 Exploring the Quilomene, Part 2, Sunday
Trip Report - Part 2, Sunday
Exploring the Quilomene: Expedition I
July 21-22, 2007
Sunday morning found us once again at the Bar 14 Restaurant. Joining us for breakfast, in addition to everyone from our Saturday group, were Bill and Ed from Ellensburg. Ed and his wife were in the process of moving so he headed for home after breakfast and Bill joined me as official navigator in the Bronco II. Our original plan was to re-enter the Whiskey Dick and continue with a methodical exploration of every road. Due to a Triathlon scheduled on Sunday morning the Vantage Highway was closed and so was our proposed point of entry.
Our revised plan was to visit West Bar via the Colockum Pass Road. The river was only a short 15 air miles from the valley so it should be an easy day. Wrong. To make a long story short we drove dead slow over bedrock, down steep grades, straddled ruts, steered through brush and became close friends with lots and lots of sagebrush. There were some neat basalt formations and remains of old homesteads in the canyons, but we were still spoiled by the scenery from the day before. We reached West Bar at around one-o-clock in the afternoon.
West Bar is a sandy dune on a bend in the river and is directly across the water from the crowded resort community of Crescent Bar. In the shade of some trees we ate lunch on a sandy beach while watching jet skis, water skiers and para-sailers from across narrow Wanapum Lake. We should have brought our swimsuits as the water was quite inviting, but we didn't know what to expect until we got there. I wish we had more time, but as it turned out we spent virtually all day traveling to and from.
For anybody following our route on a map we took the Little Brushy Creek Road, #14 out to the river and drove the Brewton Gulch Road, #14; the Brewton Road, #11; and the Powerline Road, #12 on our way back. There were several scenic spots on the return trip, too many to mention, but the road was pretty rough in places. Not a 4x4 trail, just rocky, bumpy and uncomfortable.
Our two days of traveling took us from 600 ft elevation at the Columbia River to around 5000 ft at the Colockum Road, we enjoyed some spectacular views, we felt a special solitude and calm between the bumps and sustained only a few surface scratches in the paint that should easily rub out. It was a good trip and I am looking forward to doing it again. We haven't driven ALL the roads yet.
Jerry from Yakima  | 
07-24-2007, 06:15 PM
