Doritos to the Dragon - A 1400 Mile Long Weekend Trip to The Tail of the Dragon

"MM54" (mm54mk2)
08/27/2018 at 21:10 • Filed to: FB RX7, tail of the dragon

This past Friday, I met up with some friends and set off for a roadtrip to drive the Tail of the Dragon - 600 miles away.

My friends’ cars for the trip were a 2013 Mini Cooper JCW (with GP bits) and a slightly modified 1972 Camaro. I was in my 1985 Mazda RX7. Early Friday morning, we hit the road. With a GPS time of about 9.5 hours, we estimated real-time (gas stops, lunch, bathroom breaks) of about a 12-hour trip.

Lunch, somewhere in Kentucky

About 11 hours later, we discovered that to get to the cabin we had rented for the weekend we would be taking none other than route 129 itself - through the Tail of the Dragon .

We contemplated trying to find dinner somewhere, but with the sun setting and no idea where we were going, we decided to keep moving.

After brief use of one of the the Scenic Overlooks, we continued onward, well out of cell coverage, down a very steep gravel drive to the cabin that would be ours for the weekend.

This was an incredible place to stay

We spent Saturday driving various local roads (including the Dragon multiple times) - they were all very good. I have a bit of gopro video, but it’s not very exciting to watch.

I can, however, say that my car technically can keep up with (and outrun in the turns) a modified Camaro, even on chinese all-seasons. He wins in the straights, though.

A lot of people commented on / liked the Camaro and RX7 - especially the Camaro.

As the sun set, we took a couple pictures at a fork in the road near the road to the cabin, then retired for the night.

Sunday early morning we hit the road again, for the 12 hour drive home. It was much warmer out than Friday, but the A/C in the RX7 didn’t miss a beat and kept me comfortable all day.

In the end, it was a great 3 days, driving nearly 1,400 miles (and averaging 23mpg). No mechanical issues were encountered by anyone, and lots of good driving was done. My car is really dirty now, though.

We all agreed that next time we need to stay for more than one day to see the area (and make the combined 24 hours of to/from commute more tolerabl e).

DISCUSSION (12)

AestheticsInMotion > MM54
08/27/2018 at 21:15

Some really good pictures, I’m loving the R x7/Camaro together.

DutchieDC2R > MM54
08/27/2018 at 21:31

Looks like you guys had some proper fun. I need to get the DC2 out on a drive soon...

MM54 > AestheticsInMotion
08/27/2018 at 21:54

Thanks!

Brickman > MM54
08/27/2018 at 22:23

It’s a 12 hour drive to there for me too. I went on newfound gap to fontana dam. Didn’t want to go on the tail of the dragon because of the rain and driving a Colorado ZR2

MM54 > Brickman
08/27/2018 at 22:35

There were a concerning number of lifted Jeeps, etc. making their way through. It is a pretty major road, if nothing else! At one point in one of the videos I have, a dually 2nd gen dodge ram goes past the other way.

I don’t blame you for not going through if not necessary in that truck in the rain, though. Would be more sketchy than fun, I suspect.

daender > MM54
08/27/2018 at 22:41

Yeah, I wish I could spend two whole days there. I wanted to run another route during the Oppo meet but my other one worn us out enough to not warrant the energy for another go. Quite a diverse and awesome trio of cars!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > MM54
08/27/2018 at 23:26

Happen to see a group of miatas with NJ plates while you were there? Funny that you posted this right after I read about some acquaintances on a Facebook group that also just got back from a trip there.

M.T. Blake > MM54
08/28/2018 at 00:22

Your buddy with his Camaro put 1200 more miles on it in one weekend than I have in 3 years of ownership of mine. That makes me sad for my Camaro...

nerd_racing > MM54
08/28/2018 at 09:05

Hey man, those Solar tires are molded at the Dunlop Tire Plant in Tonawanda NY. Division of Sumitomo.

MM54 > nerd_racing
08/28/2018 at 17:51

Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that. Do they use the reject rubber from the Dunlops to keep costs down? They have about as much grip as the hard plastic “tires” on a hotwheels haha

MM54 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/28/2018 at 17:53

I didn’t notice any in particular, though I did see quite a few Miatas of all generations there having a good time.

Boxer_4 > MM54
08/28/2018 at 22:39

Looks like a good time!