For sports car enthusiasts, it doesn’t get much better than spending a couple days this summer driving 18 sports cars – many of which are convertibles – along scenic, winding roads in the Northwest with temperatures approaching the triple digit mark.

The 2009 Run To The Sun was the fourth annual adventure of its kind staged by the Northwest Automotive Press Association (NWAPA). This year 18 automotive journalists who are members of NWAPA began the event in North Portland quickly escaping east to less-traveled highways through the foothills of the Cascade Mountain range.

We were escorted out of town by a retired member of the Portland Police Bureau, who was driving his half-century-old police car. And interestingly enough, he was the only member of our entourage stopped by the police during our trip. It seems a Portland police officer wanted to take a closer look at the car!

As we traveled many roads perfect for sports car driving along the western slopes of the Cascades toward our destination of Sisters, Oregon, we had nine driver’s changes so everyone got to drive nine vehicles each day of the “run.”

We drove an outstanding variety of vehicles with a broad range of price stickers from a $24,000 2010 Mazda 3 S Grand Touring to a $90,300 2010 Jaguar XK convertible. Also included in the lineup were Audi TTS Roadster, BMW Z4, Chevrolet Camaro Coupe, Dodge Challenger SRT8, Ford Mustang GT Convertible, Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8, Lexus IS250 Convertible, Mercedes-Benz E350 Coupe, Mini Cooper S Convertible, Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, Nissan 370 Z Touring, Suzuki Sx4 Crossover Concept, and Volkswagen CC Sport.

Interestingly enough, the American manufacturers sent along their muscle cars in outstanding colors – the red jewel tint coat Camaro, the orange pearl coat Challenger, and the grabber blue Mustang, I couldn’t decide if I liked the amazing performance, the thrilling sound or the brilliant colors best. Now that I’ve thought about it – it’s definitely the performance.

Of course, all the vehicles were incredible to drive and the event gave journalists a chance to experience in a short period many cars that may not make it to the press fleet. Along the roads and at our many driver’s changes, onlookers admired the impressive lineup of vehicles.

Our return trip to the Portland area from Sisters was through backroads in the farming communities east of the Cascade Mountain range, up to the Columbia River, and heading back west to Portland. We stopped for a long lunch in Maupin, where a dozen of the adventurous journalists and manufacturer’s reps took a five-mile raft trip down the Deschutes River. Okay, I’ll admit it, I went along for that ride too!

Sally Hanson, a 29-year resident of Kirkland, is a freelance automotive journalist who has test driven more than 1000 vehicles over the past 20 years. She received a B.A. degree in journalism from the University of Houston and is currently scholarship chair for the Northwest Automotive Press Association. Sally and her husband, Don, own Juanita Bay Pharmacy in Kirkland.