Viffermike’s eastern-U.S. National Park roundup road trip

On Oct 4-12, I took my ’25 SGM M2 on its second long road trip in five months: about 3,900 miles, primarily targeting the National Parks east of the Mississippi (and not in Minnesota or near south Florida) that I hadn’t yet visited: Gateway Arch, Indiana Dunes, New River Gorge, and Congaree.The route map (overnight stops are indicated by yellow icons):

I also aimed to drive at least a dozen Scenic Byways – some of which were more scenic than others, and a couple of which were bypassed because of weather or construction. The return route included my fourth jaunt on the Tail of the Dragon (and the first with truly ideal weather), as well as a drive down the entire 444-mile length (except for a 20-mile stretch that was closed for construction) of the Natchez Trace Parkway in TN/AL/MS.

Since my first long road trip in the M2 (chronicled here), I’ve added forged custom five-spoke wheels from BSPK Forged, which are each about eight pounds lighter than the stock equivalents (front: 21.3 lbs; rear: 24.2 pounds), in stock widths but with 5mm less offset than OEM (ET15). I also added fresh 295/30-20 rear tires just a couple of days before the trip: non-star Yokohama Advan Sport V107s to match the OEM Yokos. The OEM rears only lasted 7k miles, while the fronts still have 7-8k of life on them. The wheels make a massive difference in handling – road feel is better, initial turn-in is far sharper, and tracking through corners feels less governed by inertia and more governed by actual steering input – while the slightly wider tires provided 10mm of extra contact patch width (and, to my eyes, look better than the stretched OEM 285/30s). The car was an absolute rock, even during a day of driving in constant rain on Day 4 from mid-eastern Indiana to Charleston, WV.

Other than Tail of the Dragon, notable good driving roads included MO 94 between McKittrick and Weldon Spring (follows the Missouri River in Missouri wine country west of St. Louis), WV 41 between Hilton Village and Piney View in New River Gorge National Park (the fog/drizzle on the morning I drove this meant light tourist traffic, so I had the run of it) and the underrated Russell-Brasstown National Scenic Byway north of Cleveland, GA.

I averaged 25.9mpg (consuming 150 gallons of 93-octane fuel!) and 56.2mph during 69.1hrs of seat time during the trip. Some pics:

Gateway Arch National Park, downtown St. Louis, MO:

Sunrise on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Grandfather Mountain, NC:

Near the top of Russell-Brasstown National Scenic Byway, near Helen, GA:

Deal’s Gap, at the bottom of the Tail of the Dragon, U.S. 129, TN/NC:

View looking south from near the north end of the Tail of the Dragon:

Pack o’ Miatas gathered off of Chilhowee Lake, near the northern end of the Tail of the Dragon:

West Beach (with West Beach Bath House in the background), Indiana Dunes National Park:

WV 41 bridge across the New River just west of Prince, WV, New River Gorge National Park (incidentally, a low cloud ceiling shrouded the gorge on the morning I was there, so this is the only good shot in the park I obtained with the car):

Sylamore Scenic Byway, northeastern Ozarks, AR:

Northern entrance to the Natchez Trace Parkway, just outside Nashville, TN:

Entrance to Indiana Dunes National Park, IN:

Entrance to Congaree National Park, SC:

Rhode’s Motor Inn, Boone, NC (one of the best motor inns I’ve stayed at):

Notre Dame University, South Bend, IN:

Starbucks (daily morning fuel for yours truly), Rolla, MO:

(Freshly washed) car profile showing wheels: