Due to the lack of internet and phone services this trip
shall be documented in one post!
Day 1:
Early morning and long hours of driving to get to Deal’s Gap
NC. Not much happened. Miraculously nobody fell asleep at the wheel!
In Knoxville if you can get past all the construction and
slight getto feel to the atmosphere there are some pretty cool architectural
features. The food …. Meh!
Once we arrived at the Gap there was a mandatory trip up the
Dragon’s Tail then down to Topoco Lodge for dinner. They had the fire pits lit!
Day 2:
Early to rise then off to the Road to Nowhere! The tunnel
was freaking awesome and of course as soon as the bikes were parked up the side
I shimmied! There are many instances during this trip were you’d never believe
I was afraid of heights! We came across some horses on our way out. They were
interested but spooked so they were kept away as we rode off.
From there we rode into Bryson. Mountain Perks: great Angel bagel! They scorched my soy
cortado but Joe says their chai latte was the best he’d ever had. Note: they
used Harney and Sons! ;3 The atmosphere of Bryson seemed similar to Delaware,
OH.
Back at the Gap I admired some cool bikes. Vintage, bobbers,
and slingshots … and this little T-Rex thing! We did another trip up and down
the Dragon’s Tail. I’m still nervous and ride way too slow! Ab’s friend Lee
came in riding shorts and a helmet! O.o Boy tore up the mountain. Got some
video of all us riding the Dragon’s Tail and into Robbinsville for dinner at
The Hub. Again great food! This time I got an “Autumn Twilight” which was made
perfectly!
Day 3:
Long day for Dan and I. Down the Dragon’s Tail … like all
the way down till we hit some of the shops. Then back up the Dragon’s Tail to
pick up Joe and ride the Skyway to Tellico Plains. There’s this little Deli
which for the past 2 years has been closed on the day’s we’ve gone. So we’ve
been heading to this wee run down looking BBQ joint with the best brisket! This
year I got loaded pork nachos! Domg!
After gorging ourselves and leaving smelling of a smoke
house (love it) we FINALLY headed to Bald River Falls! Per my style I skipped
down the mountain, stripped myself of riding gear and stepped into the frigid
water! Skimmed across the river and shimmied up the falls! In my haste I flew
right past a copper head (Joe got video)! Having left my camera at home for
fear of it getting broken or hijacked I relied on my phone for all my
photography needs…..ya I know….
I did get beautiful images of the falls and even got to
model my hippi-ness at the river tried to push me from the rocks. While up
there I found another wee snake and once I get a signal I’ll have to look up
what it was. Before we left the falls I abandoned some chainmail earrings!
Back to Tapoco Lodge for dinner. This time we had dessert! &
wine! We built a fire in their pit just because we could. I’m really surprised
they didn’t send someone over to do it for us …. for fear we’d burn the place
down!
Riding back up 129 I had a bit of a mishap. The first few
corners were fine if slow but then this car comes up behind me with his brights
on. He turns them right off, however, I immediately get squiggly. Thankfully
the driver turned his brights back on so I have a great view of the turns ahead
and though slow I am able to corner without going off the mountain! Once to the
resort and off the road he high tails it up the Dragon’s Tail! Looked like Kill
Boy’s white car, Dan says it sounded like him too. I’ll have to ask when I see
him.
Day 4:
A trip through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Still
sore from the day before I trucked through it. This time it was just Dan and me
all day so we had a cruiser’s pace which suited me just fine! I got to see much
more of the scenery. We had a minor (9mile) detour into Cade’s Cove! Yah for me
… not so much for Dan! I must say it was quite beautiful down in that wee
valley. Lots of gorgeous horses and 2 bucks just munching away of the grasses.
We did end up going off road-ing a bit as the cut through road wasn’t paved and
passed through a creek with 6” high water.
The parkway was a long arduous journey with no place to stop
for gas. We stopped off at a few places to enjoy the views!
In Cherokee we enjoyed Paul’s Family Restaurant. Dan partook
of a Bison burger and I an Elk. The Elk tasted like a deer, go figure, and Dan
says his Bison tastes like chicken. O.o We didn’t stay in this poor town for
long (it’s decorations offended me >.>)
The most direct road back to the Gap, 28 had the BEST views!
Thick fog rolling down the river … or would it be up the river? Either way FOG!
I wanted to stop so many times to take pictures. Like at this red brick
building on the river being swallowed by the fog. Domg my heart throbbed!
Then relaxing by the pit at the Gap … finally bored!
Day 5:
Today is a day for going back in time. A scenic ride along
28 up and over into Maggie Village where the Wheels Through Time Museum
resides. My rear tire was a bit bald. I had already worn down to the second
layer or rubber but I was gonna keep going till it died!
Once in Maggie Valley we planned to eat at Moonshine Grill
but them being closed we headed to the busiest joint in town; Legends Sports
Grill. Good food but nothing unique to the area. Well perhaps their mushrooms.
A pleasantly spicy batter!
It appeared to my untrained eye to house only American historic
rides. Which is fine if not an accurate portrayal of the history of bikes. Apparently
they all run! Which is awesome! We watched an episode of some Barn show were
the curator of the museum went looking for parts and more rare bikes. The
Crocker that he picked up was in the museum and I was kinda happy that I found
it! There were some cars and carriages that were also very cool.
After a few hours wandering around we headed back. This time
through Robbinsville to stop at Pop and Nana’s Kitchen for some ice cream.
Day 6:
Time to leave…. But first a trip up and down the Dragon! Our
new buddy Joe from Florida stopped and invited us for a last morning ride
before he headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway to visit more friends. It took some
convincing since my tire is just about bald … I had the worse ride of my whole
trip! At the look-out we did some off road-ing (Dan rode mine up the gravel
road) for a cool picture of our bikes and the rising sun!
From here we raced down the mountain (I tumbled … lots of
breaking and fuck-ups) into Robbinsville for breakfast at The Hub. This time I
got french toast and a soy macchiato, and Dan got a smoked pork omelet. So
good! With our lack of looking at clocks we did end up checking out late.
