Deals Gap/Tail of the Dragon 2024

[kishy]

Hi friends,
The same friend group which arranged an 11-car convoy down from the Metro Detroit area to Robbinsville, NC last year is doing it again this year, with approximately 20 invited cars.
The thread where I described this last year is here: http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/forum/si...he-dragon-2023

In a nutshell:
The "Dragon" or "Tail of the Dragon" (latter more typically refers to one specific location) is a stretch of US 129 in the vicinity of, and crossing the TN-NC border near Robbinsville, NC.
It is so-named for its profile on a map vaguely resembling the shape of the back of a dragon.
The famed stretch is known for going through 318 curves over only 11 miles, making it a fun place to take a car that handles.
The area is beautifully scenic, and the tourist popularity of the road itself means there is somewhat of a local tourism industry despite the area being otherwise pretty natural and rural.
One of the novelties of the area is an assortment of photographers who take photos of vehicles at strategic spots through the stretch of highway, so you get some neat action shots of cars with scenic backgrounds.
In addition to US 129, there are other phenomenal driving roads nearby, such as the Cherohala Skyway.

Last year I took my '85 Country Squire, which did remarkably well despite being driven pretty hard. This year, I'd like to take my '84 Town Car, but I have a lot of work to do to it if I'm going to achieve trustworthiness for this length of trip. The wagon is a reasonable fallback plan, and so would be (though this might come across as a surprise since I haven't driven it in ages) my '91 Grand Marquis. At the present moment, it would need a similar length of laundry list to the '84, with one notable exception being it already has a nearly brand new front end so the items on that laundry list are perhaps easier.

Anyway, car choice aside, the plan at present is to do the exact same trip again.
That is, drive down in the large convoy on a Thursday, arriving in Robbinsville late Thursday night.
Driving and socializing throughout the day Friday.
Saturday morning, more of the same. Mid-day, split from the group and most likely tent camp in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Sunday, drive in the direction of New Jersey, starting out via the Blue Ridge Parkway before jumping over to interstates for a speed advantage. Lunch likely in or around Asheville. Arrive somewhere in the vicinity of Baltimore, MD that night.
Monday, continue into NJ and visit with a friend near Atlantic City.
Tuesday, long haul drive home.

This is tentatively set up for May 9-14.

As much as I am going with a group of other friends, we do not have a fixed agenda for each day (other than the destination-specific benchmarks and goals), and there will be time to, for example, have a car meet nearby on Friday or Saturday. Doing so on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday would significantly impact my time to arrive back home, but could easily be done if it was simply to grab a meal and chat.

I'm leaving this very open-ended and don't want or intend to make a big thing out of it, but if anyone is relatively local to the path I'm taking, we should discuss the viability of doing something.

Best days and places for something to work:

1. In the vicinity of Tapoco/Robbinsville/Stecoah, NC, on Friday or Saturday.
2. In the vicinity of Bryson City, NC, on Saturday.
3. In the vicinity of Baltimore, rather late on Sunday (perhaps for dinner, but probably pretty close to dark)
4. Maybe some sort of lunch thing somewhere midway across PA on Tuesday.

So...got an idea? Toss it in here and let's see if it can work. Last year I didn't do a great job with creating opportunities for this so it'd be nice to make a plan that can work this time around.

[gadget73]

If you happen to be into historical Naval stuff there are a few options in Baltimore. The Torsk and the Constellation in particular, depending if you're into WW2 diesel subs or the last all-sail warship built by the US Navy. There is also a Coast Guard cutter and a lightship there.

[kishy]

If you happen to be into historical Naval stuff there are a few options in Baltimore. The Torsk and the Constellation in particular, depending if you're into WW2 diesel subs or the last all-sail warship built by the US Navy. There is also a Coast Guard cutter and a lightship there.

Forgot to list it, but obviously lunch with you when I get into NJ is an option if it works for you at the time.

The problem with Baltimore-area activities is that it's roughly 8 hours from Asheville. Bryson City to Asheville is a little over an hour (fair bit more actually given the preferred route which is slower but nicer to look at). 9 hours of travel time plus a lunch, there's no way I'm ending up near Baltimore at a time when a) things are still open on a Sunday or b) there's much sunlight left, if any.

Last year I pushed on to Owings Mills just north of Baltimore and grabbed a hotel there. Looking at a map, I'm not exactly sure how that ended up being the stopping point, but I'm sure if I map the actual route I took avoiding tolls and traffic, it would make more sense. I believe the check-in time was between 10-11pm. Honestly Sunday's a pretty awkward day in general, unless I stop earlier (e.g. before Baltimore) and push more of the travel onto Monday.

It did seem like a good idea to try to be past DC before Monday morning, but without a good sense of what direction everyone is going for work on a weekday morning in the area, maybe it doesn't really matter.

