First off, I'm still a bit of a newbie to the area. But I've struggled to find any good stretches of entertaining roads in North Carolina. It's as if the state deliberately makes roads as straight as a ruler, and widens/flattens every major mountain road to make it as un-entertaining and un-scenic as possible.

In a desperate bid to fall back in love with my X3, I drove out to Boone, NC today, imagining to find at least a few deserted, curvy roads around that part of the mountains. Ended up being the biggest epic failure of a 6 hr. road trip ever. Watauga County isn't a deserted driver's playground, rather it was made of beaten up, wide roads clogged with holiday-makers and App State students moving in. I thought the US routes would be narrow and winding but it was just the opposite.



Makes me miss the roads in rural Virginia in the western half of the state where I was in Charlottesville.

I hear there's fun stuff in southwestern NC around Avery and Yancey counties, and there was perhaps one or two fun roads near Asheville. That's too far for a day trip; is there anything closer to the Piedmont? Anyone in NC willing to help out here?

Seriously, my next car will be a disposable econo-box if I can't find a place to enjoy driving anymore and justify a "driver's car".