if your group enjoys theme parks. If all you want to do is enjoy the beautiful woods, walk the trails and see the waterfalls,then Pigeon Forge wouldn't be my pick. Someone mentioned Cherokee above. We stayed in Cherokee many times when my kids were little. They loved to play in the creek, it was close enough to Dollywood, etc. There used to be and probably still is a very moving play about the Trail of Tears. Having said that, if I just had a long weekend in the Smoky Mountains, I personally wouldn't visit Cherokee unless I just had a huge interest in Native American Culture. There is so much to see and do around the Smoky Mountains that I wouldn't drive to Cherokee if I was staying somewhere else. Sometimes when we've been there the roads around Pigeon Forge, Cherokee and Gatlinburg get so very crowded and the traffic is bumper to bumper. So if my husband and I are going to the mountains, we avoid those areas and focus on the nature trails. However, if they are having the play while you're nearby, I've heard it is wonderful. I think the name of it is "Unto These Hills". I hope you enjoy your trip.