Cades Cove is a neat place It’s not in my top ten, but it is nice. It’s surrounded by mountains that rise 2500-3000 feet above the floor the cove. This area is rich with Civil War era historic buildings. I toured many cabins, a few lavishly sized homes and several churches. It seems there must have been many more dwellings in the area to support the three or four churches that I saw today. For the curious minded, the Baptist and Methodist were well represented. 
If you think of “Little House on the Prairie, you’re getting a good idea of what the area looks like. This area was loaned to some settlers from the Cherokee. What happened to that agreement, I haven’t figured out. I’m assuming the Cherokee didn’t favor in the deal. (There is a large Cherokee reservation to the south of the national park.) Sometime during the Civil War, most of the settling families left the area. The inhabitants mostly favored the Union and this cove was becoming increasingly dangerous since this had grown largely into a Confederate area. The locals either decided or were encouraged to relocate. I haven’t studied this too much, so feel free to add your own comments to my blog. At press time, I’m rather limited in my ability to research more historical information.
The foliage has pockets of vibrancy but for the most part is mute.
I hiked up to Alums Cave (Bluff) today. I think it was 5 miles round trip. A nice moderate hike with decent color. I saw that the trailhead to Laurel Falls was very vibrant. I may check on that tomorrow. Rain is expected in the morning and I haven’t made plans for anything else but sleeping in.
Make it a great day!
JD
PS I will post pics upon my return from vacation.