We're lucky to live in the magnificent Pacific Northwest. If you're an outdoor enthusiast, you know just how true that is, when it comes to a vast assortment of places to go, things to do, and adventures to be enjoyed.

Seriously, anywhere in Washington State, has so many different options when it comes to climate, elevation, topography, and wildlife. If you're into hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, or all of the above, Washington offers plenty of opportunities.

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Over the weekend, my son and I had the opportunity to do a little exploring and perhaps, a little scouting for a hopeful Elk rendezvous this fall. I hadn't been up on Colockum Pass since the mid-'90s and my son had never been. So, we decided to take a little day trip in his Jeep and have a look.

My recollection of the roads up to the Pass being primitive was accurate. One really does need some kind of four-wheel-drive machine to make it up there. If you didn't know, the Colockum Pass road was the early passageway for folks endeavoring to go North from The Dalles, Oregon to British Columbia, Canada, back in the late 1800s.

Our trip began on the outskirts of Ellensburg and came down the other side, east of Wenatchee. As the crow flies, much shorter distance between the two areas than going over Blewett Pass or around through Vantage. But that's as the crow flies, and the crow doesn't have to contend with primitive roads.

Brian Stephenson
Brian Stephenson
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The picture was taken just north of the top of Colockum Pass, just as the Columbia River became visible and one could see mountains across the river in Douglas County. I posted the picture on our Facebook Page and asked people if they could identify the area. Knowing that we have a large number of avid outdoor enthusiasts with a great deal of regional knowledge, I wasn't surprised when Tom Davenport nailed it.

See the Must-Drive Roads in Every State

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

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