Is He Down On One Knee?!
We tackled a lot of challenging hikes during our trip, but one day, we woke up in Grand Teton National Park and thought
We did an easier 6 mile loop around Bradley and Taggart Lakes to keep our muscles loose, but generally declared it a rest day, which meant we had plenty of energy to go in search of a great sunset.
The Teton mountains dominate the landscape and are visible from pretty much every spot in the park…
Or so we thought.
Our campground was named Signal Mountain, and we decided to drive up it’s namesake, assuming that would give us an incredible uninterrupted view of the sunset behind the Tetons.
While the viewpoint from the top did showcase the valley below, the Tetons and the sunset were behind us, obscured by pine trees.
We started driving back down the mountain, resigning ourselves to going to one of the many roadside pull-offs that would be covered with other sunset seekers who had arrived before us and taken all the best spots. However, about half-way down, we noticed a sign for another lookout point.
As we walked away from the parking area, the paved path brought us to a historical placard…and a view of a bunch of trees. But beyond the paved path, a smaller gravel path continued on, leading to…more trees. BUT, if you made your way THROUGH the bushes (careful not to trample on the vegetation) and descended the hillside which felt like it was going to dissolve into a sudden drop-off at any moment, you eventually get to a break in the treeline where you can see this:
FINALLY. This. This was the sunset view we had been searching for. Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones, and our secluded sunset spot was soon swarmed with secondary spectators. Cue me pouting about having to share PUBLIC LANDS with other people:
Still, the marvel of God’s handiwork soon drove out my bad attitude, and I was actually feeling pretty content when I noticed some activity brewing to my left. Two of our neighbors were talking to each other, and maybe crying? But not sad crying, kind of laughing, too. And, wait. IS HE GETTING DOWN ON ONE KNEE?!?!
YES! She said yes! Meanwhile, I am thinking, “if that were me, would I want the random stranger to ignore what was happening or try to take a picture like an absolute stalker?”
Answer:
The couple came over shortly after to ask us to take a picture of them with their actual camera, which we did happily. I did also send them my creepy stalker photo which I’m sure they will treasure…
Congratulations Jay and Sarah!
Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in feeling inconvenienced by the other people at national parks and their uncanny ability to ALL need to go to the bathroom at the same time as you, but in a time where we are all feeling a little disconnected, it was nice to be reminded that there are some things, like the joy and excitement of a proposal, that make even a global pandemic feel just a little bit smaller.