Dragons, and Rattlers, and Snakes oh my!

La Bête · Oct 20, 2023

Partie un

My Lady and I had a wonderful time driving some challenging roads with Mensa and efair this past weekend. At the same time, we were able to visit our son, DIL, and granddaughter during the journey there and back. Our plan was to drive out and drive the Tail of the Dragon and The Rattler on Friday, then drive The Snake on Saturday. Thursday and Sunday nights would be in Nashville visiting our granddaughter.

We stated on Thursday with a drive from KC to Nashville to stay overnight at our son’s house. Got some quality time with our granddaughter and a wonderful meal. Friday we set out towards Mountain City TN on a route that would allow us to drive the Tail of the Dragon, followed by The Rattler. We stopped in Cookeville as I had taught at Tennessee Tech for several years back at the day. Instead of our usual breakfast stop, we decided to eat at the Waffle House, something we hadn’t done in decades.

We had forgotten how good the breakfast is at the House. Big strips of quite tasty bacon and excellent grits. The biscuits and gravy was okay, but the eggs and hash browns were very good. We will frequent the House more often during our trips.

After exiting I40, the top came down for our run towards the Dragon. My Lady was driving and I was navigating as we drove south. The drive from Lenior City and along the Little Tennessee River was beautiful.

Cloud Sky Water resources Plant Road surface

Then we crossed the Tabcat Bridge which marked the start of the Tail from the Tennessee side of the run.

My Lady handled the 318 curves in the 11 miles of the Tail with ease, keeping La Bête in our side of the road. This was critical as the road is quite narrow and the two-way traffic keeps one on their toes.

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The only real danger were the motorcyclists. There was no passing on the road, but that didn't seem to matter to them. We were doing close to 30 mph.

Plant Automotive lighting Vehicle Road surface Asphalt

We entered North Carolina and then arrived at Dealer’s Gap. We stopped to stretch our legs and get our T-Shirts.

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Of course some glamour shots....

Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18

Then it was my turn to drive. I worked on smoothness through the route, controlling La Bête’s speed through gear shifts and using the brakes as little as possible. I was impressed with the steering, able to make the tightest turns with about 100º of steering wheel movement. La Bête was very light in handling and held the road with little body movement. Once we passed Tabcat bridge, it was turn-around and go again to continue our drive to The Rattler. Another quick stop at Dealer’s Gap to call efair that we were leaving The Tail for our link-up. We then discovered that this entire area was a cell phone dead zone, so would need to travel north before we could get back into coverage.

More to follow.....

La Bête · Oct 20, 2023

Partie deux

After traveling about ten minutes from the Tail, the Battery not Charging warning lit up red on the dash. Now we were still the land of narrow roads and no place to pull off. We had to keep driving until we reach a road junction with a small shop and amazingly a free Wifi hot spot. I pulled La Bête off the road to check what was happening.

Plant Sky Vehicle Automotive lighting Motor vehicle

The manual stated that either the battery was bad (no, it was new battery), the alternator was bad (bad word) or the belt was frayed/broken. The engine was running fine and the water temp was good, so the belt was okay. The engine fired up immediately so the battery still had a good charge. Best to push on to get to civilization if the alternator was bad.

This meant a two hour drive to a place that likely didn’t have any Mercedes mechanics. It was what it was. During that drive, La Bête ran fine and the water temp remain good. The battery warning lit up once more, but hitting the okay button cleared the message.

We reached our link-up point and I refueled La Bête. Again the car started without any hesitation and no warning lights appeared. That indicated that the alternator was likely working as the battery was staying charged. I began to consider a loose connection somewhere. Given the nature of the electronics in the car, that could be a long time to troubleshoot. I felt it was unlikely to find a shop that had the necessary diagnostic equipment in the mountains of east Tennessee/west North Carolina. As long aș the warning could be reset and the battery stayed good, I felt we could stay the course.

Efair arrived shortly afterwards. Once he and his Lady finished their pit stop, it was off to the Rattler.

We had planned to stop at Ferguson’s Supply for our T-Shirts but the sign with the name was faded and I was so focused on the road that I had driven by it before I knew it. Oh well, we will check for T-Shirts online. Note the sign stating T-Shirts at Fergusons was after we passed the store.

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The Rattler is not as challenging as the Tail, but it is a bit longer. However, we had our biggest scare on this route.

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I quickly realized that there was no room to pass, so slammed on the brakes. La Bête is at a full stop and nearly into the guard rail in the picture below showing how close it was.

After that encounter, the rest of the route was a breeze. The trees were getting a nice color.

