We left the campground at 9:30 am on Wednesday heading south on the Blue Ridge Parkway . We planned to do most of the the Murder Mountain Loop (page 114) and the Boone/Banner Elk run (page 120).

We stopped to take some pics at a couple of the overlooks and checked out the Crabtree Meadows Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The campground wasn’t bad, but a little too open with very little privacy for our tastes.

We continued south and took NC 80 north passing the Mount Mitchell Golf Club. We made a quick stop at the Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area which looked dampish to us. It is right on the banks of the roaring South Toe River and was about half full.

Crossing US 19E we continued north on NC 80 and headed through the crossroads of Bandana. Our first stop was Kona Baptist Church where Charles Silver is buried in three graves in the Silver Family Cemetery . In 1831 Charles’ wife, Frankie supposedly chopped him up with an axe one night, threw the pieces in the fireplace and scattered what was left across nearby mountain tops. Evidence was found in the cabin and Frankie was arrested and charged with murder. There are several other scenarios including one that her father either committed the crime or forced her to do the deed.

Anyway, after finding the first body pieces old Charles was buried in the family plot. A few days later more pieces were found and not wanting to desecrate the first grave, the family made a second grave next to the first. Days later, more pieces were found and a third gravesite was formed.

Frankie was found guilty of murder and according to some sources was the first white woman to receive the death sentence in North Carolina . After an escape from prison and recapture she was hanged for the murder of her husband, Charles. Her family feared the Silver family would desecrate her gravesite, so they made eight burial sites for Frankie in order to hide the real site where she was buried. Some claim the song Frankie and Johnny was based on this famous murder. That is the only claim to fame that Kona, North Carolina has.

As far as riding goes, NC 80 has some pretty good twisties and minimal traffic. NC 80 runs into NC 226 where we took a left through Loafers Glory and then turned north on NC 226 heading for the Tennessee state line. NC 226 is a fun road with lots of dips and twists through the Pisgah National Forest .

At the Tennessee state line, NC 226 turns into TN 107. TN 107 straightens out a bit here, and then we took a quick right on TN 173. Sweeping corners through pasture lands leads you to the more heavily traveled US 19E, a three lane major road with moderate car/truck traffic. Be ready to roll along at 60 mph to stay with the flow.

We took US 19E south through Roan Mountain Tennessee and crossed the state line back into North Carolina . We then took a left on NC 194 and found some great twisties all the way to Banner Elk. Just before Banner Elk we passed by the Elk River Airstrip with it’s unique “jump” at the end of the runway to launch planes over the nearby mountaintop.

We continued north on NC 194 and found one of the most unique pieces of asphalt we have ever ridden. There is about 5 miles of downhill twisties on some of the worst pavement and most precipitous curves we have ever seen. We dared not even venture onto the right half of our lane because of the extreme negative camber on all the corners. The pavement edges were ragged and we encountered two sharp steep switchbacks that rookie riders would not be able to negotiate safely. The corners had eighteen inch high safety posts with chain link fencing to snare motorcycles before they went off the embankment. Needless to say, this was our favorite road of the day and was even more fun on the return trip uphill. This route was perfect for our KLRs, but wouldn’t be the road of choice for sportbike and big cruiser riders. We recommend this road for experienced riders only. You are bound to get a hoot out of what has to rank as one of the ten worst roads in America .

After a quick stop for lunch and shopping at Mast General Store which like the road surface is more than a hundred years old in Valle Crucis, we headed back up treacherous NC 194 to Banner Elk.

We continued south on NC 194 to Banner Elk and took a left on NC 184 passing by Sugar Mountain Ski Resort. This is not a road to take. We suggest you avoid this and NC 105 south which we took to NC 221. We then took NC 221/NC 181 west to Newland and then NC 194 back north to US 19E so we could catch the Roan Mountain crossing.

At Roan Mountain Tennessee we took a left on TN 143 and made a quick stop at the Roan Mountain Visitors Center . We continued south on TN 143 on some great uphill twisties to the North Carolina State Line. Here the road turns into NC 261 and the tight corners became more sweeping on the downhill run into Bakersville North Carolina ..

NC 261 became a major road from Bakersville south all the way into Spruce Pine. Here we took US 19E west and then NC 80 South crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway and descending on the twisties into Marion North Carlina. A quick jog on NC 70 east and then NC 221 north took us back to the Blue Ridge Parkway and our RV and hot tub.

One of the best runs of the day was on the final leg of NC 226 with some tight, uphill twisties. READ THIS POEM

TOTAL TRAVEL DISTANCE: 231 miles.

TOTAL TIME: 7.5 hours including lunch, shopping, fueling and photos.

BEST ROADS: First Prize to NC 194 near Valle Crucis as a must do for avid bad road freaks like us.

Second Place to NC 80 from Micaville to NC 226.

Third Place to NC 226 near the Tennessee Line.

WORST ROADS: US 19E from Tiger Valley Tennessee to NC 194. And NC 184 from Banner Elk to NC 105.

MOST SURPRISING: We saw NO other motorcycles on the back roads all day!!

RECOMMENDED READING FOR TRIP PLANNING: Motorcycle Adventures in the Southern Appalachians II by Hawk Hagebak. CLICK HERE for more information.