Targa Appalachia 2009

[MickOpalak]

No, its not a race but a multi-day mountain drive. And its not just about enjoying the local scenery but also good food and fun times with good company. I've choosen to do this in the middle of the week, as traffic and police are a lot lighter then. We'll use Fontana Village, NC (Fontana Village Resort)as our base camp because it's in the middle of the best mountain roads in the southeast, has free WiFi, a general store, a bar, a pool, a nice restaurant, a burger joint, a gas station and is pet friendly. Its surrounded by lakes, hiking trails and tons of outdoor activites for spouses or children who don't enjoy the mountain drive experience.

Each participant is responsible for booking their own room at Fontana. I recommend a room in the Lodge but cabins are also available. I've already got my room booked. What are you waiting for???

Here's the schedule:

• Monday, August 24 - Check in at Fontana Village with a participants orientation meeting at the lodge bar that evening at 7 PM. Its important to be here for this. I'll be handing out the route maps and going over the event guidelines.
  
• Tuesday, August 25 - Pisgah or Bust! Leaving from the front of the Lodge at 9 AM sharp, we'll drive east from Fontana Village attacking the Hellbender (Hwy 28) then continue east to Cherokee, NC where we'll pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway and follow it to the Mount Pisgah Inn for lunch. Hopefully we should arrive around noon. Excellent food and a breathtaking view from the dining room. After lunch we turn around and take the Blue Ridge Parkway back west to Cherokee, but here we head north through the Smoky Moutain National Park. Continuing west we'll take the Foothills Parkway south into Tennesse, then take The Dragon back to Fontana Village for dinner in the lodge. All of this followed by the day's wind down around the pool.
  
• Wednesday, August 26 - The Devil Went Down to Georgia: this will be an intense day of twisties. Again leaving from the front of the Lodge at 9 AM sharp, from Fontana we'll head south toward Robbinsville via Hwy 28, taking Wayah Road across the Nantahala National Forest where we'll head south stopping for lunch at the Waffle House in Blairsville, GA. Expected arrival is approximately 12:30. No trip is complete without a stop at the Waffle House. From here we dive south into Northern Georgia and tackle the most exciting roads Georgia has to offer including 180, Blood Mountain and the Richard Russell Parkway. We'll head for home passing through Franklin, NC and arriving back at Fontana Village via the Hellbender! Again we'll have the post-drive wind down around the pool.
  
• Thursday, August 27 - Journey to the Devil's Triangle / The Carrera Cherohala. Once again leaving from the front of the Lodge at 9 AM sharp we'll start the day with a group photo at the tallest damn on the East Coast, followed by a run on The Dragon. From there we head northwest to the Devil's Triangle in Tennessee, stopping for lunch somewhere in Oakridge, TN. From there we head south to Tellico Plains where we pick up the Cherohala Skyway back to Robbinsville. Upon returning to Fontana Village we'll have contest night around the pool where prizes of incredible value will be awarded to participants.
  
• Friday, August 28 - Check out and embark for home sunburnt and smiling with a camera full of memories.

Mark your calendars now and go ahead and ask the boss for those days off. Don't forget your sunscreen and camera. Stay tuned here for coming updates.

[ACE51]

sounds fun to me!

explain search for waffles?!

[MickOpalak]

One of our drives will have a stop over at a Waffle House so that everyone can experience the incredible mouth-watering joy of hot waffles.

[shadowhusky]

Originally Posted by MickOpalak

One of our drives will have a stop over at a Waffle House so that everyone can experience the incredible mouth-watering joy of hot waffles.

Waffle House is great. I always go to one whenever I head down south

[Parramint]

Targa Appalachia

Is that the techical name for swine flu?

The trip sounds great, let me know if it passes through Norfolk England

[ACE51]

Originally Posted by shadowhusky

Waffle House is great. I always go to one whenever I head down south

I'll be sure to bring my deliverance soundtrack for this one!

[DeanG]

Maybe, just maybe.

[DaveC20853]

Another fun run is a run over to Fat Buddies BBQ in Franklin NC via Wyah road.

Wyah Rd has a lot less tourist traffic and has many challenging switchbacks and more drastic elevation changes than other roads in the area. Just be aware many corners tend to be dirty so be careful.

Take 129 south out of Robbinsville and turn left on 19/74. Right onto Wyah Rd then 64/441 to Franklin. Fat Buddies is on right in a strip mall.

You can then pick up 28 back to Fontana.

Link for Fat Buddies: Ribs and BBQ Franklin and Waynesville NC at Fat Buddies

[MickOpalak]

The intial post has been updated with new information. Check it out.

[MickOpalak]

I've finalized the schedule and routes in the initial post above.

Who's with me? Who plans on attending this awesome drive???

[CrashTestDummy]

<<<--has reservations

[SweetDaddyD]

I put it on the calendar and will look at it as it gets closer. I'll try to hit a couple days of it. I really want to get the bike up there since I've done the roads so many times in the car now.

[SweetDaddyD]

Wow, I never noticed he death map before on the dragon site.
Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap and Cherohala Skyway, Graham Co, NC

[DaveC20853]

Devils Triangle info from ToD website:

"DEVILS TRIANGLE BULLETIN: We have heard that coal truck activity has been heavy on the Triangle recently. These trucks use most of the road in curves, spill coal on the roadway, and make riding much more dangerous. Thanks to Jerry King for the update."

[MickOpalak]

Have you booked your room at Fontana yet? What are you waiting for? The event starts in just 19 days!!!!

Here's a taste of the fun:

Fontana Village to Mt Pisgah Inn

Mt Pisgah Inn to Fontana Village

The Devil went down to Georgia

Journey to the Devil's Triangle / The Carrera Cherolaha

[MickOpalak]

One week to go! Have you booked your room yet? I'm starting to get excited!

[MickOpalak]

I've updated the original post with the latest information and schedules so that people will hopefully be able to catch up with us during the week.

I've removed the costume idea for this year. Perhaps we'll do it next year.

If you're going to try to meet up with us drop me a PM and I'll send you my phone number. Mobile phones don't work so well up in the mountains but there will be periods when we're in pockets of coverage in which I'll be able to call you and let you know our whereabouts.

See ya next week!

[dasmoofler]

I so wish I could go. You guys have fun!

[MickOpalak]

Day one is over and a lot of great driving was done. The weather is perfect with temps in the low 70s in the morning to the high 80s in the afternoon. Very little traffic on the roads. I'll have lots of photos to post when I get back home on Friday.

If you're in the southeast try to meet up with us sometime this week.

[MickOpalak]

Here are some pix.