2 Lanes Across America

While sitting down for a meal in a truck stop just outside Knoxville, Tennessee, I over heard a story of a dragon. I was with a trainer at this time and adventure was calling my name. We had an extra day and with in a couple hours we had rented a car and set out to see if the stories were true. As we got closer to the Tail of the Dragon, we saw sign after sign warning us of very hard driving ahead. The Tail of the Dragon has 318 curves in 11 miles and is considered America's best road for motorcycles and sports cars. As of today, this road is more well know but we have never heard of it in the late 1990's. We made a stop at a small travelers stand and asked a few questions about the next 11 miles. We were warned many times to watch our speed, watch for trucks and just about watch for everything. The more we talked, the more the nervous showed through. The only thing to do was to start driving. There are no cross streets, driveways or anything to impede your travel once you start down the dragon. The views through the woods of the Appalachian mountains are absolutely stunning to a young man from Louisiana. I had lived in Louisiana my whole life and had never seen mountains like this. We made our way into the first few corners and started to understand the warnings. This is a small two lane road with only cliffs that would drop you hundreds of feet with the only hope that a huge pine would stop you. A rock face wall greeted you on the other side of the road. I remember my co pilot calling out, 2 miles as we came to a double set of switch backs. The 180 degree turns came quick as we powered through the first set. For a second I found myself laugh with pure enjoyment until I heard the air horns of an oncoming semi. We were mid way through a curve facing an 18 wheeler that had no choice but to use both lanes. I have been told since then, no vehicle over 30 feet is allowed to travel the dragon. We were forced to reverse our path about 100 yards back to find a place to tuck out of the way. The nerves were rattled and that became one of the best parts of the day. We traveled the road each two more times taking turns. Each direction seemed to a completely different road. We now agreed it was one of the best roads in America. After 6 more years of traveling the United States as a truck driver with almost a million miles, I have never found anything like it. The search continues to this day.