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Yep you got it. That's what I was referring to.

That route in looks..... pretty awesome, actually. I've yet to do ANY riding in any kind of real terrain yet (not many mountains in Michigan), so I'm really looking forward to this. Thanks for the heads up.

I am sure you will have a great time in the Smokies. There isn't a straight road down there. I love that part of the country. Another option for you would be to check out Clingman's Dome in the national park . It is the highest point in the park and if the weather is clear you can see for miles in all directions at the top @ C.D.. But come to think of it you might not be able to make it up to the top of that road because there will probably be tones of people thinking the same thing I just mentioned. Plus its only a 2 lane road.
I would like to suggest that the best viewing site will be next to Chilhowee Lake. The lake is at the intersection of the Foothills parkway and 129. The path that I suggested in my earlier post. There is about 3 miles of shore line at that point with out any trees to block your view. If you were thinking of continuing on to the dragon you will be going in that direction already. But on the dragon there's allot of tree's that will block your view of the open sky. Of course you can still cruse the dragon after the eclipse is over too.
Oh by the way where in S.E. Mich. are you?. I Am in Farmington Hills. Also I can send you some GPS files of the area if your interested.

Consider viewing the eclipse from Fontana Dam. Its located just 12 miles from the Deals Gap Resort at the junction of US129 and NC28. Just follow 28 down hill from the resort. IIRC when you get to where 28 makes an actual right turn and opposing traffic has to stop don't turn, go straight, and it will take you to the dam.



There is a visitors center at the dam with restrooms, plenty of parking, a picnic area and of course the lake behind the dam.
You can go out onto the dam to get a completely unobstructed view. Should make for a comfortable experience. Just get there early to ensure you get a parking spot.

You have be careful there. Some real unsavoury characters to be found wandering the dam at times!

Yeah .... they do look like Trouble ....

Gord (with a capital 'T' .... and that rhymes with 'P' and that stands for POOL) Jones

that guy on the right looks like he could lose a few pounds

Hotel reservation is booked, trailer is rented, and the route is planned. I just have to pack, and I should be good to go.

Seeing the eclipse from the dam is a fairly brilliant idea. I was planning on checking it out anyway, so this is perfect.

Adecood, I'm down here in Adrian, but I've got family in Livonia, so I've been to Farmington Hills before. Small world, eh? Thanks for the maps, I think they'll be enough. It's going to be a trip of out 50/50 planned and then just wandering.

But either way, it should be fun. And naturally, there'll be plenty of photos for all!

...I should've asked this before, but where around there is good to eat? I'm sure Pigeon Forge has some decent restaurants, but I'll be the first to admit that's probably because it's turned into a bit of a overbuilt tourist trap. Anything a big more.... authentic? Or at least a bit local?

So, day 1. Things started a bit late because, rather than go with an open trailer with a ramp, I decided to save a few bucks and got a closed trailer with no ramp. Ended up making a ramp from some 2x8s and loading everything up this morning. I would've done it last night, but my dad got free tickets to the National Tractor Pull Championships in Bowling Green OH, so I couldn't say no.

Anyway, 2 hours of packing and strapping later, here we go.
The trip down was pretty uneventful, if a bit long. Had to get off of 75 on the south side of Cincinatti, and the GPS managed to take me straight through some pretty seedy areas. Also, learning to drive a manual transmission through the foothills of Appalachia while towing a trailer? Not fun.

In any case, the only other issue of note was the time I was driving with my windows down in 90 degree weather because my air conditioner is broke and got caught behind a semi.

Full of chickens.



Anyway, eight hours later, and everything made it unscathed.
I showed up a bit late to do any local riding, but I did grab some dinner at a local Shoneys. I also got a pleasant surprise on the way back out.
The plan tomorrow is to get up early, grab breakfast at the hotel, then find a store to grab some bits and bobs for a pinhole camera to watch the eclipse. I'll run down the Dragon ideally before noon, then chill at the Dam until 2:30 for the eclipse. Until then!

So, stupidly long day today, and I'm exhausted. I'll do a full post-mortem later, but here's the bullet points.

-Ran the Dragon twice (man, ain't that fun!).
-Swam in a resevoir.
-1000 started playing up a bit (bogging from about 4k-5k). Might be heat or altitude related, but we'll deep dive later.
- Oh yeah, and the sun shut off.

Sounds like a fun trip

CYBORG wrote:Sounds like a fun trip

Yeah, jealous as all heck!

I need to catch those roads at some point! Will be hard to coincide with an eclipse though!

The gap itself is OK but for me personally I enjoyed the roads in the area more than the Dragon in specific. More sweepers and less idiots trying to impress themselves. I have only run it maybe 15 times but I find it hard to relax on.