6/4/08

Dragon Recap

I finally had a chance to sit back and gather my thoughts on the 2008 MINIs on the Dragon. This was my first official MOTD that I had attended, but I have had the opportunity to drive though the dragon once before on a previous road trip.
We arrived late Thursday evening to find our cabin had almost gone up in flames, literally.  I was told that a tree fell on some power-lines that sparked a fire.  It took the locals a little while to put it out, but the scent of burning brush was still noticable when I drove up.  By morning we had the power back so that was good news. The first official event was the Dragon Parade Run on Friday morning. The weather was great and I had a blast running up and down the Dragon with a lot of other MINIs.
We then headed out to do some side trips to visit the Cherokee Indian Reservation and the Smokey Mountains. All in all, it was a great day for a drive.
On Saturday, I participated in the Draggin Dragons pine car races. That was so much fun. Our entry made it into the second round but having lost some much needed weight, we were outed soon after. We decided to drive into the city to grab some eats and drive through the mountains again before the farewell dinner.
The greatest thing about this event was being able to hang out with a bunch of MINI owners. It was wonderful to see just about everything you can get for the car in every color combo and flavor. From what I hear, the group was a good size this year but not over crowded as it might have been last year. The highway patrol was fairly tame, no scary moments for me anyways. Overall a very good trip to the Dragon. I highly recommend it if you can get out there. It is definitely worth it.
Below are a few more pictures that I took. Also check out pictures from our cabin mates Francis and Paul, as well as a video from Taylor at the CMMC site.

6 comments:

RB said...

Nice, nice nice.

I'm gonna do it someday, I hope.

Still wonder what it has on the 101?

DanC said...

I like the Dragon because of its tightly packed curves. Top speed is about 35 or 40 so the revs are high and exciting. The 101 is a bit longer yet faster, still a lot of fun. I hope you can make it out to the Dragon some day. It's definitely worth a trip at least once even from CA.

Francis Macasieb said...

Glad to read you guys had a good time. You guys can room with us anytime. This was my 3rd MOTD and I have to say this one was better than last year for me. The first time will always be the best one.. naturally.

RB said...

It looks very scenic. I think I'll make some day, I hope but if petrol keeps going up I may be limited to my bicycle. ;-)

What I like and fear with the 101 is the super long high speed runs and the inevitable tight turns and unknown road conditions. Makes for fun and pant crapp'n!

BTW, You've been added to my blog.

DanC said...

Thanks rb. I added yours as well.

Thanks Francis for offering the cabin as well. That was really cool. We all had a blast.

RB said...

THNX ALSO!