In the misty mountains of Western North Carolina, spilling over into Eastern Tennessee, there is a dragon. The dragon is fierce. The dragon has claimed many lives over the years. The dragon is one hell of a ride.
And thus began my odyssey to Deal's Gap, home of the famous Tail of the Dragon, an 11 mile stretch of U.S. Route 129 that starts at Tapoco, NC and ends up at Tabcat bridge in Tennessee and contains within its limits 318 curves. A road known all over the country for being one of the best rides or drives anywhere. And every year a group of Miata owners gather at Tapoco lodge to spend a weekend driving the Dragon, the nearby Cherohala Skyway and other twisty mountain roads. They hang out, shop, drink and have an otherwise fantastic time. The gathering started out 11 years ago with a hand-full of Miata owners and has grown to an event attended by over 400.
This was my first ever MATG and I had a ball. I will certainly be back again this year. For this first part, I will leave only the following. I'll write more in other chapters. For now, I want you to know what The Dragon is like, and see what I did with my weekend.
And here is the dragon. Be warned, the video is a bit choppy due to me using a battery operated webcam to record this, and the sound is awful because of wind noise. I suggest you turn the volume down, or off, but experience the dragon first hand:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Das Aggregator!