Tucked on the western edge of North Carolina in the Great Smoky Mountains is a strip of road that has more curves than the Playboy Mansion on movie night, and, most likely, is more fun: The Tail of the Dragon.

It's a mere 11-mile stretch of US 129, this cambered ribbon of asphalt that weaves back and forth 318 times along trails that began hundreds of years ago. Indians, settlers and civil war troops all made their way through this mountainside pass through Deals Gap that legend says began as an animal trail.

None of them had as much fun on it as I did Friday along with the hundreds of other drivers on the Mini Takes the States road rally. We were heading to Nashville but took the long way there to drive the Dragon. As in life, road trips deserve the long route, and some of the best things come during detours.

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