OT: Almost Lost Nicole Last Thursday..., ...she must have an angel looking over her. Options

[Eric_Shea]

We just got back from our Payette river trip in Central Idaho and the water is flowing. Fantastic runs on the North fork of the Payette outside of Banks, ID.

However, the story starts just outside of Stanley, ID at a most beautiful place called Redfish Lake and it involves our youngest, Nikki. You may remember her from here:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...5051&st=200

Shes almost 5 now and full of energy. Not enough energy to make it through last Thursday night as we waited for our Kayaking and rafting friends to arrive at camp from Salt Lake City. It was a beautiful night and she dozed off in the folding chair around the fire. Vanessa decided to put her in the tent for the night as our friends finally arrived around 10:00PM.

While I was helping them back their enormous 5th wheel into the site a gust of wind blew up and all I could see was dust in my head lamp. I looked at a nearby tree and motioned for him to leave the site and pull the trailer into a clearing. The tree was getting dangerously close as we could see a thunderstorm approaching over the Sawtooth Mountains... what a beautiful site but, it soon got worse; way worse.

We looked over at the tent Nikki was sleeping in and it was starting to move as the wind picked up. All of the tent stakes pulled up and it began blowing a few feet across the campsite. By now we were headlong into a massive dry microburst. The winds were said to exceed 75-100mph as we held onto the front of the tent to keep our young'n from tumbling across the campsite. Vanessa was on the left and I was on the right. Our friend Rob yelled "look out" and that's when it happened; a 50-60ft pine came crashing down on the tent on the side Nikki was sleeping. It narrowly missed Vanessa. I immediately unzipped the tent and pulled out a still sleeping Nicole.

Still basically in a state of shock, we whisked her into a car and began trying to figure out what just happened. We tried to get out of the park but all of the roads were covered with downed trees. With a bit of energy still running through my body, I spent the next 30 minutes helping others pull downed trees off the roadway.

Within a few minutes all was calm. We looked up into a crystal clear sky and the nearby lake was like a mirror. I got a saw and made a few cuts in the tree and rolled the middle section off the tent. There was a fairly large tear in the rain-fly and the tent where a branch went through. We got a little duct tape and we were good for the night. The girls air-mattress on that side was toast but we figured with a tree falling on it and such it probably just blew out. All that night we heard sirens and watched the ghostly flashers of rescue vehicles illuminate out tent as they hauled out 4 of the less fortunate. We counted our blessings that our little girl was safe and sleeping soundly next to us that night.

It wasn't until morning that the gravity of the situation sank in. As we broke camp, Vanessa came to me with the air-mattress and said "This is what caused it." I looked to see what looked like a bullet hole through the mattress... right between the pillows and about 8" from Nikki's head. A branch from the pine went through the back wall of the tent, between the pillows, through the sleeping bag, through the air mattress and through the floor of the tent. Imagine what could have happened. That's when I welled up and it sank in.

Protect those little ones. As we know from recent experiences, they can be gone in an instant.

Here's some pics:



Me trying to muster a smile for the camera...



The sleeping quarters:



The next day:



The hole...



Our buddy Mr. Tree:



The carnage by the lake... this was a powerful storm:



The Nikkster (she "loves" river rafting):



She even got a little rowing in!



Read more about it here and click on the "See the massive destruction" link:

http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories...s.36d6387f.html

All's well that ends well. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif)

[Mrs. K]

HOLY SHIT!!! Thank God she and Vanessa & all of you are ok!!!