Xchang, Myself, and 4 others (not on the forums to my knowledge) just got back last night. Weather was OK, but got rainy in the mountains above about 3-4k'. The pass from Caney creek to Robbinsville, the Cherohala skyway, gets dark pretty early, so plan to be out of the dragon by 4-5 if you want to avoid most of the darkness. Gas was available at the Onoco (?sp?) station in Tellico Plains, but there are stations to the S, W, and E that are out sporadically as of this past weekend. Robbinsville has gas at multiple stations if I remember correct, as well as the deals gap resort (basically the meeting place at the s end of the dragon).
I had to run to Atlanta for work, and gas was hard to come by down there. you'll notice it as you go south on 129. with cars you guys should have no problem, our bikes only go 150-200 miles per tank. 129 is pretty nice south of the dragon area, which is overpopulated anyway. In Georgia, 129 is AWESOME in the Chattahoochee nat'l forest, south of Blairsville. I suggest going there, then heading back up Georgia route 60 to the NW. Todras and I did that a few years ago, and he almost got sick in my Z. That would be a recommended route, just fill up with gas in Robbinsville to be safe.
Police presence was light in my opinion. Visit tailofthedragon.com for (sometimes) more updated info when you guys get down there.
Roger, the water at the village sticks with sulfur really bad. When you get there, just let the shower run for a while. it was fine after a day or so, not sure why, but it was.
You'll see photographers that offer pics online for purchase. As far as I know, here's the list of current providers:
Killboy.com
US129photos.com
US129pics.com
ZeeFoto.com (check spelling)
Moonshine photography (google it for the website).
Enjoy! I don't come on here much, but if i can answer a question I will.