Devil & Dragon

Our road trip 2026 kicked off, with Slacker Ken by my side, a couple of challenge coins in our future, and a whole lot of fun ideas. Little River Canyon warmed us up, the Devil’s Triangle tried to kill us, and Tail of the Dragon finished the job. Hellbender 28 slapped us around for good measure. We fueled the whole thing with prison bourbon from Brushy Mountain and heard those banjos in the hills that were either spiritual or mildly illegal. Either way, it was perfect.

From the cliffs of Little River Canyon to the haunted hills of Tennessee, our ride cuts straight through some of the South’s heaviest history and wildest asphalt. We rolled into Fort Payne, where the Trail of Tears left its mark — a quiet, sobering reminder of the Cherokee forced west from that valley. North of there sits Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, a place built in 1896 for the inmates the state didn’t expect to rehabilitate. Today it pours bourbon with a bite and a backstory. From those prison walls we hit the Devil’s Triangle, a brutal loop of coal‑country curves and mining‑town ghosts, then carved into the legendary Tail of the Dragon — 318 turns of pure adrenaline. Hellbender 28 finished the job with fast sweepers, lake views, and elevation changes that make you feel alive. History, asphalt, bourbon, and Bluegrass in the hills — the perfect mix for an episode worth telling.

If you are inclined for more footage of these two days, you can find them here, in 360: