Have you ever chased a Dragon?

Just before LibertyCon, Mike “TaleRider” Swain, a good Brother of mine, rode in from Oklahoma to join in the convention fun.

He was hooked, and swears he’ll be back next year.

So post-con, we took a little scoot to see a castle, ride The Tail of The Dragon, and the Cherohala Skyway.

Our first stop, Greenback Castle

The coolest part of the stop, after we turned off the paved road, we met this older fellow who literally popped out of the underbrush where he was burning off copper to talk with us a moment.

We parked and chatted with him for a few minutes, learning the history of the site and his reasoning for building it. 

Personally, I’d call him a prophet, but he wasn’t preachy at all. He just wants folks to know that we receive messages from the other side that we have to interpret.

Words do not do this place justice. Even though it is still a work in progress and has been vandalized in the past, it is still an impressive undertaking, with much of the intricate details akin to eccentric folk art like you’d see at Paradise Gardens in Summerville, Georgia.

Very well worth a stop if you’re out and about on a scoot.

Tail of the Dragon

Now, I will start this section with the preface that I’ve been told by many bikers over the years that The Tail of the Dragon is one of the most challenging roads around, earning it the title as one of the top motorcycle meccas of the world.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a beautiful, fun ride through the hills, but it wasn’t as challenging as it was hyped up to be.

But, ya know… I did also grow up in the backwoods of Southern West Virginia, where you had to be careful because in some spots part of the road had slid off the side of the hill.

For an inexperienced rider, yes, it’s a major challenge.  Talerider, being a flatlander from Oklahoma, took it slow and steady while I zipped ahead, having fun for a bit before one of my squirrels reminded me he was back there, so I’d slow down and enjoy the view for a bit while he caught up.

The other thing to watch out for are the super cars and crotch rockets trying to prove something.  Luckily, it wasn’t too crowded on Monday, and it made for a very enjoyable run.

One thing they do on the Dragon is take action shot pictures of people riding/driving through Deals Gap and they put them up on their site so that you can buy them if you’d like.

Well, I don’t necessarily care to buy them, but I’ll share them if anybody’s interested in seeing them.  Several pics of me at the start of the link with Talerider and “Baby Blue” just behind me. Zeldas below

https://xtremesportsphotography.photoreflect.com/store/OrderPage.aspx?pi=0QAK051Q092806

https://killboy.photoreflect.com/store/OrderPage.aspx?pi=04RK04T8032188

https://xtremesportsphotography.photoreflect.com/store/OrderPage.aspx?pi=0QAK051Q092808

LUNCH: CHUBBY CHICKS

I came across this place while searching for a good place to stop after hitting the Tail of the Dragon, and as soon as I saw the name, I knew we had to check it out.

Now granted, this is a food truck and a catering service, but to me, food trucks are one of the number one best places to get good grub for cheap, along with hole-in-the-wall joints.

Well, these ladies did not disappoint.

To start with, I’d never had fried banana peppers on a hot dog before. That was something totally new, interesting, and absolutely wonderful.

Talerider said the burger was pretty damn good.

But I’ll tell you what, those Fried Green Tomatoes were the best that I have had in years, and that’s one of my favorite side dishes. Not only were they fried to a crisp, they were still juicy inside and extremely flavorful, not bland, not pasty. They were perfectly done, Fried Green Tomatoes.

Then of course, on the way out of Robbinsville, we had to stop and get a picture of the Ronnie Milsap mural.

CHEROHALA SKYWAY

This route I’ve been on before, taking the word witch during our anniversary cabin trip last year. It was fun little jaunt through the mountains after hitting The Dragon, it is an overall easy ride packed full of beautiful scenery.

Cruising tracks for this trip while my ear buds were still working, was some damn good classics…

All in all, it was a great trip, finished off here at the house with sketti dinner with a few close friends.

Luckily, disaster didn’t strike while we were out on the Dragon, but it did manage to catch up with me this afternoon (Thursday), after I rolled in from work and the crappy stock plastic clutch cable adjuster broke just as I pulled into the shop.

So until next time, keep your heads up and your pens sharp.

~WJR~