drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  531,504

Odometer (ILX):  95,239

Trip Distance:  244 Miles

Among my group of friends, spending time with our cars is always special treat so when my buddy Peter was deciding how to celebrate his big 32nd birthday, his first thought was to put together a mountain cruise.

Today’s drive took us to the hills northwest of the Phoenix, Arizona area.  The route followed highways 17, 74, 60, 93, and 89.  Catch all that?  The participants brought a wide variety of automobiles.  We ended up having two Acuras, two BMWs, and a Nissan in the mix.  Below is part of the lineup.  Dan’s “Boston Green Metallic” 1998 BMW M3 5-speed is in superb condition for being 16 years old and having over 140,000 miles on the odometer.  He’s taken great care of it.

Peter’s TSX has undergone a lot of work during the short length of time he’s had it.  Just a few weeks ago, I met with him after he’d taken ownership.  The car was bone stock at the time (below).  Despite having over 185,000 miles on it, it was mechanically sound and he was anxious to get started customizing it to give it some personal style.

Already, he’s upgraded the suspension and wheels.  He also re-tinted the windows and did some cleanup on some of the body panels.  Not to mention some freshly-polished exhaust tips!  Here were the rides on today’s tour:

• 2004 Acura TSX
• 1998 BMW M3
• 2014 BMW M235i
• 2009 Nissan 370Z
• 2013 Acura ILX

My friend Paul took the shotgun seat in the ILX with me for this drive.  Peter took the lead in the TSX and the rest of us followed in line.  A wise move, this was: Peter knew all about Highway 89’s notorious speed trap in the 45 mph zone!  Sure enough, as we rounded a corner into a straightaway, an Arizona Highway Patrol vehicle was staring us in the face.  Unfortunately for that officer, our party was in complete compliance with posted limits.  Take that.

From there, the road gained elevation as we rose to about 5,300 feet.  Its twisty curves were banked just enough to inspire some spirited driving.  The ILX had no issues keeping up with the pack, and I enjoyed throwing it between 3rd and 4th gears on the climb.  As a testament to how confident Paul was in my driving skills, he reported “… and I didn’t even grab the oh shiz handle once!”  Soon, we arrived in the town of Prescott, affectionately referred to by locals as “Everybody’s Hometown.”

Prescott was actually the capital of the Arizona Territory in 1864 (Phoenix didn’t take over that title until 1889).  Today, it’s home to around 40,000 people has become a popular weekend destination for Phoenicians like me who are looking to escape the heat.  The city embraces its history with over 800 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

We dined at the Firehouse Kitchen (chicken quesadillas highly recommended!), then Paul and I made our way toward Highway 69 which would return us to the Phoenix area, while everyone else headed toward Jerome.  The clouds dropped a little rain on us, but the 70-degree temperatures were refreshing.  By the time we got back to the Phoenix area, the temps were already back up in triple-digit range.  Happy b-day Peter, and thanks for putting this drive together!

Here are the rest of the pics from our little Sunday drive.  Thanks for coming along.

A peek at the curves that Highway 89 offered up.

Following the BMW M235i through Yarnell

Bathroom & snack break at a “Mountainaire” gas station in Peeples Valley

Arrival in Prescott

The lineup

Departing Prescott with wet roads

In closing, just a few other random weekend adventures.  Yesterday’s Cars & Coffee in Scottsdale:

I also did a little junkyarding.  There were 220,538 miles on the odometer of this 1991 LS in Golden Glow Pearl.  It had the factory accessory 15″ 5-spoke wheels, the gold emblem package, and the trunk-mounted spoiler.

Thanks Dillon for sharing your latest A-Spec TLX rendering!

And a classic text from Paul showing some true Acura brotherhood.

Have a great week!

This entry was posted on September 7, 2014 at 4:52 pm and is filed under Arizona, ILX, Road Trip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.