Idaho's stream

A trip to North Idaho in the summer of 2009 proved to be unforgettable for Tori Kent.

The 9-year-old from Laramie, Wyo., penned an essay about time spent at the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River.

The vacation was a way to celebrate the return of her father, Ray Kent, an Army officer who had been on tour on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Her uncle, Rod Zion, lives in North Idaho.

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The best place in the world to me is a stream in Idaho.

The stream is crystal glass clear and vivid green. If I look down, I can see neon-colored fish darting past the jagged rocks.

If I relax my muscles, I can feel a light, calming, gentle breeze. I can also feel water at my ankles, and fish in my palms.

I briskly run past the trees, their prickly branches and smooth leaves tickling my arms.

There's a musky, sweet scent hanging in the air, mixed with open and pine tree. Leaves rustle as I sprint past them. The haunting sound of trickling water follows me.

I escape by wandering behind a rock that looks oddly like a turtle. It feels rough and looks as though it has lasted hundreds of millions of years. It is easily the most beautiful rock anyone could ever behold. Soon it was dark. The sky lights up as bright as a luau on a summer night in Hawaii.

I long to return to that simple stream someday.