I wanted the proposal to be a surprise for Vanessa (she does love a good surprise). I knew I wanted to do it soon and I wanted a photographer to be there to capture the moment. I had covertly acquired a ring a few weeks before and waited until we naturally brought up going for a hike before plotting out the details. Eventually a day came in July 2024 when we decided to go for a hike on the Turkey Trot Trail (Vanessa’s idea) near Red Rocks. I let the photographer Kelsey know where we would be. The plan was for her to capture the moment unbeknownst to Vanessa.

The next morning was hazy as we drove out to the Turkey Trot Trail. Kelsey had already arrived a bit earlier than us and hiked up to the vaguely defined point (a mountain vista overlook with Red Rocks in the background) where she was to hide and then take photos when it was time for the proposal. As we began our trek Kelsey shared her location with me so I had a good idea of where to propose. As we went along Vanessa noticed that I kept checking my phone. To throw her off I told her I was texting with a DJ for work as we inched closer to the proposal spot. We decided to stop a little bit short of the location to eat sandwiches. I was so nervous! It felt so weird to hide a surprise this big from her! As we continued on I began to realize we had likely hiked passed the point I was supposed to propose… oh no!

We had to go back! I asked Vanessa to stop and began to say I was feeling tired and asked her if we could start heading back down the mountain. Vanessa was not having this! She was so confused why I wanted to go back (I think I used my asthma acting up as an excuse). I kept insisting she come with me as I began to walk back but she wanted to keep hiking. Finally, I told her that she just had to come with me. She was so stubborn! She finally relented and followed me back.

As we approached the proposal area I had her stop again so I could "rest." At this point she (annoyed) said, “Why don’t you just go down and I’ll keep hiking.” To which I responded, “I will go down… on one knee!” That’s when I asked her to marry me. She immediately started saying “no, no, no, no, no….” and became verklempt. A hiker passed us, deduced what was going on, and preemptively wished us congratulations before she could even give me an answer. After about a minute or so of Vanessa needing a moment I asked if she had an answer for me and she finally said yes!

Kelsey stayed hidden the whole time and it wasn’t until I called her that she then emerged from behind some boulders further off the main trail. She hadn’t captured the proposal moment but we both decided that was probably for the best. We went ahead and had her take photos of us together. We even reenacted the proposal but strangely Vanessa was way more cool about it now. One of the photos even shows a butterfly flying above our heads right between us.

However, the drama was not over yet….

As we made our way back down the trail in our post-engagement afterglow we suddenly heard a startling sound! We backed away slowly as we realized there was a rattlesnake in the middle of the trail. Soon other hikers who were heading up the trail became backed up too as we all waited for the rattlesnake to move on. This snake really wouldn’t budge! (It was just about as stubborn as Vanessa was earlier!) Eventually, after trying to scare it off by throwing some rocks (not advisable), we darted past it and made it off the trail alive and engaged.

Vanessa did some research later on and discovered that among different ancient cultures and traditions butterflies and rattlesnakes are both symbols of transformation, rebirth and new beginnings, which feels very fitting for this next phase of our lives!