Tail of the Dragon
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Smoky Mountain Tour Bus in the 1930s parked at Tapoco Lodge.
Cheoah Dam screen shot from Two Lane Blacktop 1971.
Screen shot of Cheoah Dam from the 1993 movie The Fugitive. Note the tunnel that was added as a special effect.
Cheoah Dam Tapoco, NC 1970s postcard. AKA Fugitive Dam.
Calderwood Dam as seen from the Tail of the Dragon Overlook.
Little Tennessee from US129 with Haoe Bald in distance.
Little Tennessee River near Tapoco.
Little Tennessee between Tapoco and NC 28
1966 road washout at Aiken Branch Falls.
Mountain roadway postcard. Location unknown.
Macs Motel and Diner. Screen shot from Two Lane Blacktop 1971.
Moody's Motel 1956.
Moody's Motel 1956.
Crafton's Motel, Deals Gap NC 1960s postcard.
Macs Motel, Deals Gap NC circa 1980 postcard.
Toll Booth 1890s
US129 newly paved circa 1933.
US129 newly paved circa 1933.
1982 speed limit 55 mph
US129 looking soutward near Foothills Parkway.
Doug Snavely's Original Dragon Map
The Tail of the Dragon was born in 2000, or at least that is when Nancy and I named it as such. It is also known as Deals Gap which is the actual physical name that appears on USGS Maps. In 1992 Doug Snavely named it the Dragon and created a T-shirt with the road appearing as the back of a dragon. Locals in the past called it the Robbinsville Turnpike and That Damn Twisty Road to Tennessee.