In early September 2009, I went to visit relatives in Georgia. Being truly tired of I-95, I-85 and I-20, I decided to have some fun. Perhaps you’re like  me and have read about a VERY curvy road just south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park called the Tail of the Dragon.

I had read about it years ago in Road and Track and a couple of years back Porsche introduced the Boxster S using that same road. So why not drive it? Well, I drove the Tail of the Dragon twice. The Tail of the Dragon is US 129 from the bridge crossing the Little Tennessee River in North Carolina to just east of Tallassee, Tennessee.

The Tail of the Dragon is 11 miles long with 318 curves. That, my friends, is very curvy. It is very popular with bikers, both touring bikes and speed bikes. They have now added paved pullouts to let faster traffic pass and someone painted “SLO” in yellow on the pavement before the most treacherous curves.

The first run was from North to South during the early afternoon on 1 September. Lots of bikes were also on the Tail. I was driving briskly but sensibly, and tour bikes would slowly overtake me. I’d pull over and let them pass, get a friendly wave and continue. But sometimes, I’d suddenly see motorcycle head lights right in my mirror as a group of very speedy bikers ripped past me. As I watched one especially fast group, I wondered about latent suicidal tendencies? The second run was from South to North about 9 AM on Wednesday, 2 September. This time I was almost alone and really enjoyed the drive more.

I started past the Cheoah Dam (used in the movie The Fugitive), and drove the Tail of the Dragon. Then I took a neat loop back to Robbinsville, NC. This included TN routes 72 and 360 – both respectably twisty – to Tellico Plains, TN. Then I took the Cherohala Skyway (TN 165 and NC 143). This is much like the Blue Ridge Parkway, spectacular views and a most enjoyable drive in the Black Pearl. I’ll probably go back and do this again. It sure was a lot more fun than I-95 from Virginia to Georgia. Too bad it is just a bit far for a First Settlers’ fun run!