That’s true you don’t see the bike traffic so much in the spring as summer and fall. I was there for each of the driving seasons this year and spring was the lightest traffic, fall was the worst.

The road was repaved this last year between summer/fall and the lines repainted for a completely different driving track. The cliff side has an extra 8/10 inches while the wall side was reduced that much. That may not seem like much, but it is a completely different road than it was last spring. There is also a ridge that runs down the middle covered by the lines and has more than a half inch highth difference in places. And because of repaving plus heavy rains the ditches or drop offs on the cliff and wall sides are now 6 to 9 inches deep in some places.

 

Thank you for reminding me to give my dear friends a call to get the updates on the rooms situation at the Fontana. Can I just say, that I'm So please so many of you are going to be joining us for the Dragon this year. We are already exceeding the rooms we set aside for the event and moving close to taking over the Fontana as a whole. Here's the breakdown:

Other than the campsite and the "rustic" cabins, this is ALL the Fontana has left. Let's keep filling them up.

Inn Rooms: 23 Rooms Left
Fireplace Rooms: 1 Room Left
Honeymoon Suites: SOLD OUT
Willows (1 bedroom): SOLD OUT
Laurels (2 bedroom): SOLD OUT
Azaleas (2 bedroom): 2 Left
Azaleas (3 Bedroom): 2 Left
Dogwood: SOLD OUT

New to the List:
Hemlocks (2 bedroom/1 bath): $93 a night (pending a lower rate forthcoming) -- there are 8 of these
Magnolias (3 Bedroom/2 bath): $169 a night (pending a lower rate forthcoming) -- the Magnolia has a king/double/2 twins beds and are newer than the Azaleas -- there are 10 of these

That's it folks. I'm going to look at a rate on the house boat (in case anyone is interested) and I see a a couple of other NEW cabins that might be added to this list soon. No matter what, book now to get your top choice of rooms!!!

Hugs,
PB

 

You drive this road to 'your' ability, not someone else’s idea of how fast you need to go. People have died on this road because they exceeded their ability or had just plain bad luck. There are a couple of places that you can pull off to let faster traffic go by ( I remember a passenger being dropped off in the first year because they started to yak in someone's MINI ). Don't be put off by this, it's a great time even if you just take scenic drive on the Dragon...Mountains, lakes, waterfalls, food, trees, etc.
etc.

 

sndwave: i'm still gonna disagree with you.....re-lined not re-praved last summer

 

Maybe not the entire road but there is a ridge running down the center now and then. I'm thinking after one of the storms came through They had to do some massive road work then repainted the lines.

And we all know the NC side wasn't done. You would think they could afford a half mile or so of asphalt.

 

they're paving the NC side, but they starting at Robinsville and are working they're way to TN, i think (remember when we took US129 back from dinner)

 

True as can be Kool, but will they go up to the State line, or make a right at the Crossroads of Time and continue over to Fontana Village.

 

......I think I've persuaded my wife that this this would be a nice, relaxing get-away (it's officially her car after all).

OK, we've not checked out current room availability at the Fontana, but I was thinking of booking a room at the Inn (if there are any left). Is this within stumbling distance of Party City USA (#515).....I'm crap at map reading at the best of times (and when I've had a few; forget it).

Hopefully looking forward to making some MINI friends.

This looks like a road in the UK I used to travel a lot when I was in college....many moons ago (The Snake Pass between Stockport and Sheffield ).

Any general advice on what to pack (apart from bug spray) ?????

 

:smile: gr8brit, just book whatever, wherever! Looks like all of Fontana will be MINI party central for our 3rd MOTD!

The Inn/Lodge rooms are fine! I've stayed in both Inn rooms and cabins, and it depends on whether you plan to prepare your meals or eat all your meals at cafes, diners, or at the great nightly MINI events (to be announced soon), where you should book.:smile:

The cabins have fully-stocked kitchens. Also, there are fire rings outside most of the cabins, where some folks like to bbq. The Inn rooms are more like staying at a hotel, and have daily maid service. If you book a cabin, you can get additional towels/sheets as needed, but no room service.:smile:

Hope this helps. It's all good and I look forward to meeting you and your wife!

Clover

 

If you mean the party cabin, it's within stumbling distance, but it will be a long stumble Or would that be several stumbles away?

As for packing, my suggestion is tuxedo, preferably tails for you, and a nice evening gown for your wife, we have at least one formal night

Actually, figure shortsleeves for the day and a light jacket or sweatshirts for the evenings. It can get a little chilly (mid-50's) at night but it will probably be quite pleasant during the day.

Plus there will be a Chili Cookoff Friday night, so bring your best chili along!

 

Thanks for the prompt replies.....seems like one big, happy MINI family

Something to look forward to once the snow in Upstate NY melts (hopefully it will have melted by May...you never know ).

