Oconaluftee Village

Two Gentlemen demonstration traditional carving

Lady demonstrating the art of basket making

A lady demonstrating the art of weaving

Two ladies demonstrating the art of stringing beads
notice the fireplace behind them it was a cool morning

A lady demonstrating how the Cherokee Indians
made pottery for everyday usage

This spring I took a vacation to the Smoky Mountains and stayed in Bryson City, NC in a very nice cabin out in the mountains it was very restful and quiet with no Internet. The week was mostly overcast with light rain and a spot of sunshine on occasion permitting me to catch up on my much needed sleep. There was a nice hot tube on the front porch over looking a quiet valley permitting a nice hot soak then to bed.

One day I decided to drive back over the Smoky's to Cades Cove, it was mostly high clouds when I left the cabin, once I crossed over Newfound Gap it turned into heavy mist and light rain with heavy clouds I wasn't really surprised as the weather was coming from the North West and the mountains were blocking most of the bad weather leaving the southern side of the mountains much nicer.

After a couple of days of rest I decided to check out the little town of Cherokee. If you've never been there it is basically a town for tourist to purchase vacation items, they do have a very nice shop for items made by the Cherokee and other tribes, I must say I thought the prices were very good encouraging me to warm up the plastic. While I was wondering around I saw an advertisement for an Indian Village and decided to take a look and was glad that I did. They provided a tour guide that led small groups around stopping at the various stations to explain how the Cherokee lived prior to being deported to the west in the 1800's, I've posted a few of the many pictures I took while on the tour, I would encourage anyone who is in the area to take a couple of hours and enjoy the Oconaluftee Village.