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Plant Automotive lighting Hood Sky Road surface

Hot Springs was the end of the Rattler. Once we were through the town, it was driving north to Boone to link up with Mensra and his Lady for dinner.

After a very good meal and enjoyable conversation, it was off to the hotel. It was now very dark and given the standard headlights on an SLK, I felt I was driving my XK120 again. Arrived at the hotel and was happy to check in and get some sleep.

More to follow.

frogfoot · Oct 21, 2023

Fab thanks for posting 👍👍👍👍❤

Black Eagle · Oct 21, 2023

Yeah looks like a Cool Road Trip.

La Bête · Oct 22, 2023

Thank you for the comments

Partie trois

Saturday morning we linked up at 08300 and off to a Red Lion for some picnic supplies and then for some breakfast.

Wheel Tire Car Automotive parking light Land vehicle

Weather was cool and drizzly, so the tops were up. Once that was accomplished, Mensra led us off on The Snake.

The colors were really coming out in the leaves.

Plant Sky Motor vehicle Automotive lighting Hood

As we climbed up on a ridge we encountered fog. Made driving the twisty bits a serious challenge. There is a sharp curve in that picture. Somewhere....

Plant Motor vehicle Hood Tree Road surface

We drove some twisty back roads to the US 421 Shady Valley Country Store which offered ethanol-free premium gasoline and the start of The Snake. As we approached the town, the traffic was backed up.

Car Automotive parking light Cloud Sky Vehicle

We discovered three things: 1. the town was celebrating their Cranberry Festival and traffic was bad; 2. the Country Store had run out of gasoline; 3. the Country Store had already sold all their Snake T-Shirts. The traffic finally cleared and as Mensa need fuel, we then set off to find another station.

A few miles later we found a station and everyone was now ready to drive.

Automotive parking light Car Vehicle Tire Automotive lighting

Our next stop was a school parking lot where we stopped to take a look at the eclipse.

It was very overcast, but we could see the eclipse when then was a thinning in the clouds. Our thanks to efair and his Lady for supplying the proper glasses to safely look at the event.

It was back into the SLKs and some more enjoyable driving. Our next stop was the Backbone Tunnel.

More to follow...

La Bête · Oct 22, 2023

Partie quatre

This was an old, vey short railroad tunnel that now had a road in place of the rails.

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The Tunnel.

Plant Natural environment Natural landscape Wood Bedrock

A clear mountain stream ran next to the road.

Water Fluvial landforms of streams Natural landscape Plant Bank

Here we found a lot more color in the trees and was able to climb a path that took one over the tunnel.

The Stream from atop the tunnel.

Plant community Natural landscape Branch Woody plant Deciduous

The cars... the Tunnel is just off to the right.

Automotive parking light Tire Wheel Car Land vehicle

Then it was off to our planned picnic site, which was just back down the road from the tunnel.

Wheel Tire Automotive parking light Car Vehicle

Here efair fired up a grill as we assembled our shish kabobs while waiting for the coals to be hot enough to cook. The weather began to dry out and the sun was dancing between the clouds. We all enjoyed the lunch and then cleaned up.

Plant People in nature Tree Outdoor recreation Grass

The weather was final cooperating and the tops came down. We drove for a few more hours, enjoying the roads and the colorful trees. The trees were glowing, but I am not sure this picture truly captures the effect.

It was getting late, so back to the hotel and then some dinner. My Lady and I were planning to be on the road early the next morning, so back to the hotel and bed.

More to follow...

La Bête · Oct 22, 2023

Partie cinq

It was drizzly and dark when we got on the road Sunday morning to return to Nashville. Battery Warning returned and then the lights began to flicker. Humm, we decide to pull off the road and wait about ten minutes until it became light enough to drive. La Bête was still running fine and no other issues had cropped up. We made it back to Nashville, but experienced the occasional lights briefly blinking off in the drivers instrument panel. The instruments themselves were unaffected.

After our RON in Nashville, back on the road for the final dash to home. The occasional instrument light blinking was now joined by the COMAND central screen blinking off at random moments. La Bête was still running fine but I was seriously watching and listening for any change. We were just outside Columbia MO went everything died at highway speed. All the warning lights lit up, the engine died, and I was now in manual steering and brakes. Fortunately my many years of driving XKs (no power anything) stood me in good stead and I got La Bête over to the shoulder and stopped. Bad words were spoken. I shut off the ignition and thought. I was sure the issue was a short somewhere. Fingers crossed, I turned the key and La Bête started right up. I quickly got the car back on the road while my Lady googled Mercedes dealers in Columbia. She found Mercedes Benz of Columbia and called to get directions. We were only a few miles away and managed to get there with only a few more scares.

