Our anniversary and we were going to ride the Dragon. We'd made our reservations, laid our plans, researched online & said a few prayers. The day before was dismal, cold & pouring rain. It did not look promising, so I oiled our leathers, wrapped everything in plastic, & braced myself for a wet ride. The morning of the 24th was grey, heavy couds hung low. By 11am we were loaded & rollin. We headed up hwy70, thru Cookeville, Crossville, & Rockwood. A few times there were patches of blue thru the clouds. Best of all, no rain! We arrived in Lenoir City around 3pm eastern time, just in time for check in at our bed & breakfast. We were staying at Berry Sweet Farms, in the strawberry suite, with a jacuzzi tub for two & a king sized four poster bed. We dropped our pack & headed back across the dam for dinner at the marina. A place called Calhouns, advertising the best ribs in america, which I took as a challenge. They were pretty good, but not the best. By the time we got back to the b&b, the ol' man had had it. He'd driven his big truck straight thru from Missouri to get home for this & after the cold 100 mile ride, he was ready to sink into that incrediably comfortable bed & snooze. http://www.berrysweetbandb.com/index.htm
Thursday morning was fairly clear, large white clouds floating in a blue sky. We had a wonderful two course breakfast, berries & yogurt, followed by scambled eggs with sausage and hash browns. Then we were on our way. We traveled east a bit on 321 to 411. From there it was south to hwy360, and farther south to the Cherohala Skyway. This stretch of highway winds its way from the north river in Tennessee to the spectacular mile high mountains of North Carolina, finally dropping back down to Robbinsville. It was over 5000ft at its highest, and freezing cold. At some points you could reach out and touch the clouds. It offered many stopping points with incredible views. After passing the Unicoi Crest at 4594ft, it got so cold, we didn't stop again til we were on our way down & we felt a definite rise in the temp. We reached Robbinsville at lunch time and stopped for a sandwich on the courthouse square at Lynns. It took us a couple hours to ride the 35 miles of the skyway, with several stops to take pics & just admire the views. For more info on Cherohala- Cherohala.com
After warming up with lunch, we continued out of town on hwy143 til we reached hwy28, the Hellbender. We headed east and found this road a great ride, lots of sweeping curves and some tight ones. Just a beautiful ride with rivers, mountains, and lots of trees. Watch for Rainbow Falls, an incredible waterfall located right on the side of the road. www.hellbender28.com
Finally we came to the Dragon at Deals Gap, the reason for our ride, we saved it for last. We made a stop for t-shirts and souveniers, then started on the last leg. We'd heard the horror stories of law enforcement and crotch rockets, but saw little hot roding and no law. They say the Dragon is not for unexperienced riders, I agree. The curves are hard and fast and there's lots of 'em. 318 in 11 miles. What a ride! I admit, I'm now bitten and look forward to the next ride. I believe this has something to do with being born in the year of the dragon. I'm hoping we go back in the spring and ride it again and again. Of course, there are several other roads in the area that look interesting, so we'll have to go back... http://tailofthedragon.com/
We continued on hwy129 to Maryville, with a stop at Smoky Mountain Harley Davidson. One of the better dealerships I've been in. We spent some time droolin over the pretty bikes, then had pizza before heading back to the b&b. We took a stroll to stretch our legs and meet the horses, shot a few games of pool, and filled the jacuzzi for a soak. Our hostess served a warm, wonderful dessert with apples and cinnamon. We watched a little satalite tv from the comfort of our king sized bed and drifted off to a blissful, satisfied slumber.
The next morning was clearer and sunnier then the day before, so we decided to take the long way home. After another two course breakfast of blueberry and cream crepes, and ham and egg and cheese bake, we packed up and hit the road. At Lenoir City, we headed south on hwy11 all the way to Athens, where we caught hwy30 west. That's when the dark clouds moved in and it looked like we might get wet after all. We took 30, which is a great road, all the way to McMinnville and hwy56 north. That took us all the way home, and we were glad to get there. Altogether we put in 500 miles in 3 days, and we didn't get rained on once!
I included links to the websites I used to plan our adventure. We arrived home around 1pm central time and Savage immediately left for Atlanta with a load to be delivered that evening. I got a hot shower and hot cup of tea before having to pick up my son after the football game, he plays in the marching band. It was right back to reality, but I still have that relaxed feeling, I only wish we could have brought the bed home!
