Vacation 2026

[WFM]

Mother isn't one to procrastinate or maybe she is. She been looking at booking vacation for a couple weeks. She settled on somewhere from Philadelphia to Salt Lake.
Still looking and checking flights , cost , times ect. It looks like the destination is Knoxville Tn. And im thinking Daniel Boone State park for trout fishing must be close by. Plus whatever other nice looking spot we come by. I never mention fishing ever going on vacation. Its like she forgets. Then at the airport she sees the familiar green tube...."do you really have to bring that ?"
Oh, you never know where we might stop to sightsee i say.
Ive been to tenn several times, not Knoxville, but its always beautiful there and the trout love most any fly that hits the water in the spring.
Now I just need to drop a hundred pounds to squeeze into that plane seat !!!

 

[jimh406]

What month? I grew up in Knoxville and lived there into my late 20s.

 

[WFM]

End of April.
Were pretty low key vacationers.
Probably head over to the east to that famous pass.
Then pegion forge for a day or two.
Bozeman was on the list but no easy flight there. Boston Seattle to Bozeman ect. Maybe later in the year we'll get out there.

 

[WFM]

More vacation possibilities.
My girlfriend sister is getting married on Halloween in Michigan....
Ford Motor factory tour Here I come. And a few minutes at the wedding of course.

 

[jimh406]

At the end of April, the Knoxville Dogwood trail is nice. It's just West of UT Campus when you cross the bridge. It's a drive through path. You just follow the signs. The people in the area have nice landscaping with flowers etc. It's an older part of town.

In the Smoky Mtns, see Cades Cove. it's a loop and not too far from Townsend. There's a lot of different wildlife including Elk, deer, and bear viewable from the car. If you hike, there are also a few short hikes in the park. If you ride bikes, you can rent them there. Clingmans Dome is also a good hike to see the valley from up above. It's high elevation for the area at about 6000 ft. You can continue on to Cherokee NC. Tourist things to see there, and I believe a Casino if you are into that.

Pigeon Forge has some touristy thinks like Dollywood with some restaurants. Likewise, Gatlinburg has some touristy things to do like ride the gondola up to the top of the mountain where the ski area is.

 

[Scm]

If you like a "fun" ride. I highly recommend you drive the tail of the dragon while in TN.

 

[skeets]

Ride the dragons tail if you dont mind being run over by some jerk off on a ricer or some clown that thinks he can ride a HD, or some jerk in a Vett or some other sports car or truck or maybe the arse end of a tri axel. Rode it one time, I will never ride it again, I would go back and ride through DC traffic before I would ride it again.

 

[jimh406]

Tail of the Dragon was a good ride 40 years ago. I don't think it's very safe any more with the increased popularity and increase in population..

 

[JRHill]

With one after another news item for people's behavior at airport's and in the air I have little to no desire for anything to do with that travel anymore. My last round trip from Portland, OR to San Antonio just put frosting on that cake. Fortunately all the stuff on our bucket list is checked off and these days a bad day at home is much better than a great time anywhere else.

 

[Scm]

Ride the dragons tail if you dont mind being run over by some jerk off on a ricer or some clown that thinks he can ride a HD, or some jerk in a Vett or some other sports car or truck or maybe the arse end of a tri axel. Rode it one time, I will never ride it again, I would go back and ride through DC traffic before I would ride it again.

Yup, not a road for you. Stick to the highways with three lanes.

 

[William1]

Tail of the Dragon on my SuperMoto was a blast. Even in my pickup was fun though I caught a bit too much air mid corner. Do not drive it if you can't cut it.

 

[skeets]

Boys I dont think you understand, I had no trouble riding like a human, it was the other jerks that think they are on isle of mann circuit. But then I guess I could have one of those jerks too, if I was on the Hayabusa not as much fun as the R90 but still fun.

 

[jimh406]

I looked and found this pdf that shows the number of deaths per year. Of course, there are lot more accidents than deaths.

Dragon Death Map - Tail of The Dragon

Map of the deaths on the Tail of the Dragon with location and date.

tailofthedragon.com

 

[WFM]

I had actually driven it about 15 yrs ago while dating a lady in NC.
Seems like we ended up at the fontaina dam. A lake in the area. It was certainly winding. And a couple of bikers on my ass most of the way. Then off to pegion forge I believe.

 

[Scm]

I looked and found this pdf that shows the number of deaths per year. Of course, there are lot more accidents than deaths.

Dragon Death Map - Tail of The Dragon

Map of the deaths on the Tail of the Dragon with location and date.

tailofthedragon.com

I didn't show that map to the people I was with until after the fact.