Starting about 40 miles into the ride, we grab some shots along the Wayah Road between Franklin and Nantahala Gorge. The east side of the mountain has some great curvy stretches with little traffic and smooth pavement.

Jonathon leans it into the twisty on the west side of Wayah Gap.

Fun, fun, fun!

After meeting earlier in the day in Brevard, we head west towards the Tennessee border, taking the scenic route through the western Carolina mountains. Above, we're stopped on the bridge at the head of Wolf Lake, on Hwy. 281.

The road climbing the hill in the background is swiftly becoming as popular for riding as the Dragon, but it doesn't have the notoriety yet. I hope that it doesn't get the huge volume of traffic either - it runs through a peaceful farming community and large numbers of noisy speeding bikes will bring a lot of unwanted resentment from the local residents. The area is known to local riders as Charlies Creek and is already getting stepped up patrols. It runs from Hwy. 281 over to Hwy. 276, coming out a few miles below the Blue Ridge Parkway.

A private sign along the Wayah Road, on the Nantahala Lake side of the mountain. Many of the residents that live along the road are already resenting the large numbers of speeding riders that visit the area. Please, if you ride there, respect the local folks and don't make them our enemy.

One of the many waterfalls along the Wayah Road, this one is on the Nantahala side of the hill. We were lucky enough to catch it a day after a heavy rain added about twice the normal volume of water to the creek.

Jon checks out the rental dual sport bikes at Thunder Mtn. near Robbinsville. He and his brother are planning a trip to the area in June and will be renting bikes from this shop. Looks like a pretty good setup and the prices are very competitive to some others that we checked out.

Since we were in Robbinsville, it would have been a shame not to dash over to Deals Gap to grab a burger - I'm a big fan of the restaurant at the Gap. The shot above shows the Cheoah River below the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. Heavy rains over the past few days have swollen the river to well above its normal level. Quite a few kayakers were taking advantage of the great whitewater conditions, putting in below Lake Santeetlah and paddling down to Tapoco, below Deals Gap.

A kayaker rests in an eddy in front of the Tapoco Lodge on the Cheoah River.

Tapoco Lodge and the Cheoah River near Lake Calderwood and Deals Gap. Great place, but I just learned that it won't be open for the 2009 season. I'm hoping that it manages to recover, 'cause it's a beautiful place that I'd like to see succeed.

Stopping by Deals Gap for the burger and hot dog - yeehaw! Love the food here - it was a pleasant surprise. The first time that I stopped in to eat, I expected to find microwave sandwiches - the delicious fare was a real surprise. To think of all the times that I drove right on by after backpacking for several days in the Smokies, not knowing the treats that were available within.

A group of riders line up in the parking lot at Deals Gap before heading out to run the gauntlet on the Dragon.

After eating at the Gap, we had to turn up the wick to make it home by dark. We decided to follow Hwy. 28 along the south shore of Fontana and then on over to Franklin - a ride that I personally think is even better than the Dragon, especially the stretch of 28 between Bryson City and Franklin. From Franklin, we headed up Hwy. 64 towards Highlands, but took the Buck Creek bypass road over the mountain just west of Cullasaja Gorge. That's a spectacular twisty slice of beautiful mountain pavement and it lets you avoid the crowded highway near Highlands.

The shots above and below were taken at an overlook of the upper Chattooga River (ever see Deliverance?) drainage east of Highlands, along Hwy. 64. The sun was dropping low by then, and the clouds were getting lower and darker, so this was our last stop before splitting up in Brevard. We put in about 350 miles today, with nearly all of it being on superb mountain roads. Despite the dismal forecast, we never caught a drop of rain, though we did have to weave a bit to dodge an occasional threatening cloud.