[gadget73]

I'm probably around and I'm still fat so food is generally good with me.

More weird stuff to do in NJ since you're heading towards Atlantic City, go see Lucy the Elephant. Its slightly south of Atlantic City in Margate.

The largest operational pipe organ is in the Atlantic City Convention Hall

[Lutrova]

Getting to Baltimore by Sunday night is smart. There's rarely a good time to cross the Potomac/drive on the Beltway, but if you had to plan for one, late Sunday would probably be it. The American Legion bridge is usually jammed up, as is 495 coming up to it from Virginia due to roadwork. Not sure what conditions are usually like if you crossed at Alexandria, but it's likely more of the same.

Maybe the surest thing is to skip the DC area altogether, drive up 81 to Winchester, then cut over to Baltimore by way of Harpers Ferry to Frederick. That route is probably better even if you had to make it on a weekday.

I'm down to say hi should it work out this year. Anywhere from Northern Virginia to Baltimore is doable if lined up in advance.

[kishy]

My hotel is booked in Robbinsville for the nights of May 9 and 10 (Thurs-Fri), checking out Saturday morning.
Will most likely book a campsite in the Smoky Mountains for Saturday night.
Playing with the map and hotel options, I believe my goal is Towson, MD for Sunday night.

Last year, it was a bit of a pain finding a room as a walk-in at 10PM on a Sunday. Rates and availability were unfavourable. I'm planning to book the room ahead, and the Comfort Inn in Towson looks like it has an acceptable rate.

I'm probably around and I'm still fat so food is generally good with me.

More weird stuff to do in NJ since you're heading towards Atlantic City, go see Lucy the Elephant. Its slightly south of Atlantic City in Margate.

The largest operational pipe organ is in the Atlantic City Convention Hall

Thank you, I also enjoy food, and weird stuff.

Getting to Baltimore by Sunday night is smart. There's rarely a good time to cross the Potomac/drive on the Beltway, but if you had to plan for one, late Sunday would probably be it. The American Legion bridge is usually jammed up, as is 495 coming up to it from Virginia due to roadwork. Not sure what conditions are usually like if you crossed at Alexandria, but it's likely more of the same.

Maybe the surest thing is to skip the DC area altogether, drive up 81 to Winchester, then cut over to Baltimore by way of Harpers Ferry to Frederick. That route is probably better even if you had to make it on a weekday.

I'm down to say hi should it work out this year. Anywhere from Northern Virginia to Baltimore is doable if lined up in advance.

Because I am following the "avoid tolls" route, I will come into the Baltimore area from the west on I-70, then go up around the north side of Baltimore on I-695. This looks like it's the route you suggested. It's very likely the path I took last year too, and it worked just fine. This does look like it puts us pretty close together, so as with last year I'll try to update you on how the timeline looks. Maybe dinner or something in your area.

Last year was very uh...disorganized. Leave at a random time with only "New Jersey" and "avoid tolls" as the rough goals, then drive until too tired to continue. Maybe with more planning it'll work a little better.

I am wanting to try to get a little more mileage on the Blue Ridge Parkway heading out of Asheville, but there's only so much of that which heads in the right direction. But if I drag the line on the map to put me on it, it doesn't really add much time for a few chunks of it at least.

[WagonMan]

You can swing up to Connecticut from Baltimore and visit me, check out the sights and then take a different route to go home. WagonMan

[kishy]

You can swing up to Connecticut from Baltimore and visit me, check out the sights and then take a different route to go home. WagonMan

Not the worst idea, nor an impossible one, but doing so pretty much adds a day (maybe 2, depending on timeline for leaving Atlantic City - keep in mind the intended destination is visiting a friend near AC, so the earliest I leave AC area is Monday night).

OTOH, I've never been to NYC, and the path to you goes directly through there. Silly tourism opportunities. I'll see what I can work out in terms of my time off balances at work. Don't want to short change myself for things I want to do later in the year.

[WagonMan]

You should take your wagon, that way you can grab some parts from me. LOL! WagonMan

[kishy]

The trip commences this coming Thursday, May 9, and nothing is any more or less firmed up than mentioned earlier in the thread.

Opportunities for some sort of social something include:

1. In the vicinity of Tapoco/Robbinsville/Stecoah, NC, on Friday or Saturday.
2. In the vicinity of Bryson City, NC, on Saturday.
3. In the vicinity of Baltimore, rather late on Sunday (most likely, I am not in that area until too late other than some sort of late night meal)
4. Joining gadget and I for some sort of brunch/lunch Monday in the vicinity of Pennsville, NJ, assuming he remains available and interested as well.
5. Maybe some sort of lunch thing somewhere midway across PA on Tuesday.

Of course, nothing needs to happen at all, but it's an opportunity. Specifically in reference to the bolded point, a Panther meet at one of the parking areas on the Cherohala Skyway would be neat, but I don't think we have many members within reasonable distance.

