a miracle at the Butteville riverboat landing

Butteville Landing
Sunday, Matt and I decided to go for a run at Champoeg Park because it was warm out and the trail is pretty shaded.  we parked at the Butteville Store and did our run.  Afterwards, we checked out the historic store and learned a little bit about the history of the area.  The nice volunteer told us we could go check out the remnants of the landing where larger steamboats would dock with their goods before there was an I-5.  Matt and I walked down the short narrow forrested trail that led to the area in the link above.  The cement structure goes out about 10 feet into the water.  The river was pretty busy with boats and jet-skis so waves would crash into the little wall.  I walked out on the wall and then came back and Matt decided to check it out.  He walked out and turned around.  as he was about to hop back onto solid ground, he felt his pocket where our car key had been and with shock he realized that it was empty.  It must have fallen out...but where?
I walked the path back to our car searching along the ground and praying that God would help us find this key.  It was just a key and we had dropped a few things at our car before we walked down the trail so it couldn't be far.  I made my way back down to the trail where Matt had been searching  around the wall, in the water and on the other pieces of the old landing that are now on the banks of the river.  he then told me that he had felt for the key right before going out onto the wall and so he knows that it had been in his pocket when he walked out to the edge.  At this point we were feeling certain that it must have fallen out of his pocket and into the water and sank.
There was what looked like some tree roots that had eroded and fallen on to a concrete chunk that was about 5 feet lower than the top of the wall we had been walking on.  I decided to hop down and check down there even though matt had already checked in that area.  thankfully the boats that had been riding by earlier weren't any longer because the waves had been crashing up onto this area where i was now standing. After checking around a little i turned to go back onto the bank of the river but decided to look at the rotted tree root one more time and I saw it!  The key was wedged between the wall matt had walked on and this rotting tree root.  It was only being held back from falling into the water by the black plastic part of the key.  If a wave crashed up and shook either the wall or tree root slightly it would have likely moved the centimeters necessary for the key to drop to the river.  After shouting to matt that I had found the key.  I had flashbacks of playing the game Operation as a child as I carefully stuck 2 fingers in between some roots to grasp the key well enough to slide it out.  Amazing that the key fell and landed there instead of just bouncing into the river.  Amazing that no boats were crashing by causing waves for it to drop.  Amazing that we found it.  What a memorable trip to Butteville.  I recommend the trip but keep you keys in a secure location.