# Scary But True Camp Story



## slik4x4 (Sep 5, 2007)

This is a story that really happened and can show how camping can affect your life.

I started in Boy Scouts when i was 11. my first summer camp i met a teenage staffer named Chuck. i didn't know it at that time, but he would later become one of my best friends.

As my life in scouts race along, i continued to become better friends with Chuck. I seen him every year at camp, and my parents started a Explorer Scout group which he belonged to. Later on, when i became a staff member, we became connected in a spiritual way, not biblical.







At his wedding a few years later, i was there with a girl, who would later become my wife.

As the years past, we would get together and play cards and barbecue, normal friend things. soon for job and family, they moved to a town about 4 hours away, and we lost touch.

After our son was born, and we out grew the tent camping thing, we bought our first camper. It was a small pop up that gave us some freedom to just leave for a weekend and camp. We decided to call our old friend Chuck and his family and see if we could meet up some where and camp. They invited us to there normal 4th of July thing at a state park close to where they lived. We decided to make this the first weekend of our vacation, and join them.

The weekend was beautiful, we had a lovely time.

The morning we were to leave, a storm rolled in at around 5:30. Chuck woke up and decided they needed to put down their awning. So he woke up Erica, and out they went.

The storm, unknown to us was a biggy, and ended up producing 80 mile an hour straight winds. This is in a very well developed forest, and these winds started ripping the tops from the trees.

From no where a tree top hit our friend Erica and slammed her through a fold up steel table setting beside their camper, and then into the concrete.

After hearing the blood curdling scream of my friend, i jumped from bed and ran out the door.

The site was aw inspiring. the rain coming down horizontally and the large chunks of tree flying every where. I can still see it in my head as if it was happening.

I ran across the street to their camper to find Erica laying on the ground in a pool of blood. Chuck by her side under a very big tree. He was tending to her, but their 10 year old daughter was alone, trapped in their camper. The tree top was against the door, not letting any one in or out. Thankfully, on a pop up, the door is in 2 pieces and not very heavy.

I ripped open the door, grabbed TJ and ran her across to our camper. When i returned, Chuck lifted the tree off Erica, and we got her to the truck.

We met a sheriff deputy up the road a piece and loaded Erica in his truck. They sped up the road and met an ambulance, who then transported her to a hospital 30 miles away.

I went back, got TJ and my family, put on some clothes finally and drove to the hospital. Erica's father was head surgical nurse at a very good hospital i n Kansas City, so she was life flighted there. Chuck and Tj were asked to say good bye before she was loaded on the helicopter. That is never good news.

After chuck was treated for lacerations, And given some pain killers for his back. we started our drive to KC.

Even though we weren't that far away, the drive took for ever.

When we got there, they had done there preliminary testing and found that she had multiply fractures of her skull, a very large cut on her scalp, and some swelling of the brain. She was about to go in for some surgeries. Thankfully, everything went well.

We stuck around for a few days, to do what we could. Then returned to the campground. After answering some questions about our friends and their condition to the park staff, we were able to get to our camper. Remeber this was a holiday weekend and the park was 95% full with all manners of campers. This is a larger park with around 500 sites. There were only 4 people injured and Erica was the worst.

The park was closed until labor day weekend. it took that long to clean up.

We figured we would never go camping with our friends again.

That December, we got a call from Erica. She was wanting to know if we wanted to come down for there usual 4 of July camping trip!!!!

That was 5 years ago, and up till this year, we have gone down for the fourth holiday every year. We reserve a double site 2 spots up from where we were the first year. We also camp with them at least once more every year. We have spent other holidays and bdays together. And send emails back and forth all the time.

We have become 2 families that have a bond that i think will never die.

And to make this story have a moral, just remember, your awning is covered under your insurance. if you are going to leave your TT in a storm, leave only to find shelter in a concrete shower house. And even though camping is a great family bonding experience, do some with friends, also.

Happy Camping !!!!!!!

And ps. sorry for making this so long, most of my replies or questions on here will be short and sweet, mainly cause i can't type. But i just felt like sharing this story for some reason.

Sam


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## RizFam (Feb 25, 2006)

WOW what a sad/scary story w/ an awesome ending. Great point & thank you for sharing.


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

Sam,

Thanks for sharing your story.

Mark


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm glad everything turned out okay, eventually, and you all are still able to go camping together!!
Darlene


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

Wow! What a story, and a camping trip never to be forgotten.

Our windiest storm was only about 60 MHP, also in a popup. I spent the night listenenig to things fall all around us, and the popup even shuddered with one gust. The next morning there was a lot of debris all over the place, and a tree had come down on a tent. Fortun ately the tent was empty when the tree fell.
I don't want to be in 80 mph winds.

So glad everything eventually came out all right, and that Erica recovered well, and even wanted to go camping in that same park again.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Thank you for sharing your story! Glad the ending was a good one and everybody has recovered well. 
Be safe and enjoy !


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Excellent point! Sorry to hear everyone had to experience it. Another tip besides the "protect yourself over your awning," would be to have a weather radio. As a kid, we had two instances with Tornados in the area while camping. One was a Boy Scout camping trip near home where multiple tents were destroyed, and one was in Yellowstone NP where trees came down all over, and took out several trailers. Luckily, no one was injured. In either case, a weather radio would have warned us far enough in advance to get to shelter (the prevalence of modern doppler radars helps too







).

Be safe everyone!


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## JimO (May 20, 2007)

that story gave me goose bumps. Thanks for sharing. I'm glad it had a happy ending.


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## ntputter17 (Aug 17, 2007)

Great story, great lesson, thanks for sharing both.....

Kirk


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

WOW!!!!!! That was some story
Thanks for sharing

Don


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

WOW.

A short similar situation. A dad and his 2 20 something son's pulled into the site across the street from us. they had just got their tent up when 60mph winds hit. just when they climbed into the tent a 30" dia tree slamed down within 3 ' from the tent entrance. With the noise dad came out saw what happend and noticed his hatch on his car was opened. He ran and closed the hatch then retreated to the tent. Then wam again! another tree hit the rear of his car enough to flatten the tires.

My rig was parked such that I watched this from under the awning.

After the storm passed I walked over to talk with the dad and his two sons. As I walked up I made the comment "boy you guys must be right with the Lord". 
The dad replied I hope so I'm a Pastor.


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

Sam,

This site is about sharing all sorts of experiences. And you shared quite a story. Thanks for taking the time to do so! There have been storms locally that have hit a couple of camp grounds. One was Wakeda campground in Hampton Falls, NH. Several people were hurt, much in the same manner you spoke of.

Though many of us may not eperience storms that pose the treat of toppling trees, it certainly doesn't hurt to stop to think and pre-plan. Just in case.

Thanks again!

Eric


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## tomlholmes (Jul 3, 2007)

Thanks, a good lesson to be learned from that story. So glad everything turned out ok.

HEIDI


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