The car for the trip as of the present moment is my 91 Grand Marquis. Barring any newly developed faults between now and Thursday, that should do just fine. The wagon is on standby should something develop.

[gadget73]

appreciate the reminder. Need to put in a vacation form for Friday, its no issue to make it a 4 day weekend. I've definitely got the time.

almost a shame its a Monday, the good local Italian place has a reasonable lunch deal but they are closed on Monday.

https://dipaolosrestaurant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/LUNCH-SPECIAL.pdf

Pretty much limited to diners if you're not opposed to that.

[kishy]

We have arrived in Robbinsville. The 91 did great on the drive down and handled the twisty stuff well - but the leather seats definitely affect how planted I was able to stay relative to the car.

Fuel economy in case you're that sort of nerd:

From home to the first Tesla charger where I also refueled:
233.3km or 144.97 mi, 7.2 US gallons, 19.86 US MPG
Includes some city driving and some highway, but short distances with stop/go. This already greatly eclipsed the maximum fuel economy I ever recorded for this car when it was my daily driver. It's also making more power, so the whole fuel pump thing was maybe overdue. But that's an issue for the car's thread.

From first Tesla charger to second Tesla charger:
215.7km or 134.03 mi, 6.3 US gallons, 21.27 US MPG.
This was entirely highway and driven at 75-85MPH.

From second Tesla charger to third:
220.9km or 137.26 mi, 7.82 US gallons, 17.55 US MPG.
This was entirely highway and may have been driven at 85-105MPH.

The leg to the hotel is unknown as the car hasn't been fueled again yet. That leg is lower speed, but highway-like conditions, so I feel optimistic about it, but the winding road stuff and frequent kickdown has me wondering.

If you're in the area of Robbinsville, NC through Saturday evening, let's meet up.

An attempt at a 'rolling shot' taken by a friend on the highway in the rain:

[Tiggie]

Heck ya. Sounds like that car is glad to stretch is legs.

[DerekTheGreat]

Looks sharp on the road (Minus the LED's & smoker vents). Can't remember the last time I saw black Mercury or Ford sedan (box). Wheels look good, but I suspect you'll kick it up an notch if you dark out or black out the centers and leave the lips, lug nuts and center caps bright.

Great MPG for those speeds. The Town Car will pull 24+ if I keep it 60 to 65. What's your rush?? Surprised you pulled 17.5 at those other crazy speeds. Don't think my Lincoln would do that well. What's your oil consumption like? How's that trans holdin' up?

[kishy]

The weather has been great since arriving, despite parts of the south not so far away getting kinda beat up by the sounds of it.
Aurora Borealis was visible here last night, which seems to be a pretty infrequent occurrence. This is, of course, pretty far south to be seeing the northern lights.

The car is turning heads and earning thumbs up everywhere it goes. I walked out to it to find a couple guys of similar age to me nerding out over it, which was a surprise but appreciated.

Drove the Skyway and Dragon. Aside from the transmission being a bit stupid, it did it just fine.

Checking out of the hotel in Robbinsville this morning, moving on to a hotel in Cherokee, about 45 minutes to the east. That will be the point of departure for the drive to MD, and hopefully setting off early enough to enjoy a good chunk of the Blue Ridge Parkway. But there's a whole day ahead of us still today, so I'm going to go do some things.

Heck ya. Sounds like that car is glad to stretch is legs.

I'll say! The best MPG I ever cleared on this car was 17 with 14 as typical in-city (and 14 jives with the other cars for city). Who'da thought the answer to this was to drive faster?

Looks sharp on the road (Minus the LED's & smoker vents). Can't remember the last time I saw black Mercury or Ford sedan (box). Wheels look good, but I suspect you'll kick it up an notch if you dark out or black out the centers and leave the lips, lug nuts and center caps bright.

Great MPG for those speeds. The Town Car will pull 24+ if I keep it 60 to 65. What's your rush?? Surprised you pulled 17.5 at those other crazy speeds. Don't think my Lincoln would do that well. What's your oil consumption like? How's that trans holdin' up?

I have another set of HPPs in far poorer condition, which I plan to try to strip and clean up when I have some time. Those are likely getting the black webbing treatment.

What's my rush? What isn't yours? Don't you like to actually get places and do things?
Maybe an ironic question given my destination was fundamentally a road and my activity itinerary is all just driving, but like...not stupid interstates. That was a long drive south and spending an extra less-than-an-hours-pay on getting to the hotel early enough to not have to immediately crash into bed was well worth it.

I am really surprised by the fuel economy. At the end of the trip I'll try to verify if the odometer/s is/are actually counting accurately. Speedo seemed about right when I checked it before the trip, and we know the odometers aren't losing mileage or the MPG would look awful instead of great.