[SnowRocker88]

After voting we have settled on the dates of April 17th through 19th for the Annual Celicatech Dragon Run.

For the uninitiated, The Dragon is a stretch of road that lies between Tennessee and North Carolina, it is known by many names, but it is officially known as US Highway 129. It is a marvelous stretch of road known to automotive enthusiasts the entire world over.

This is the 3rd year for this version of our meet, but it is the evolution of the Pigeon Forge meet, which was held for many years prior.

We have anticipated a very high turn-out this year, as we have people come in from all over the country. This is an open invitation to all Toyota Owners, and will be posted across several boards.

This will be my third year hosting it, and to be honest, it is the highlight of my year. I enjoy seeing me friends and making new ones.

Now, some of you might be asking, 'Why is it called the Dragon Run?' Well, let me explain.

We are car fanatics. And the reason we love cars, is that we love to drive them. So in a departure from typical meets, we plan this around driving. Driving through the Great Smokey Mountains and enjoying some beautiful sights and comradeship.

This year we intend to make several runs of the Dragon, and come down the Cherohala Skyway as well.

This is our intended route.



Lodging is being planned just off of Cedar Bluff in Knoxville. There are many hotels to fit different budgets.

Holiday Inn Select Knoxville-West Hotel (I-40 & I-75)
- www.holidayinn.com - (877) 863-4780

La Quinta Inn-Knoxville West
- www.lq.com - (865) 690-9777

Sleep Inn
- www.sleepinn.com - (865) 531-5900

Holiday Inn Select Cedar Bluff
- www.cedarbluff.hiselect.com - (865) 693-1011

Econo Lodge West
- www.econolodge.com - (865) 693-6061

Hampton Inn Knoxville-west At Cedar Bluff, Tn
- www.hamptoninn.com - (865) 693-1101

Budget Inn
- www.hotelclub.com - (865) 934-1182

Please join in the discussion and we will see who all is coming, where you are staying, and what you would like to see happen this year. Every year is different, and every year is a blast.


2-Way Radios are recommended, this is how we all like to keep in touch with one another and make sure we all know where we are going.


I hope to see you attend.

Here goes the official itinerary, which we try our best to follow! (Copied from Celicatech)

Friday April 17th:

8pm: Meet, Greet, Eat.

Location: Cracker Barrel 9214 Park West Blvd. Knoxville, TN. Located just off of I-40/75 on Exit 373 (Cedar Bluff.)

Saturday April 18th:

8am: Meet and prepare for departure.

Location: Old Food City Parkinglot. This is located on Executive Park Drive, just across from the Holiday Inn Select. Just off of I-40/75 on Exit 378. Yes, just down the street from Cracker Barrel.

9am: Departure.

This puts us reaching the base of the Dragon at or around 10am. Once there, we will stop for pictures and determine running order. In the event that more cars arrive than is safe for a caravan (20+) cars will be broken into groups. This is for our convenience as well as the safety and convenience of others on the road.

10am: Run!

We will begin running the Dragon at 10am, either was a whole or in smaller groups. Hopefully we will be able to get several run in over the next few hours.

1pm: Pictures.

We will make our way to Fontana Dam for group pictures. After these pictures, we will make our way to the top of the mountain to the church for more pictures.

In these pictures I would like all cars represented and uniformly parked. This is to ensure equal exposure of all cars and attendees being visible and represented.

3pm: Cherohala Skyway.

At 2pm we will depart the church and head for the Skyway. This will be a long run, so I suggest that anyone that needs gas for the next 100 mile stretch have it. There won’t be any gas stations.


8pm(approximately): Dinner.

Location as of yet to be determined. As all the cars should be in a tight group, general consensus will determine.

Sunday April 19th:

10am: Discussion, Show and Bench Racing.

Location: Old Food City Parkinglot. This is located on Executive Park Drive, just across from the Holiday Inn Select. Just off of I-40/75 on Exit 378.

All points from here on out will be played by ear. I know some folks desire a junk yard run, some would like to head to Pigeon Forge for Go-Karts and or shopping.

2pm: Lunch/Dinner.

Location: To be determined


At some point and time after this, we will all go our merry ways.

Some folks will be in earlier, some folks will be staying later. This is only a general guideline, however, we will be trying very hard to stick to these times.

Remember your Two-Ways. I will update with our channel at the time of the event.

My name is Murg and my number is (Eight Six Five) Seven Seven Three Nine Seven Zero Eight.
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If the count is 70% correct across the different site (which it normally is) we have more than 50 cars coming.

The reason we are staying in Knoxville (other than the fact that is where I live and I planned the meet to be semi convenient for myself) is that I75 and I40 meet here, bringing folks from all over in at a central location. As mentioned a larger city gives the folks a more central area to hang out at. The area I have chosen is both less than a mile from my house and populated with many hotels. Giving folks an option as to where they want to stay. This centralized location also provides a main thoroughfare directly to the Dragon less than a mile away as well.

This makes my 5th year hosting and my 3rd year with a massive turnout, with this year being by far the largest. I have taken experience from the last several years of attending and hosting to plan this, with massive amounts of input from former attendees and more social folks (thanks MR2GURU.) This meet year's planning has been in the works since before the end of last year's event.

For those of you planning a day drive in and then back out, I feel a warning needs to be said. While I don't want to turn anyone who wants to attend away, I don't think it would be exactly safe. This is a 6 hour drive we are planning. Easily. It will be very intense and tiring. Spending 12 hours of more behind the wheel will be a very difficult task. I implore that if you can, at least book a hotel for the night before or after the run to give yourself the chance to recuperate before driving home.

Also, we have several safety concerns. Please ensure that your car is up to snuff to attempt this run. We have had catastrophic failures in the past. Granted, no one really knows if their car is gonna spin a rod and die halfway through, but please try and grab a passenger seat if you know you car has issues that could be aggravated.

The speeds will be kept regulated for both safety and to avoid the attention of Jonny Law. For a good chunk of the run, I will see to this personally by putting my Celica ST in the front of the pack.

I am looking forward to a great turnout and a lot of fun for all!

Hope to see you there!!

ALL TOYOTAS WELCOME...or just Toyota fans in other cars...