Escure Ranch in Eastern Washington, a place we like to go, so we returned there for a weekends stay. This time unlike our trip the beginning of December to this land, we went to the official camping area of the public land. We have camped there before but that was not when I was doing these blog trip reports. So, I will go over a couple things that I may have mentioned before elsewhere.
Escure Ranch is BLM land and a huge amount of land for us all to use and enjoy. In the summer there can be lots of rattlesnakes and ticks, so the off season is when we like to visit the area. That and there are no trees from the summers sun and that can get to be a bit much for us.
Escure Ranch use to be a very large sheep ranch in the early to mid 1900’s. Around 1954 with the decline in sheep prices, cattle were moved in. Eventually though, this ranch area was taken over by BLM and became public land. There still are the old farmhouse and the many barns and corals that can be seen today. You cannot go in the house, but most the barns are accessible. On this trip we did not go to them since we have been here before. But the campground is very close to the structures, just across the bridge over Rock Creek.
There are many miles of trails and old dirt road trails and cow trails to walk and explore. A popular trail to hike is the 6-mile round trip to Towell Falls. Again, we have been there before and did not do that hike on this trip.
This trip was more about relaxing and enjoying the area. My foot was in a good amount of pain from gout like symptoms, too much red wine the weekend before. So, any major hiking was out. But sitting around the campfire with my favorite beverages was in!
We arrived just as dark fell and found ourselves to be completely alone with no one else camping there. In the end no one else camped that weekend but there were just a few hunters and hikers that parked at the parking area for day use. The weather for the weekend was great, especially for the end of January. Highs around freezing and lows in the mid 20’s. No wind and dry. Really good for this time of year.
We enjoyed watching stars that night and listening to all the coyotes running around in packs. There are a lot of coyotes in this area.
The next morning, we made some Bloody Mary’s and got a fire going. Then I promptly spilled my drink and had to make another.
A bit later we did do a short hike to go find a geocache. My foot hurt and it would have been better to stay off of it but the “need” to go find a new geocache in the area was too much. We did find it, signed the logbook and returned to camp.
When we got back the clouds parted and we were blessed with some sunshine for the rest of the day. It was nice to sit in the sunshine while taking in the heat from the campfire. A great way to spend the day.
We had a fantastic night’s sleep on Saturday and was completely rested. The next morning after breakfast we packed up and left the camp area. We would go out of the way and drive in a loop around to find some more geocaches along backroads. Sometimes exploring backroads takes to you to interesting places. Actually, most times they take you to interesting places. We came across a junk yard kind of place where they had a bulldozer and a combine placed way up on a pole. A weird idea and a fun one.
We eventually ended back in Spokane and stopped at our favorite brewery, Humble Abode. We tried a couple new beers before heading home.
Another great getaway weekend trip. Another great wintertime trip. As we look ahead, it looks like one trip for February then it is off to our bigger trip to Vegas with the camper. These weekend outings are what get me through the work weeks. Winter is a great time to be out and enjoy things.
The TC Life 