Day 1: August 13, 2022 To the Tail Comment via blog

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Early to bed and early to rise makes a man drive in the dark. Pretty sure that I was going to considerably exceed Garmin's estimated drive time, I was on the road about 5:30 AM.

This little side trip added nearly an hour to my drive and it was very much an option. In fact, I prepared with and without locator maps just in case. With my early start, by the time I reached London, Kentucky, I was sufficiently confident in my timing to turn off of I-75 and head to the town of Manchester and the Stone of Witness. More formally known as the Red Bird River Petroglyphs, some think that eight different alphabets are represented in the markings on this stone. Early morning is obviously not the best time to photograph the west side of a boulder but I checked the key and managed to capture some Gaelic and some Hebrew & Greek. Maybe.

Near Rocky Top, Tennessee, I again left I-75. This time it was to pickup US-25 (Dixie Highway). I originally planned a drive-by of Hoskins Drug Store but decided I had time to step inside for a root beer float. Sadly, I did not have enough time to hang around to see Elvis in the theater next door.

I did have enough time to visit the chicken and look over a few guitars and banjos at Ciderville Music.

As some may have guessed, this was my main reason for exiting the expressway. John the Barber was on vacation during my only stop here during his tenure and he has now moved on leaving the building available for a new tenant. Note that the wooden propeller is being protected from the elements. An easier to read version of that marker is available here.

As I passed Knoxville, the Sun Sphere from the 1982 World's Fair briefly appeared dead center in my windshield but by the time I found my camera it was just a bright spot off to the side.

Driving the Tail of the Dragon wasn't a goal of this trip but another wiggly road was and my overnight lodging was between the two.

Before I got too far into the Dragon, I stopped to take a look at Calderwood Lake and some of that Smoky Mountain scenery.

There are numerous pullouts so us slowpokes can get out of the way of more hurried travelers. I paused at one to get out of the car and take some pictures. I carefully checked my mirror before pulling back into traffic.

The road didn't really straighten out much beyond the Tail of the Dragon section but the traffic did get lighter. I paused in the middle of a bridge to snap this picture of the Cheoah Dam.

Then it was on to my room at Phillips Motel in Robbinsville, North Carolina.

When I asked about places to eat, the motel's owner asked me how far I wanted to drive. There were good restaurants within walking distance but the best was fourteen miles away on the road I'd just driven. I had certainly noticed Tapoco Inn when I passed it and did not mind driving back there at all. The view from the outside bar was great and the trout & chips was excellent.

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