The Honda Hoot is just the excuse we use to travel down to the Great Smokey Mountains and awesome motorcycling. We leave on June 24 and return on June 27.

We're staying in Pigeon Forge, Tenneessee, home of Dolly Parton and Dollywood! Here's the hotel information:

2492 Parkway

Pigeon Forge TN 37863

(865) 428-5500

And the run-down on the room assignments:

Room 1: H (DSM) / Viceroy (DSM)

Room 2: Roudy (DSM) / Kicker (DSM) / Dan (DSR)

Room 3: Jim (DSG) / Neil (DSG)

Room 4: Kicker friend 1 (DSG) / Kicker friend 2 (DSG)

Room 5: Open (so far)

@#@#@#@#@#@

Rides

The route down is pretty straight forward; mostly interstate. The route down is I-71 S to I-75 S to Knoxville. From there we take I-41 E to T-66 S to Sevierville. From there it's a quick jaunt down SR-441 S to Pigeon Forge.

We got two great rides planned for Friday and Saturday.

Deal's Gap

Actually, this first ride will be two in one. First we head down the Foothills Parkway, then we tackle the Tail of the Dragon. The route is US-441 S from Pigeon Forge, through Gatlinburg, into the Great Smokey Mountains National Park (map). Just inside the park, we'll take SR-73 W to Bethel. In Bethel, we'll continue west on US-321 W to the Foothills Parkway, just on the other side of Miller Cove (2 on map). From there, we head southwest on the Foothills Parkway to Chilhowee. There, we pick up US-129 SE, Deal's Gap (1 on map). We'll continue southeast, through Robbinsville to US-19 NE. This turns into US-74 NE. Continuing northeast then east on US-74, we'll take US-441 N to Cherokee for dinner and a break at the casino. US-441 N returns us home, but not before a great ride through the national park.

The second ride will be a little less intense, taking the Blue Ridge Parkway (map) over to Asheville, North Carolina. In Asheville, we'll visit the Biltmore Estate of George Vanderbilt. It just happens that there is a BMW motorcycle rally this same weekend at Biltmore. From Biltmore, we continue up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Linville, North Carolina and Grandfather Mountain. The route from Pigeon Forge is US-441 S through Great Smokey Mountains National Park. The southern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway is just before the southern entrance of the park. We'll take the parkway east and northeast until we get to US-25 N. Four more miles and we're at the Biltmore.

@#@#@#@#@#@

Additional Fees / Costs

Great Smokey Mountains National Park

There are no entry or access fees for Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

Biltmore Estate

Grandfather Mountain