Allison and Rob planned a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, CO in November 2021. They made it to the airport on time, parked the car, and got on the shuttle. As they sat there, excited and ready for a relaxing vacation, Rob got a notification on his phone that it was “time to leave” to make their flight. Considering they were already at IAH, this seemed odd… until he realized they were at the wrong airport. The color drained from Rob’s face as he told the driver to stop and let them off immediately. Allison and Rob flung their bags back in the car and sped off towards Hobby airport, 30 miles away on the other side of Houston. Thanks to some questionable traffic maneuvers and a blissfully short security line, they made it just in time.

On their last day in the park, November 5th, Rob and Allison put on their parkas and microspikes to trek up a snowy mountain trail, which ended at the breathtakingly beautiful Emerald Lake. Rob pointed to a ridge across the lake and asked Allison if she thought there were any bighorn sheep up there. She immediately pulled out her binoculars and spent a few minutes looking at the ridge, but didn’t see any. When she turned back around, Rob was on one knee! 

Rob had not arranged photography for the proposal, but another hiker on the trail noticed him kneeling and started taking pictures! How lucky is that? The hiker approached as they were walking away to say congratulations and exchange numbers. Rob and Allison are forever grateful to have had a thoughtful stranger capture the moment for them. The hiker's photos are included below.

After sharing the news with family and friends, they wanted to celebrate their new engagement. However, Allison had caught a cold earlier in the trip and wasn’t feeling well enough to go out. In fact, she had almost skipped the hike that Rob had planned specifically to propose. So, instead of getting dressed up for a nice dinner and a champagne toast, they got take-out and ate it in the hotel bed, cheersing with hot tea and watching Bob’s Burgers. In sickness and in health, right?