Headed to ride the Parkway and the Dragon and thought I should check out any places of great interest that I should check out. I plan on hitting the Parkway at Roanoke,VA. and head south. Planning on 2 days for trip from Roanoke to Cherokee, NC or there abouts. I never know where I am going to stay! Then plan on a couple days around the dragon and back to Missouri! Tell me about good places to stay (prefer a pool or hot tub) that are under $100 a night, good eating places, roads that you found most interesting? After the trip I'll post some pics and tell you all about it! Leaving MO August 19 and to return home the 27. I figure between 2500 and 3000 miles of road will be ridden on this journey. Hopefully the weather will be good? Thanks in advance for any and all input![8D]

harleyboy63401

 

Sorry Never been out that way before but it sure sounds like a lot of fun. be safe & post them pics when you get back
Reddawg

 

john tn is the residential expert......come in john.......

 

Dot and I did the run from Front Royal(Skyline Drive) to Deals Gap last month. After spending two days doing West Virginia and Virginia, spent one day doing Skyline and part of the Parkway to Fancy Gap, one day from Fancy Gap to Maggie Valley(neat town, try to see the"wheels thru time" museum)then spent two days riding the Smokies, the Dragons Tail and the Cherohala Highway. The "Tail" was kinda a letdown after spending all that time riding Skyline and the Parkway. Only scraped the floorboards twice on er. Some of the side roads coming off the Parkway are just as cool. By the way there is still a section of the Parkway still closed by Linville Falls due to last years hurricanes, but the sideroad around is worth the ride. Also was another section damaged by a cloudburst while we were there, we missed the rain, but came around the mountain in time to see the mudslides happening.....too close for comfort.

somewhere....out there...

 

Try these web sights for a little info

www.tailofthedragon.com


www.twowheelinn.com

 

Try this web site also...


www.motorcycleadventuremap.com

you can get the current weather and riding conditions for the BRP. Just scroll down and find site for BRP and Wheels through time.

 

We rode the dragon over the 4thof July. Found a good restaurant at Nantahala Village......looks over the valley, great food. Deals gap motorcycle resort is not to be missed. It's a tourist trap but has some great pics of the dragon, including a cop car on it's side . See the tree of shame there. Lots of parts from wrecks. Friendly fields store is a great place to stop, a general store. Robbinsville NC has some hotels but nothing really major. Cherokee NC has some hotels. Bryson City has some also. My advice on the dragon would be to watch the crotch rockets. They will pass you at any time, blowing past you . They will meet you in your lane, coming in the opposite direction. Ride in the right side of your lane and ride at your pace...The first time through you will be too busy watching the roa to see anything else..the next time you will enjoy the ride

Bubba

 

Survived the trip and had a great time except for something annoying! RAIN!!
Left home on August 19. Planned on 6:00 AM departure but mother nature had other plans. Finally able to leave at 8:00. Made our way across Illinois on a HOT day. My formotion temp gauge was reading 102. Hit Princeton Indiana and making good time when we ran into a storm from hell! Decided at that point to head for the interstate so as to be able to find a room for the night if we couldn't make Louisville,KY. Limped along between showers to Corydon,IN and called it a night.
Day 2 brought sunshine and we were able to make it to Wythville,VA after riding some really great roads. Had hoped to make Roanoke
but just couldn't get it done.
Day 3 took us north on 42 in Virginia towards Roanoke where we then got on the Parkway. We then headed south on the Parkway. What a beautiful road and place! Everyone should visit at least once. We made our way to Mount Airy, NC with some great stops along the way. Spent the night in Mount Airy which is not really what I expected but nice just the same. We checked out some of the local tourist stuff and I washed some of the road grime off the bikes. Then camped out pool side and ordered a pizza and drank a couple beers! Really Good Day!!
Day 4 took us back to the Parkway to continue south. Reached Blowing Rock and I decided on a side tour. I wanted to check out the new Harley dealer in Hickory,NC. Well I wish I hadn't![] The 35 mile trip took about 1 hour and 15 minutes one way through stop and go traffic. The dealership was neat but not really worth the trip. We made our way back to the parkway to visit Grandfather Mountain when the rains came. Well when that happened the trip up the mountain was put on hold. The fog rolled in and you could barely see! We made our way to Banner Elk where we spent the night.
Day 5 brought morning sun so we hurried to grandfather mountain so as to have a good clear view. Beautiful place but only worth the trip in good weather. We weren't there long when the fog poured in and we made our way down the mountain. Not much later the rains came. But we pushed on as the weather allowed and made our way to Cherokee,NC. Arrived there about 6:00 PM and found a place to call home for the next 2 nights. Stayed at a brand new Holiday Inn Express near the cassino. Nice people and nice place!
Day 6 we made our way the the Cherohala Highway and The Tail Of The Dragon. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed the dragon and all the roads around it. I was glad though that we were there on a week day when there was less traffic. Made for a good time. There is some great riding in this area. Lots to see also! Although I didn't do nearly as much as I would have liked too. Back to the hotel by 3:30 and hit the pool. We wanted to relax as we hadn't really done much to this point. One point about Cherokee,NC is that they don't sell alcohol there. DRY Community! Found this out from some really nice riders we meet from Michigan and West Virginia. They were full of info and just super nice. The Michigan guys were headed to Bristol for the races and the W. Virginia people were headed to Chattanooga for the Rally.
Day 7 we made our way across the Smoky Mtns on 441 to Pigeon Forge were we took 321 to Maryville to the Harley Dealer and to make a quick stop at an old friend of my wife's. Then we made our way towards home. Stopped in Lebanon TN. for the night.
Day 8 brought the severe threats of rain and it was pretty wet at times... managed to make it to Cadiz KY. with only small amounts of rain but then all hell broke loose. Fortunately we had just stopped for fuel and we just hung out there. It (the rain) came down by the buckets full. Need less to say we weren't the only ones seeking shelter. A group of farmers on their Harley's stopped and visited for the 2 hours until we could see it clearing enough to push on... The farmers were from Effin

 

Great story. I really like riding back East except for the rain. Seems like every time we get East of the Missisisppi we have at least three days of steady rain.

Out here we will get the occasional gusher, or a drizzle that will last for a day, but back there, it rains.

Regards,

Bill

 

Wish me luck as I try to post you some pictures![8D]

Well I am not having much luck as it appears my files are too large!

I will keep trying to figure something out!