If my Visa isn't already maxxed out, I'll try to book something this week

 

You can get up dates on the Dragon at "www.tailofthedragon.com" A great source for road conditions and area activities. I doubt I'll get to get the trip I usually attend the Christian Sportbike Rally held there a couple weeks later. But I'm glad to know there is an organized gathering at the dragon. I can't wait to get our MINI up there. Have fun but be careful.

 

hey when is the Jewish Sportbike Rally

 

You may want to keep an eye out here for the latest info. The Tail of the Dragon web site according to the main page will not be updated until early spring. They have gone in to the seasonal downtime so to speak.

 

I'm in. I don't have a MINI yet, but I've got a room at the Inn.

The MINI will be here in late Feb. early March.
MCS
CR/B
LSD
17x7 Pro Race 1's (black)

See Ya in May

 

That's a great source on the road, and the area... But NAM is where you need to be checking for updates on the MINI event...

 

Who organizes this whole thing? Is it NAM? It seems to be a bunch of separate groups? Who picked the dates? I am just curious since it seems to be something that is managed through a thread on NAM, but not real clear as to the event details and who coordinates all of the activities. It seems there are a lot of activities independent of these threads but still coordinated with the event.

Most events it is clear who is organizing and funding it, but I didn't catch that information here.

 

Mark Ferguson and NAM is the main sponsor and supporter for the event. DC Metro MINIs is the host club and will be handling the event insurance for the event.

Patricia (babswife), Mark, and myself are the primary coordinators for the event.

In the past the event was never much more than a gathering of people, with a club or two doing small individual things down there. However several of us got together towards the end of last year's event and while we agreed that the general free-form format of the event in the past was great, if there was some organized structure then the event could be much better. After a fact finding trip to Miatas at the Gap this past summer, where we spoke with the local Chamber of Commerce, Miata owners, and management at Fontana, it became obvious that the general free-for-all that the Miatas do and how the previous MINI events had been run in the past, was not the best way to go.

It was quite clear that if the event had some structure and organization to it, the local community would support the event. To that end we've already managed to get a great deal of support from Fontana, and the local Chamber of Commerce is working with us as well.

However we did think that the event could be organized without overloading those who were attending. That's why there are lots of people putting together activities for that weekend in the area.

Atlanta MINIs was approached and elected to continue with their tradition of hosting a dinner, and MKO will be hosting a dinner. Both still will be. The Chili Cookoff will be hosted by Smokey Mountain MINIs. DC will also be hosting something as well.

Many of the changes being put into place for this year's event are a direct result of the comments from the "lesson's learned" thread that Mark put up after last year's event. In addition we took a look at what the Miata's do, what their attendees seem to like, and just as importantly the suggestions passed on to us from Fontana and the local Chamber of Commerce and have been working to put a fantastic experience together for everybody attending.

There will be a special website soon which will be a centralized clearinghouse for everything you need to know about MINIs on The Dragon 2005. This will include a place to register for the event (those who register will get all kinds of goodies), places to buy tickets for the dinners, as well as sign up for some of the other organized activities that will be going on (like the Midnight Dragon Run).

 

The dates were choosen by the people who organized the very first event almost 3 years ago. That person is/was extremely smart. Our spring event is just before peak season for the area, and as such the local community is very enthusiastic about us coming down.

On the other hand the Miatas hold their event in July. The locals have requested repeatedly that they move the event out of peak season for the area. The Miata's have refused, and being peak season the hotels and businesses in the area are reluctant to block off large parts of their properties or offer any sizeable discounts to the Miata people.

 

mbabischkin,

Thanks for your reply. Yes a website would be great. The information is very hard to come by, and there sometimes seems to be a bit of confusion. A single concise area to go to for information (not this forum) would be great. A forum is not so good at providing detailed information on such a large event as this. Information is hard to extract throughout threads that are sometimes 10 pages long and it is hard to determine when decisions are made. Thanks for the information, it is very helpful. I have the fortune of people located quite close to the Dragon and go there many times throughout the year. There are a lot of other "lesser known" roads that even exceed the dragon, but do not hold the same cache as the dragon. Since the dragon is often crowded on weekends and a lot of crazy people drive the road, I tend to stay away from it more than I visit it anymore.

 

Yes, the tradition for MINIs on the Dragon (MOTD), is that it is held on the first weekend of May. The locals already like us so much that in May, at only the second MINI Meet there, many businesses had "Welcome MINIs" banners displayed on their buildings or on their signs! It was so neat to see! And even though we're so new at the Dragon, the shop at Deal's Gap has already designed a special MINI-specific decal!

Clover

 

oh, that cool:smile:

WHAT!!!!! SAY THAT AGAIN!!!!!!!

SOMETHING ABOUT MINI DECALS!!!!!!

:thu mbsup:


Just kidding Clo, thanks for the info that is very cool
John

 

 

No worries, John! I'm fully fluent in "yada!"

Clover

 

Yeah, the guy that makes their decals has a MINI.