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made the drive even more memorable.

Some of these roads were so tight that

I met a box truck at one point and I

didn’t think he and I could fit through

at the same time.

We arrived in Highlands, North

Carolina, a very posh town with many

eclectic shops and restaurants on the

main street. I held on tightly to my

wallet, as this was an unforseen bonus

for my wife. Highlands is a unique

town, often described as “the Aspen of

the East.” We spent several hours in

town for lunch and exploring (shop-

ping) and then headed out for the rest

of the drive back to the Snowbird.

On Monday night we were joined

for dinner by special guests Ron and

Nancy Johnson. Ron is the unofficial

mayor of the Tail of the Dragon. Since

we would be driving the route on Tues-

day, Tom invited Ron and Nancy to

join us and they shared a few stories

about the circuitous road. Ron and

Nancy operate the Tail of the Dragon

T-Shirt Shack at Deals Gap, located at

the beginning of the drive, as well as

the website dedicated to the famous

road: Tail of the Dragon.com They are

responsible for the large dragon sculp-

ture which is the Tail of the Dragon’s

trademark. The drive is known for its

318 turns in 11 miles.

We left the Snowbird Tuesday

morning and headed to Deals Gap,

North Carolina, located at the North

Carolina/Tennessee border. We ex-

plored Ron and Nancy’s Tail of the

Dragon store and bought t-shirts and

decals before heading out on the drive.

The Tail of the Dragon is a section

of US129 that runs through the Great

Smoky Mountains and Cherokee Na-

tional Forest. The scenery was fantas-

tic but the curves were even better.

With no intersections or driveways as

hazards along its eleven miles, it made

for an exhilarating drive in a classic

GT350. It did not disappoint.

At the end of the Dragon we all

pulled into a lot next to Chilhowee

Lake. This was an ideal spot to line all

The SHELBY AMERICAN

Winter 2016 33

Day 2 - Taming the Dragon