Meeting My Future Hiking Partner
I was a freshman and Bill was a sophomore at Virginia Tech. My best friend Duane promised to help me study for a chemistry exam and told me to stop by his dorm room after dinner to pick him up on my way to the library. It was December and there was snow on the ground, so I made a snowball and threw it at his window to get his attention – this was long before mobile phones. Duane came out to meet me and suggested that I come up to his room to meet his new roommate before we left for the library. I did, it was Bill, and it was love at first sight. We were both quite shy so it was over a year before we went out on our first date.
Bill outside the infamous “snowballed” window
After finally getting together, we dated through college, and got married two years after we graduated. Bill was starting grad school out west the month after we got married, so we packed up our stuff and moved to Utah. Immediately after our wedding we went to the beach for the first part of our honeymoon, but once we got to Utah we toured southern Utah, found a place to live, and then headed to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Yellowstone for part two of our honeymoon.
Honeymoon, Part 2
After finding an apartment, having our stuff delivered, and getting settled; we headed north to Wyoming to hike the Tetons and visit Yellowstone in early September. This was our first peek of the Grand Tetons as we drove into Jackson…
We took a 7.5 mile hike up from Jenny Lake to Lake Solitude, and along the way we passed a moose…
We enjoyed the breathtaking views of the Tetons and Lake Solitude…
While at Lake Solitude we relaxed and ate lunch…
Bill checked out the Tetons with his binoculars… Or maybe he was looking for grizzly bears!
Hiking back down was a lot quicker than the climb up. Here I’m snacking on trail mix at a a spot with a good view of Jenny Lake. Notice that my t-shirt says “America’s Love Run” on it – a shirt from a recent race…
Questions:
- • If you’re married, how long have you been married?
- • Where did you spend your honeymoon?
- • Have you ever been to Jackson Hole, Wyoming?
Happy Anniversary!!!!! Even though I’ve heard your Love Story before, I loved reading it again!! Congrats on 32 years, that is phenomenal!!!!!!
Thanks, Julie!
Sorry if this is a duplicate…
Happy Anniversary! Honeymoon hiking is the best! And YAY for Hokie LOVE & August weddings. My Hokie Husband and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary tomorrow. Here’s to many, many more years!!
Thank you, and happy Hokie anniversary to you and your husband a day early!
Your last line brought tears to my eyes. AW! Happy Anniversary to a great couple of kids!
Awww, thanks! 🙂
Happy anniversary!
Thanks!
What a sweet post! Happy Anniversary to you and Bill. May you spend the next 32 years and more together! 🙂
Glenn and I have been married for 16 years 🙂
We went to Nashville, TN for our honeymoon!
Thanks, Stephanie!
Happy Anniversary!
Thanks!
Happy Anniversary!!! What a wonderful story!
Loved revisiting Arches through your photos =).
I’ve been to Jackson/Tetons/Yellowstone a few times and it always blows my mind with how beautiful it is!! I’ve only ever been “passing through,” so I really want to get back sometime to do some more hiking.
I can honestly say in all my years of hiking and backpacking, I have never come across a rattlesnake, and hope that trend continues!
Thank you!
During the two years that we lived in Utah, Jackson was an easy day trip so we returned many times for additional hiking adventures. 🙂
Happy Anniversary Deb! I love your story! I’ve been married 5.5yrs and my hubby deployed right after we married so our honeymoon was postponed for his RnR and we spent a week in playa del Carmen snorkeling and sight seeing.
Thank you, and thank you to your hubby for serving our country! Sounds like you had a nice delayed honeymoon!
Happy anniversary!! So fun being married to someone with so many of the same interests! I can’t wait for our 32nd! We got married when we were 6 too!
Yes, so true!
What a lovely story and what beautiful pictures. Happy anniversary and congratulations!
We will be married seven years in November. For our honeymoon we spent two weeks exploring Maui, Napa Valley and San Francisco. I have never been to Jackson Hole. It looks gorgeous.