The service manager was excellent. He understood that we were away from home, so he had his shop foreman check out La Bête while we waited. After 30 minutes later he came back and told us that both battery cables were loose. He had tighten them and then test drove the car and put it under a full electrical load. All was working. I felt bad as I had replaced the battery several months previously. I know I tighten the cables, but apparently it wasn’t tight enough. The mechanic believed that the rough roads we had been driving on loosened the cables. The service manager told me that this wasn’t the worst thing he had seen. He had one customer that changed his battery, but the car wouldn’t start. It turned out that that individual had left the plastic safety cover on the terminal when he reattached the cable.

Back on the road, La Bête just purred along. Pulled into our driveway about 1700, unpacked, then sat down for some relaxing refreshment (gin). It was a wonderful trip, and was great to finally meet some of the other members of SLKWorld.

We are already discussing a trip for next year.

Mensra · Oct 22, 2023

La Bête said:
It was drizzly and dark when we got on the road Sunday morning to return to Nashville. Battery Warning returned and then the lights began to flicker. Humm, we decide to pull off the road and wait about ten minutes until it became light enough to drive. La Bête was still running fine and no other issues had cropped up. We made it back to Nashville, but experienced the occasional lights briefly blinking off in the drivers instrument panel. The instruments themselves were unaffected.

After our RON in Nashville, back on the road for the final dash to home. The occasional instrument light blinking was now joined by the COMAND central screen blinking off at random moments. La Bête was still running fine but I was seriously watching and listening for any change. We were just outside Columbia MO went everything died at highway speed. All the warning lights lit up, the engine died, and I was now in manual steering and brakes. Fortunately my many years of driving XKs (no power anything) stood me in good stead and I got La Bête over to the shoulder and stopped. Bad words were spoken. I shut off the ignition and thought. I was sure the issue was a short somewhere. Fingers crossed, I turned the key and La Bête started right up. I quickly got the car back on the road while my Lady googled Mercedes dealers in Columbia. She found Mercedes Benz of Columbia and called to get directions. We were only a few miles away and managed to get there with only a few more scares.

The service manager was excellent. He understood that we were away from home, so he had his shop foreman check out La Bête while we waited. After 30 minutes later he came back and told us that both battery cables were loose. He had tighten them and then test drove the car and put it under a full electrical load. All was working. I felt bad as I had replaced the battery several months previously. I know I tighten the cables, but apparently it wasn’t tight enough. The mechanic believed that the rough roads we had been driving on loosened the cables. The serve manager told me that this wasn’t the worst thing he had seen. He had one customer that changed his battery, but the car wouldn’t start. It turned out that that individual had left the plastic safety cover on the terminal when he reattached the cable.

Back on the road, La Bête just purred along. Pulled into our driveway about 1700, unpacked, then sat down for some relaxing refreshment (gin). It was a wonderful trip, and was great to finally meet some of the other members of SLKWorld.

We are already discussing a trip for next year.
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Count us in for the next one!

Robbie4T · Oct 23, 2023

Thanks for doing this write up, I enjoyed reading it all. Having never heard of "The Tail of The Dragon" myself, I find my friends know about it, and it is as famous as Mulholland Drive.... for accidents. I'd love to go to The Nurburgring, but when you look at the youtube videos, it looks kinda dodgy, with all the other vehicles, although having a truck drive at you, looks equally as scary! Glad to know, that I'm not the only one to have a problem (seemingly)every time I go for a drive. Glad that it was an easy fix.

nickwilcock · Oct 23, 2023

Oh for the days when cars had decent instruments! I modified both my MG Midgets to have ammeter, oil temperature (as well as a clock) gauges on an additional panel, to complement the standard oil pressure and coolant temp gauge.

I could see at an instant if the engine was getting a bit too hot, or if the battery wasn't being charged sufficiently for the demanded load. Main beam headlights plus twin spotlights would show about -5A, then when I dipped the headlights and spots, the ammeter would shoot over to around +15A!

I'd love to have oil press / oil temp and a boost gauge in my '32!!

La Bête · Oct 23, 2023

RE: The Nurburgring. I agree, fun to watch the videos but not sure I would want to drive it. Speed isn't my thing. Challenging driving with scenery is what I enjoy.

RE: Instruments. Agree, My XK120 had an amp gauge and a water temp/oil pressure gauge, all Smith's instruments. The idea that I need to toggle through screens to get info is not what I want to do while driving. I do like that the tach and speedo are the same size in the SLKs.

Dragons, and Rattlers, and Snakes oh my!

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