Verrado Here We Come

STORY AND PHOTOS BY ANNE ALLMAN

You wouldn’t have known that our Porsche Club was based in the Valley of the Sun on the morning of January 22nd . With a drizzle and wind chill more reminiscent of Seattle than Phoenix, over a dozen Porsche aficionados congregated in North Phoenix to embark on a scenic drive to Verrado, a master planned community in the city of Buckeye, AZ.

This drive brought over a dozen Porsches of various sizes and vintages together. There was a nice collection of Caymans, 911’s, a new Cayenne SUV, a 1976 914, and even a sexy Speedster. There were 2 groups that weekend. Group I led by Debbie, with Cynthia as the group’s sweep. And Group II led by Carol, with Jane following up the rear. We hit the rain-streaked streets due west from the Scottsdale 101 Shopping Center on Mayo Blvd. with no fewer than 23 highway turns between us and our destination. You never realize just how big Phoenix and Maricopa County are until you start driving its many highways. One of the most memorable stretches of highway was E Sonoran Desert Drive which featured a gorgeous Sonoran desert landscape, with scores of saguaros, the Sonoran Preserve, and 36 miles of hiking trails. There were loads of weekend cyclists on the road and, while they might be getting in their cardio, they couldn’t keep up with us!

We were finally able to open it up a bit for 22 miles on AZ Loop 303, then again on W Sun Valley Parkway for 28 miles. Our little vintage 914 got up to a reasonable speed at one point with a little coaxing, as the newer Porsches breezed in and out of traffic without breaking a sweat. About an hour later we arrived at our destination. Verrado is an 18-year-old beautiful “small town” community with a proper Main Street, 5 nice restaurants, 2 golf courses, hiking and biking trails, good schools, hundreds of new houses, and beautiful eucalyptus trees lining the main thoroughfare into the community. This drive had a personal association for us because we purchased a new home in Verrado in November. When visiting the construction progress, we usually take the AZ 202 Loop to the I-10 and call it a day. So this scenic route was a delightful new experience for us.

What a sight, as over a dozen Porsches pulled around the town square, past the golf course, and up the hill around the country club and scenic Vic restaurant. Bocce ball players interrupted their games, hugging the fence to take in the spectacle of Porsche’s many styles and colors. Verrado looked like Fall, with autumn leaves lining the pavement – in January no less! But the sun broke through the clouds at about 1:00 p.m.and it turned into a clear and gorgeous day! Unlike previous drives in which all the members dined together in the same restaurant, on this drive we broke up into small groups to try out the various restaurants around town. Our little group went up to The Vic, a restaurant perched on a hillside with a spectacular view of the valley and downtown, about 50 miles in the distance.

Thank you to the organizers of this drive. We traversed many roads we might not otherwise have ever seen!