More about Imnaha...28º

Settlers arriving in Wallowa County after 1883 found that the fertile valleys of Wallowa, Enterprise and Joseph were already spoken for...To get the free land offered them under the "homestead act" these settlers, left with few choices traveled farther east to the rugged canyons of Imnaha...The canyons were lush and green in the spring but the searing heat of summer turned all except the river bottoms brown and dry by mid July and created a haven for rattlesnakes...The Imnaha River runs the full length of this canyon with its headwaters starting in the Eagle Caps, it travels mostly north over 64 miles, ending as it empties into the Snake River at Dug Bar.

Imnaha River

With Janie as our guide we turned south, headed up river, taking in the scenic sights on a beautiful fall day...September and October rains have kept the canyon unusually lush this year...Traveling the dirt washboard road, we saw alfalfa and grass fields in the bottoms and winter wheat growing on the benches...The Warnocks and Marks families still own and farm the original homesteads as well as manage other farms bought up by absentee owners.

Freeze Out School House

We arrive at the mouth of "Freeze Out" and the surrounding area by the same name...Janie has picked this spot for us to have lunch... We take turns crossing the expansion foot bridge to Drivers Cabin...Clouds have moved in hiding the sun and bringing a cold wind...We bundle up in coats and brave the cold to sit on the deck overlooking the Imnaha River...Finger food of pepperoni sticks, cheeses, veggies, bread, trail mix and nuts take our minds off the cold...Janie has spent many weeks of the last 20 years in a small tree house on this property where she wrote "Four Lines A Day"...Her book about Mary Marks, who married into the original Marks family and spent her life living on the Imnaha...Continued tomorrow...OWAV:)