Your honeymoon sounds wonderful! 🙂 I’ve been to all three of those places, and loved them all!
Happy anniversary!! 32 years is so awesome 🙂 Love your love story!
Thanks! 🙂
Aw, I just found your blog and I LOVE this post. Happy, happy anniversary. I hope to find a love like this one day 🙂
Thank you, and I hope you find the perfect guy like I did! 🙂
32 years is so wonderful!!! Congrats!! I loved these old school photos..how special! AH the tetons are GORGEOUS, my heart is just melting looking at all those mountains! How fun that you have these images to look back on, and how fun that you’re STILL active to this day!!
Sarah, when Bill and were on that hike we ran out of film (HaHa, remember film?) and bought some from an elderly couple that we met several miles up the trail. At the time, we promised each other to still be hiking and running when we were that old. We’re not that old yet, but so far we’re keeping true to our promise! 🙂
CONGRATULATIONS on your 32nd wedding anniversary 🙂 You two are so cute. Is it weird that I thought you looked a little like Bette Midler in the first picture?
Thanks, Cori! When I was younger my face was a little fuller, and I occasionally had people tell me that I looked like her; so no,it’s not weird at all.
I’m a little late, but happy anniversary!! Your honeymoon hiking looks amazing. I hope to go to Yellowstone someday and see the Grand Tetons and Old Faithful (and all the other geyers and hot springs there) for myself! I love all of your pictures and especially your wedding picture! VT is a great place to find a man, huh? 😉
Barry and I have been married for a little over 3 years now and we honeymooned in Pigeon Forge, TN.
Thanks, and yes, VT is a great place to find a man (with a first name that starts with a “B!” We want to go back again someday. When we lived in Utah it was an easy day trip up and back, so we went several times!
I loved this post! Thanks so much for sharing it. I think it’s awesome that you and your husband spent your honeymoon hiking. Like a lot of people, we did an island vacation when we got married in 2006, but we did take the ferry to the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park on St. John for a 5-mile hike during our week-long stay. 🙂
I just hiked 60 miles in the Tetons and Yellowstone in my little sister’s honor; I published a post about it on my blog today: http://writethehappyending.com/2013/09/15/a-jackson-hole-half-marathon-and-60-miles-at-high-altitude-for-taylor/. We will definitely have to make the hike all the way to Lake Solitude when we return to the Tetons. We could have gone all the way if not for my ankle; we didn’t want to push it since I sprained it the day before we headed out west. We didn’t take the Jenny Lake boat, so the hike to and from Solitude would have been 19.6 miles. Another incredible hike out there is the Lupine Meadows trail up to Amphitheater Lake. Once you get to the lake, you can hike up a ridge above the lake (at 10,000+ feet) for sweeping views of the valley. We saw a few people at the lake, but not many. We also love hikes in Zion (West Rim and the Narrows) and Bryce Canyon (Fairyland) National Parks in Utah.
We didn’t take the Jenny Lake boat either. We probably couldn’t afford whatever it cost back then, since we were poor newlyweds starting grad school!
I hear that! 🙂 You must have started at a different trailhead. In any case, your post convinced me to find my way there the next time I’m in Wyoming!
[…] 2. Three weeks after Bill and I were married, we honeymooned at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We spent our time hiking the Tetons and playing tourists in Yellowstone. We were wowed by the vastness of the mountains, and the size of the bull moose that wouldn’t move out of our way on our hike up to Lake Solitude. […]
[…] north to Wyoming for a few days to revisit both Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons where we spent our honeymoon so many years ago. We’ll time it so I can run the Grand Teton Half Marathon before we head […]
[…] north of Logan. We were reunited with the beauty of the majestic mountains and reminisced about hiking to Lake Solitude while on our honeymoon and making day-trips while living just three-hours south. The most important thing to do, though, […]