10)— We were both working as park rangers at Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park. As a backcountry ranger, I frequently stayed in the parks’ remote cabins. One evening I looked out the window and saw that Brian had run the nine miles up the trail just to see me. I was like, “who runs 9 miles uphill to find his wife in the middle of the mountains after his shift and then 9 miles back down again the next morning before his 7am shift?! My man, that’s who.”
9—Brian wanted to climb El Cap ever since he was a ten-years-old and found out what it was. Right after we were married we moved to Moab to work as rangers at Canyonlands. We climbed hard so that he would be ready in the spring. Cheering for him up on the Nose route on El Cap and fulfill a dream he had for fifteen years ranks way up there.
8— One night in Hawaii he cooked me the most amazing Fijian dinner. He lived on those islands for two years and I knew all the stories about the people, the ankle deep mud, the open seas, the coconuts and the grass mats. SO it wasn’t just a dinner, it was experiencing a place he loved and I wanted to know.
7— Our first date. We went climbing but he didn’t want it to end so he kept making up reasons to have it continue… climbing, then dinner, then the grocery store, helping me fix my bike… it was a conversation that started and then never ended.
6— We were living in the middle of nowhere. And by that, I mean the worst kind of quarantine you’ve ever seen. No people for 75 miles, no cell service, no gas station. Birds didn’t even chirp, I swear. We were living in a remote section of Canyonlands National Park and it was our anniversary. I wasn’t sure how we were going to celebrate it since there was no restaurant, no theater, no… nothing. But I love to dance. And even though he doesn’t, he put together a one-couple dance for just the two of us with all my favorites. We’ve had some killer anniversaries since then— our last one we climbed Castleton Tower together and our previous one we mountain biked all over Fruita. But somehow this one shines. Sounds too simple to make it to the top ten, but it was like a flood of water in a drought so it won’t be forgot.
5— There’s this one time when we were skinny dipping in the biggest, slickest mud puddle/lake you’ve ever seen in the middle of nowhere desert, USA. Brian decided it would be awesome to back flop off a rock into the squishy mud. Turns out, it was like falling on solid concrete. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life.
4— We were working as park rangers on the Chilkoot Trail in Alaska which is full of giant bears that will eat you (you can only judge me if you’ve hiked in Alaska by yourself). I was camping alone for a work patrol up the trail, but started to psych myself out. I knew if I stayed I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep. So I packed up and ran the six miles back to the trailhead. When I was almost back, two large bears were eating dandelions on either side of the trail. I had to walk right in between them to make it out. I held my breath, prayed my heart out and tenderly walked between them. I made it back to Brian’s cabin at almost midnight. He didn’t judge me for being too scared to sleep out there alone or for bailing on my work assignment. Instead, he made me pancakes and promised my secret was safe with him.
3— This is every memory I have of seeing a burnt out lightbulb and thinking, “I’ll have Brian change that tonight.” Thanks, babe. I’d be living in darkness without you. We never set out to make that distinction in the division of labor, but somehow it happened and I can’t (or won’t?) reverse it. ;)
2— Not all rescues end well and there was one that was particularly difficult for me. I arrived second on scene to a fall victim. For two hours we struggled to keep her alive in the remote backcountry until help arrived. But she died in my hands. All I could think was that I needed you. I hiked up the hill right as you arrived with the rest of the team. It didn’t matter that we were both in uniform or at work, you held me and let me cry. Then together we wheeled the body out for five miles until we reached her husband at the trailhead. It was one of the saddest scenes I’ve witnessed, but it taught me to not take you or our life together for granted.
1– The moment after I had our first child all I could think was, “thank goodness that’s over.” It was raw, difficult and absolutely overwhelming. We were looking at our little human without a clue. What now? How could we raise her? I looked at Brian and knew that we were moving forward whether we were ready or not. And to me, that’s kinda why we do this whole marriage-thing— because the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Together, we can do more, be more and create more.
