I had the opportunity to drive from Phoenix to Jerome via the backroads which is 89a I believe. I was invited by a great guy I met at the dealership while getting my oil changed so the 200 bucks turned out to be worth it. He drove his 911 4S and I followed with both our girlfriends sitting shotgun. It was the first time that I had the chance to see what this car could do. BTW, he has been involved with track events for over 20 years so the driving was spirited to say the least. On the straightaway behind Lake Pleasant, I reached a speed that I'd never seen in an automobile before. This car is like a jet fighter.

He led the way, and gave me a radar detector and a map should we get separated. I stayed right on his tail the entire trip. He even commented that I drove the car really well and he has to get me on the track next. Of course I gave all the praise to the Cayman. He even commented something about the power of the car in a suprised tone.

Anyway, we initially planned on going just to Prescott when some Harley guys said "you should go all the way to Jerome with those cars" so we did. I have to say the pass through Mingus Mountain was awesome. Twisty roads through pines. The best part of the trip. Even with stopping for breakfast and gas in Prescott, I think the whole trip was about 5 hours.
No tickets were issued and I even managed to convince my girlfriend to snap a few photos, one handed without stopping, in between hanging on for dear life! If you live in Arizona, or are just visiting, you HAVE to do this drive.

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Been there, done that, and it is a great trip. Jerome is worth the drive even without the great road.
Marty

Last time I drove Mingus Mountain, which was the only time, it was windy enough to scare me. And even though the weather was fantastic, other drivers made it a really rough trip.

I can't help but wonder what coasting down Jerome to Cottonwood must've been like. It was fun even in my land boat==>had to brake a lot but in a Cayman I imagine that you could have been coasting along at a toasty 110 at the bottom if you could run free with no one impeding your way.

Last ticket I got was 90 in a 65 and I was still accelerating. As I was super polite to the officer, when I asked him how bad it was he said, "I could take you to jail."

I put my hand over my mouth and was really embarrassed. He said he'd see what he could do for me and came back with the most generous offer he could: Driving School and NO fine!

Our wonderful State Legislators had just received word from God that 20 mph over the limit was not merely reckless driving but a FELONY! Gee, I remember when speeding was merely an "infraction" and we didn't destroy people's lives over it.

After giving everything else up, with them making +20 mph a major criminal act, I'll have to give speed up as well. I knew that >100 mph was a trip to jail, but they've spoiled all the fun.

And to think our illustrious Governor Janet Napolitano wants to not merely take over the 101 cameras in Scottsdale, she wants to friggin' place speeding cameras all over the highway across Arizona!

To think we use to have a $25 fine for "wasting finite resources" and now we are going to become the traffic cop capital of the world. Time to head out--where one can roam free.

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Don't miss scraping my master's windshield, winter oil, winter tires, chains, pluggin' in the car over night--block water heater! and interior warmer. And having to put anti-freeze in my GAS!

Do miss slippin' & slidin'.

Is the "Haunted Hamburger" still in Jerome? That's all I remember from our last trip there. Cool town too, but a great hamburger.

Yes, Haunted Hamburger is still in Jerome. I make this run often on my BMW K1200 GT.....will be one of my first runs when I get my cs...however, drivers beware.....this run from Wickenburg to Prescott is watched very carefully by the authorities..and for good reason....lot's of crazies on crotch rockets and rvs coming across centerlines.......please be careful.

Too bad you did not keep on driving through Oak Creek Canyon up the rim to Flagstaff. The canyon is really fun! I used to live in Flagstaff and covered Sedona for work. I usually left at 6:30am headed down through the switchbacks. I could do 3 runs in the switchbacks before the commuters started to fill up the road. I always took my Porsche for the run. Not a lot of speed but the tires got a chance to squeal a little. Man, I miss that drive.

Thanks for the photos, it brought back lots of great memories. I remember taking one of my managers over Mingus Pass in my old targa. We got to Jerome and he made me pull over so he could empty his stomach. Those 500 foot drops without guardrails really got to him as I was slidding the car around.

Awesome drive, done it twice thus far and plan to do it once I get the Cayman.