Informal Tail of the Dragon

[FVNCViper]

Folks,The ToD is back on but a bit less "formal".* No T-shirt, formal dinners and no registration fee. Just VIper guys and gals getting together for some nice drives, parking lot parties and seeing good friends once again.* The Greystone Lodge has rooms available.* Same dates as earlier planned* May 28-31.* Gather Thursday evening for dinner wherever, Friday go for a drive or two, Dinner somewhere Friday, Saturday repeat and leave Sunday.
Hope to see as many as can come and support the local Gatlinburg recovery!:dancingman:

[99RT10]

So a Social distancing cruise? :car-smiley-003::car-smiley-003::car-smiley-003::car-smiley-003:

[MoparJohn]

Hi Everyone. We have incredible interest in this years unofficial dragon run. If you are planning on attending please reply below. It would help me to have semi-accurate count so I know how many maps and directions to print out.
thank you
John

[dgolia1]

I'm in

-Dom

[uvbnbit]

We never cancelled our rooms for this reason. Count us in. I'm guessing 15-20 cars showing up. More if weather is nice. Less if not.

[PatrickB]

We still have our room but now might have an issue with kid coverage - trying to work it all out.

[ViperNC]

My wife and I will be in Highlands, NC at the Old Edwards Inn and Spa for her birthday from the 27th - 30th. If weather looks nice for the weekend, I may take the Viper and hit the Dragon at some point. Maybe I'll see you up there.

[VYPR BYT]

So a Social distancing cruise? :car-smiley-003::car-smiley-003::car-smiley-003::car-smiley-003:
Okay Mike, we just booked at the greystone. Tell Rosi looks like the Anakeesta will open on the 21st. See you soon buddy ��

[PatrickB]

John/Larry,

Britt and I will be there. Slight change of plans from original, but we'll be leaving Hickory around 3pm Friday afternoon, should be in Gatlinburg before dinner. We'll miss driving stuff on Friday but should be there in plenty of time for Friday night festivities.

[MoparJohn]

With all of the recent events, the awesome ToD event had to be cancelled since there were so many unknowns and the planning for 100+ cars takes much time and resources to put together. As TN and NC have started the recovery efforts from COVID-19 we are planning a rather informal gathering for those interested. Well, we are quickly approaching Memorial Day Weekend and then the ToD gathering. Just an informal get-together, no planned dinners, banquet or parade. We are putting together a few suggested drives that we can enjoy together. Gatlinburg and the surrounding areas are working through the recovery plans and many places will be open but seating will be limited. The Greystone Lodge is offering a Viper rate if interested. SO come for a day or come for 4 days, it up to you.

To get a feel for attendance please complete this simple form. (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0_3OlXhQQRrAmTtKZ51NfI4Lg7hwvGeg5gbYqgBKD ohPJWA/viewform)

Basic Agenda
5/27-29 Arrive in Gatlinburg
5/29 Leave from Greystone Lodge 8:30am and head for the Dragon, stop for souvenirs and head for lunch near Fontana Dam.
After lunch either go back through Dragon and to Gatlinburg or continue on drive to Tellico Plains (200 miles for trip)
Dinner wherever in Gatlinburg

5/30 830am leave for the Dragon or one of the other scenic drives
Rest of the day is open

5/31 Breakfast and head home.

We will have maps of a variety of routes available and we can help with trailer parking at check-in at Greystone Lodge.

[MoparJohn]

John/Larry,

Britt and I will be there. Slight change of plans from original, but we'll be leaving Hickory around 3pm Friday afternoon, should be in Gatlinburg before dinner. We'll miss driving stuff on Friday but should be there in plenty of time for Friday night festivities.

Sounds good. Looking forward to it.

[AdairII]

Tedd and Anne are in. See you all there next week

[99RT10]

Okay Mike, we just booked at the greystone. Tell Rosi looks like the Anakeesta will open on the 21st. See you soon buddy ��

We will see y'all there Mikie!!!

[FVNCViper]

Thanks for a wonderful weekend. The weather was perfect and the company even better. We found some new eateries and explored the scenic drives that are right in Gatlinburg. Who knew!! Already booked for next year, can't wait.

Special thanks to John and Katie for organizing the drives and for keeping us fed!

Larry & Trish

[braunstein82]

Thanks a bunch John and Katie for making this happen.

[MoparJohn]

Thanks a bunch John and Katie for making this happen.

It was our pleasure. We are glad everyone had fun and we are looking forward to doing it again next year.

[PatrickB]

A definite thanks to those who made arrangements and helped plan!

For those who may not know it's out there, I found a Killboy YouTube video where you can see video from one spot on the Dragon. They were up there on Saturday the 30th for 8 hours, starting just after 9am. If you came through on that day, you can probably find your car in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8soLaozgUCY

[ddlesk06]

1:14:29 - first viper spotted - white/black
1:15:00 - group of vipers
1:38:20 - gen v
2:01:40 - insane!

[ViperNC]

Vipers stuck behind a Jeep running parade lap speed. Well.... at least that increased the 15 seconds of fame.

[PatrickB]

Vipers stuck behind a Jeep running parade lap speed. Well.... at least that increased the 15 seconds of fame.


Unfortunately it happens up there. I was stuck behind a truck with a canoe at this spot the first time through, but free and clear on the way back. We ran by ourselves out there on Saturday and the vehicles we ran up on were moving out of the way when they could for the most part.

[ViperNC]

Unfortunately it happens up there. I was stuck behind a truck with a canoe at this spot the first time through, but free and clear on the way back. We ran by ourselves out there on Saturday and the vehicles we ran up on were moving out of the way when they could for the most part.

I've run the Dragon many, many times on two wheels and four. The best time to go is mid morning on a Tuesday-Thursday or very early other days and you're almost guaranteed a free run with no traffic. Looks like the group got started too late to avoid slower drivers. Hard to pass and keep everyone together when that happens.

[dodgefever]

After watching a lot of the video, I'm surprised at he number of "normal" cars on it. SUV's, sedan. etc

[MoparJohn]

Vipers stuck behind a Jeep running parade lap speed. Well.... at least that increased the 15 seconds of fame.

Hey that was my car leading the group running at parade lap speed behind that jeep. He did eventually move. Truth be told I am fine running it slow. Two cars got warnings from the Police the day before. We were told no more warnings and there were cops all over. I have done the dragon at insane speed before and it has lost some of its appeal to me. I'll save my super aggressive driving for VIR. We did have some fun on the Skyway though.

[PatrickB]

Hey that was my car leading the group running at parade lap speed behind that jeep. He did eventually move. Truth be told I am fine running it slow. Two cars got warnings from the Police the day before. We were told no more warnings and there were cops all over. I have done the dragon at insane speed before and it has lost some of its appeal to me. I'll save my super aggressive driving for VIR. We did have some fun on the Skyway though.


I still enjoy running the Dragon, but there are a lot of good (numerous people say better) roads in the area as well. I think we saw one patrol car up there at the times we were out.