Hit by a Microburst in Stanley, ID

0

Posted by whalerho | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 19-09-2008

When we learned the population of Stanley was a mere 100 people, we weren’t expecting much. Boy, were we surprised. This is such a special town, with a group of people who call themselves “anti- city folk”. Our MotoSat (mobile satellite) wasn’t working so we had to take the RV into town to get cell phone coverage AND free WI FI. We parked in front of one of the coolest java places, Trillium Coffee House. The kids and I sat inside this super cool place, doing our school work while Ken chatted with MotoSat in the RV.

We met so many interesting people!

First, the gal Jamie who owns this java place owned this land on the river for years and followed her dream to open a little coffee place. She had two black labs and let them run free to play with our kids (during recess of course) and chase a Frisbee across the river. We let Hobie out to join in the fun and it was a field day for all!

We chatted with a great guy, Joe, who lives in Yosemite in the winter and Stanley (doing rafting trips) in the summer. He had such a fresh perspective on life.

During our pizza lunch, we met a handsome guy, who pulled up in an expensive Mercedes convertible. I asked him if he was on road trip and he exclaimed, “How did you know??” (Was it the maps in his lap of the fact that he looked like “city folk!” ) We shared stories back and forth for an hour, ending with him telling us THE place to go in Lugano Italy (complete with hotel name and room number – his favorite place on Earth!)

Then there was Karen, a journalist. She was 52 years old and had her 3 year old son along her side. Such a interesting gal!! She was on her way to interview Jamie Lee Curtis as part of her series on “strong women” She booked an apartment in Paris for a year and found 12 women to stay in the apartment for a month each, sharing their experiences for a future story. (Pick me, pick me!)

Then there was the famous MICROBURST! This weather event was unbeknownst to us until this day. Andrew and I were with Hobie, taking pictures of beautiful Red Fish Lake. We loved watching the white caps on the lake as the wind picked up. Then the wind got VERY GUSTY and it happened!! TWO large 60 FOOT tall lodge pole pines fell to the left and right of Andrew and me. We then ran quickly back to the RV, with Andrew exclaiming, “OH MY GOSH!!” We got to the RV just in time to see a 60’ pine tree FALL ON TOP OF OUR RV! “OH MY GOSH!” is right!! The girls were inside and thought they were in the middle of an earthquake!! As quickly as it came, the wind became calm. Then came the cleanup. Ken had to drive to the Forest Ranger for help and the ranger returned with his chainsaw. Amazingly, there was minimal damage (costly but minimum) and we were able to leave Stanley Idaho the next day. Won’t forget this town anytime soon!

Write a comment