This hiking path is always beautiful this time of year. The leaves are changing and the sound of the Walla Walla River running across the rocks just adds to the beauty of this little canyon. With sheer cliffs on each side the South Fork of the Walla Walla River is definitely a cool place to take the family for a little hike.
Then there is the mysterious Fireplace
Off the beaten path about 300 feet towards the river there is this Fireplace. It sits about 100 feet from the river and a few miles from any sort of house or community.
Whenever we go hiking we always walk down and check this Fireplace out. You know make sure no body has tore it down. Plus he kids like to climb on it a bit
Can’t forget some good ol’ rock throwing and Sadie always likes to get a little drink.
Oh WOW a big Mushroom
Sorry about that, I am like a dog that thinks he saw a squirrel.
Ok, let’s check out this Fireplace and see if we can find any clues about why in the world this thing is here.
With no signs of any sort of house foundation visible and no houses anywhere, leaves one to question if a house actually once existed here.
“Well duh there used to be but it’s gone now, why else would there be a Fireplace?”
Yeah... yeah, OK but I see no sign of any house. Plus building a house this close to a river is pretty silly if you ask me. If the river raises 2 feet, ya your house is flooded possible washed away. This river flows pretty fast even at this time of year. Just wait until spring run-off 😳😳
Maybe that is why it is no longer here. The whole house got washed away in a flood??!!
Ok now I am just imagining things and making up a cool story of some sort.
Signs of a house
This visit to the Fireplace was goin to be a little different. Instead of just taking a quick look and thinking.... “Hmmm Weird why is his here?”
I decided to take a little closer look and see if my detective skills are any good.
First think I notice was there looks to be a sort of horizontal flat surface across the front above the opening. This would have been a perfect place for the Fireplace mantle to be.
What I see
Original
Most likely it was made from a big slab of stone or maybe even wood. Yet, it is long gone now what ever it was. Maybe it was worth a good amount of money and someone stole it??? Sorry I am wondering a bit.
Let’s take a look at the side, this is where I was totally intrigued. There is a definite crevasse where the exterior wall of the house tied into the Fireplace.
It’s hard to see from the photo but hopefully my pretty red lines helped a bit. Plus check this out....
Wood embedded into the rock and mortar. Now I am starting to question how old this Fireplace actually is. Can wood really last that long exposed to the weather?? How long ago am I thinking though? Even I don’t know that. Ha ha ha. Maybe 100 years 150 years. I am totally not sure. Just throwing out some random guesses.
I might be easily amused but I think this Fireplace is a pretty amazing thing to check out. Just let your mind wonder a bit...
- Who used to live here?
- What did they used to cook in this Fireplace?
- Was this Fireplace just for heat? Or did they actually cook in it?
- What was used for the mortar?
The BIG Question....
How Old is this Fireplace??
I am no archeologist so I will the leave the answers to the pros but a time traveler would be pretty cool. 😜
Thanks for stopping by and checking out this Fireplace that is literally in the middle of nowhere. Maybe next time I can find some more clues. I plan on bringing a fold up shovel and poking around a bit.
Until next time....
Weku Post