We are fortunate to live in the Columbia Basin. People from around the State of Washington and other states in the Pacific Northwest travel great distances to camp, fish, hunt and watch wildlife in Grant and the surrounding counties.

Outdoor activities continue throughout the year, with little interruption. We are coming to a time, however, when a break in the intensity of people heading into the outdoors will occur.

The goose-hunting season ends this Sunday, Jan. 31, and so does the duck, coot, snipe and crow season. The bobcat, fox, raccoon, cottontail rabbit and snowshoe hare seasons will continue through March 15. The cougar season in some Game Management Units will continue through March 31 and the coyote season is open year round.

Just because the hunting seasons end doesn't mean the shooting season should stop. There are many places to safely shoot shotguns and high-powered rifles in the Basin, so find a sand dune or other backstop, void of people, setup your targets and blast away.

An excellent place to shoot these days is the Boyd Mordhorst Shooting Range near Ephrata. This has been my preference for the past few years. This range is managed by the Ephrata Sportsmen's Association and is accessed through a locked gate. Members purchase a key to the lock and are allowed to visit the range as often as they want during daylight hours.

The easiest place to purchase a key is through the Olde World Trading Company in Ephrata or Moses Lake. The price has gone up over the years and is currently at $60. The range offers 25-, 50- and 100-yard, plus, if you have the guts to try it, a 500-yard range.

There is also skeet and trap shooting available. After orientation, members are allowed to shoot trap on non-scheduled trap-shoot days by the use of microphones situated at each station. This allows a couple of friends to shoot a round or two of trap without anyone else at the range.

I plan to spend more time at the range this year, just for the fun of it and to hone my shooting skills.

As the hunting seasons slow to a crawl, fishing in the Basin picks up. While there are diehard, fish-everyday anglers among us, some let the weather decide when a fishing trip might be desirable. Again we are fortunate to have so many waters open year around, such as Potholes Reservoir, Moses Lake, Rocky Ford Creek, Lake Roosevelt, Rufus Woods Lake and Sprague Lake.

Other lakes will open on March 1, including Martha, Nunnally, Lenice, Merry and Lenore. Each angler is responsible for checking the fishing regulations to determine the specific rules for each body of water. For example, Lenore is a catch-and-release-only lake from March 1 through May 31.

Medicare Beach will attract anglers for the rest of the year, if the water is ice-free. Take Highway 17 out of Moses Lake and turn right on Road M. Travel to Road 6 and take another right. Drive to the top of the hill, which is overlooking Potholes Reservoir. Medicare Beach is located down the hill at the edge of the water.

It isn't unusual to find several fishing groups along the beach. Some anglers will be holding a rod, but others will have their rod in a holder and the angler will be nearby in a camping trailer.

Rocky Ford Creek is catch-and-release-only, plus only fly fishing is allowed with fishing from the bank only, which means no wading. Only single barbless hooks are allowed.

I have never visited this creek without finding at least one angler and an employee of the two hatcheries located on the creek verified this fact. It isn't unusual to see pickup campers and camping trailers in the parking lots, but interesting to me is seeing tents erected during even the coldest weather.

Yes, during the rest of the winter and into the spring, we will experience good days and bad days. Some of us will venture out into the Great Outdoors no matter the temperature, wind speed or moisture content.

Me? My older bones desire nice days, but when dressed for the weather, I still get out in cold and nasty conditions. After all there are more fish to catch, more game to shoot and more wildlife to view. I just can't seem to get enough of the Great Outdoors.