It's no surprise that this has been a rough year for most people. But even in the midst of all the insane news stories, emergence and persistence of a worldwide pandemic, and toxic vitriol some people have turned into primary personality traits, sometimes beautiful things happened too. Melina and I were able to make a trip to Colorado (Aspen and Snowmass to be specific) to surprise our friend Lauren when Joe popped the question. Joe had let us in on the plan weeks in advance, so we had plenty of time to safely plan a trip to make some magic happen. The four of us have collectively been friends for near a decade. I've known Melina for over 10 years, and she introduced me to her best friend Lauren after they met in college. What a surprise it was when Lauren then introduced her boyfriend Joe 7 years ago, when it turns out he was my old childhood friend that I hadn't seen in years. So of course when we learned that Joe was going to propose, we knew we had to be there.

We ended up driving 40 hours over 3 days for this surprise, which ended up being worth every minute. Melina and I ended up getting an Airbnb in Snowmass, Colorado, which is about 15 minutes away from Aspen. We thought this would be a good option, as it would reduce our chances of being seen by Lauren, but was still close enough to not have to drive too far to get to Weller Lake trail where Joe had planned the big moment.

We had basically just enough time the day of to take in a walk down to the mall to find a breakfast spot and recharge before heading out for the hike.

Lauren and Joe had been going on weekend trips, so it wasn't too overtly suspicious when Joe took Lauren to Aspen from Fort Collins for the weekend. Ever since they moved to Colorado they have been taking advantage of all the beautiful hiking opportunities available as well, and at this time of year the aspen trees change color and make for amazing scenery.

Despite the brief nature of the trip, it was really refreshing to get out for just a little bit and enjoy ourselves. We did have a bit of a hard time with the hike however since we weren't yet acclimated to the altitude, but we did just barely manage to get up the trail to the lake before Lauren and Joe. But I mean, really, just barely. They actually almost walked up on us as I was talking to another couple at the top of the trail!

And just like that, it started happening!

After enough time had passed for Lauren to say yes, we popped out from behind the rock we were hiding behind (literally) and shouted SURPRISE! The trip was officially a success and we were able to capture some amazing pictures of the moment. Thankfully, Lauren had no idea we were coming, and was very impressed with her new fiance's ability to put this all together.

Of course Melina is set to be the Maid of Honor, and Joe asked me to be one of his groomsmen, which I am thrilled about. We were so excited to be able to be part of this special day, and of course celebrated with pizza afterwards. The wedding is set in 2022 after Lauren finishes vet school, so keep an eye out in the future for more updates!

Images in this post taken with a mix of cameras. I used my Canon 5D III, Fuji X100F, and Galaxy S20+