I had been planning this trip for about 6 months, and it was the best road trip I have ever done. The route:
map1 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Planned stops included Tail of the Dragon (Deal’s Gap), Cherohala Skyway, Nashville and its various attractions, Corvette Museum, and Corvette Motorsports Park in Bowling Green. The rest was just “play it by ear”.
Wednesday July 6th:
Left work at noon, picked up the wife from her job downtown Buffalo, and we hit the road. Honestly, the trip down to Knoxville was fairly uneventful - the further south we got, the more speeds picked up and the better the scenery got.
We stopped for lunch at the famous Chik Fil A chain of restaurants. I wasn’t expecting much from a fast food joint, but I was pleasantly surprised at the friendly service, delicious food, and nice atmosphere. Somewhere near the PA/Ohio Border:
photo 1 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
The rest of the trip down to Knoxville went quickly. Kentucky was a blast - long, rolling hills, and cruising at 90-100mph with many other cars for hours at a time. By the time the sun set we were into Tennessee and it had started to rain. Finally arrived to our hotel in Knoxville and passed out.
Thursday July 7th:
The next morning I woke up very disappointed to find that it had rained hard all night. However, I decided to try my luck on the Dragon anyways, so I left Active Handling on and had a quick drive over to the beginning of Deal’s Gap/Tail of the Dragon.
Pulled over for some pics by the dam:
_DSC5207 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5208 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5209 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
I guess that’s why they call them the Smokey Mountains.
_DSC5210 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Stopped at the first overlook:
_DSC5211 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5213 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5212 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5214 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5215 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
The scenery was amazing out here. And so quiet, too
_DSC5216 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Elevation change from the dam we just saw
_DSC5217 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5218 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Getting a better view.
_DSC5219 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5220 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Some local culture.
_DSC5221 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5222 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
From there I fired up the GoPro, strapped in, and did the Dragon loop. Great drive, the C5 handled it well. Chassis felt smooth and balanced. Despite keeping it generally under 50mph due to the rain, I was still hit with a great sensation of speed through the turns. The switchbacks and huge elevation changes in the middle of the turn were the most entertaining.
I have the gopro video file on my other computer, will need to post it up here.
Pulled over again for pictures at the TN/NC border.
_DSC5230 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Entering NC
_DSC5228 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5223 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Wife enjoyed the ride, for the most part.
_DSC5226 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
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Down at the other end of the loop, at the “touristy” section
_DSC5234 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5235 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5236 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5237 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5233 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Throughout my drive on the Dragon I saw mostly Harleys and cruisers. No sportbikes, probably due to the weather. Two wackjobs in stickered up Mini Coopers hauling ass going the other way, and the occasional minivan. The crappy weather worked well in that I was never held up by a slower vehicle in front of me.
A few cars passing us on their way to start a run:
_DSC5239 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5241 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5246 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Someone else has good taste! Black C5
_DSC5249 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Getting ready to hit the road again
_DSC5247 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
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Finally at the bottom of the hill in Robbinsville, took some time to relax, pull footage off the GoPro to make room on the SD card, and eat something
_DSC5250 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Nice and filthy. Eat that, show and shine guys
_DSC5251 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Turned the GoPro back on and finally hit Cherohala Skyway. Much higher speeds, bigger overall elevation changes, and better views! We ran from Robbinsville to Tellico Plains.
_DSC5252 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5253 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5254 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5255 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5256 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5257 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5258 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5261 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5262 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5263 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Hit a solid 70-80 mph on some longer straights, loved the tight sweeping turns.
_DSC5264 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5265 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
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Another pull off
_DSC5266 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5267 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5268 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5269 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5270 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
By now we were really climbing in elevation, and the microclimate changed - tons of fog! These pictures were taken just 2 minutes after the ones above.
_DSC5271 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5274 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
_DSC5276 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
We started our descent out of the clouds and promptly got stuck behind a sightseeing F150. I took it as a hint to back off and let the brakes cool off and I’d occasionally get a whiff during a slower hairpin. Overall, a very involved, fun, higher speed road. Very few other enthusiast cars, but I was grateful for this. I will have to get the video uploaded soon (more gopro footage).
After realizing that Tellico Plains didn’t have much to offer in the way of lunch, we hit the road right away westbound towards Nashville.
_DSC5277 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
More gas. 28.5 mpg on the highway, average speeds 80-90 mph.
_DSC5278 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
More filth accumulating on the car.
_DSC5279 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
We arrived in Nashville and checked into our hotel, which had an attached parking garage - not cheap at $27 a night, but well worth the peace of mind. I was able to secure a nice corner spot and let the car cool off for the evening. It had seen a hell of a workout all day and had not yet skipped a beat.
photo 4 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Wife and I went to the Peg Leg Porker for dinner and walked around town to stretch our legs after sitting in the car nonstop for 2 days. On our travels we encountered a small foreign car shop that had some nice machinery outside. As a former BMW owner and still an enthusiast, these two caught my eye:
Technoviolet E36 M3 with LTW spoiler
photo 2 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
E39 540i M-Sport (rare car). I owned an LS powered E39 540i, so these will always have a special place with me.
photo 3 by Norbert Ogiba, on Flickr
Finally we settled down at a couple bars and saw some fantastic live music, enjoyed some good drinks, and called it a night. I was too exhausted to document any of the nightlife and just enjoyed the sights and sounds, followed by a great night’s sleep.