I am posting this up early to give you guys plenty of time to save for the trip and get the time off.

Sometime in May of 2006 (week to be determined later) I am putting together a drive out to the Dragons Tail and the Cherohala Skyway at Deal's Gap. This ia a mountain pass along the TN and NC borders. It's a stretch of road that is 11 miles long and has 318 corners!



Knoxville is nearby for hotels. I was thinking about driving out there on a Wed. and Thurs. Driving the mountain roads Fri.-Sunday, then driving back Monday and Tuesday the next week. That way if you can't request as much time off, you can drive out with us on the Wed. and Thurs. drive the moutain roads, then drive back on the weekend.

Here are some more pics and maps.

NC end of the road...


TN end of the road.....


Elevation profile of the Dragon's Tail...


Here is a map of the whole area, pointing out the Dragon's Tail and the Cherohala Skyway....


And lastly, Radar and Law Enforcement coverage of said roads.....




What do you guys think? I want to round up as many Scions for this as possible.

We are gathering in Minneapolis and headding down. If you would like to meet us in Knoxville, that would be great.

 

I've done this on motorcycles before, diffently a fun time. But I think the scion(xB/XA) would suck at this. Its got some damn evil grades as well as corners. But it is certainly fun if you have a machine that will take advantage of it.

I can smell burning scion brakes and clutches already.

Also you might look into staying in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge Tn. or Maggie Valley NC. they are touristy areas, but there is alot more to do there. Might even be a little closer.

 

I have done that in my old Eclipse GSX that had a 20g..it very fun...might be a bit tough in the xb.. I had mine in Waynesville a few weeks ago it did not like the altitude

 

I'm looking to get a bunch of Scions together to CRUISE through this, take video, and shoot pics. You don't need power and brakes to do that.

I was thinking Knoxville as the place to stay to avoid the tourists. We can drive the roads and hit the bars like everyone else, I just don't want to try to sleep where the party is.

 

I like Gatlinburg personally and it would be a fun trip

 

I hope to get more interest by the time this happens.

 

Here is a URL : http://tailofthedragon.com/ It will be lots of fun, but I would caution you about the other traffic on the road. Not an isolated hillbilly ridge runner, but biker and sports car clubs thinking they're participating in the great Smokey Mountain Gumball Ralley! LOL

 

I can see the headlines "20 Scions piled up in ditch of of the Tail of the Dragon." lol, just kidding. I wish I could ride it...

 

You only wish they HAD ditches!

 

I hope to do it on a bike. Sounds interesting to do it in a box also. Keep us posted, sounds like great fun Bro.

 

Don't schedule it from May the 4th to the 8th. This is where I'll be this year. There were 400 minis up there last year.

 

Cool pic! Why the back up? Isn't this a public road?

 

My friend took his mini to that event last year. I was jealous.

 

Found this page of photos taken on the dragons tail. Half way down the page is an XB. killboy.com http://photos1.blogger.com/img/55/33...4/IMG_5682.jpg

 

What up with the Dufus in the back seat flippin someone off?

 

I just gets that packed up there. Working on shooting the movie Italian Job up on a huge screen hung out at the baseball field. "Mini" drive in....

 

Might be a fun thing to do on the weekend. Less than 2 hour drive from home. Let me know when a date is nailed down. One of our engineers rides his bike there. Said it is a blast, except for the big trucks. He said the best time to ride is after 4 or 5 in the afternoon, most of the main traffic is gone by then.
Jim

 

I just got back from the 'burg.. the altitude didn't bother it at all.

If yall can make this happen, be careful of your speed!!! The locals love to raise funding from that section, from what I hear.
Besides, if you keep it to a cruise, the folks around there will love you....

 

I'm down, just hook me up with a date. ScioNRG people will be joining in for sure (although I don't know how many). Police there don't check speed along TotD due to there being no turn-around points... they are mainly there for disaster recovery (emergency services, etc). Now if you are around town and the like, yes... definately watch your speed.

 

Has a date been set yet for the get together?