Big News
It was the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, Pat and I both had to work, but he convinced me to take the afternoon off to go mountain biking. It didn’t take much convincing. He was asking me to do one of my favorite things, with my favorite person, at my favorite place. So we loaded up our bikes and headed to the Government Peak trails in Hatcher Pass (aka my happy place).
Pat and I at the top of the our favorite single track loop in Hatcher Pass
Strava tells me that we road just over and hour and covered 7.08 miles, but I honestly lost track of space and time while riding. I am pretty sure we did two loops that were labeled “most difficult”, crossed at least two small streams, and attempted numerous rock gardens. When we got back to the car, we were sufficiently sweaty and covered in a fine layer of dirt.
After loading up our bikes, Pat suggested that we drive up toward the Independence Mine to fly his drone around and get some footage for our summer video project. I thought it was a great idea. I unsuspecting agreed, jumped in the car, and we headed up the pass.
We came to a scenic pull off on the way up the pass and decide to make a quick stop and deploy the drone. The views were spectacular. The landscape was still waking up from the long Alaskan winter, and fresh green signs of spring were starting make their presence known.
Pat was flying the drone around, capturing what I though were sweeping landscape videos and epic shots of Matanuska Glacier that was visible off in the distance. I was blissfully unaware that he was actually getting set up for one of the biggest surprises in my life.
I was starting to get a little cold, so Pat set up for what he said was his final shot of the day. Before I cold fully comprehend what was happening, Pat was on one knee, staring up at me and holding an incredibly shiny ring. I clearly didn’t know what I was supposed to do with my hands, but I knew that, without a doubt, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Pat.
And just like that, we were engaged :)
