I’m not a morning person, especially on vacation.  Vacation to me is a time to relax and sit in the sun, perfecting my tan and sipping fruity, umbrella drinks.  For my fiancé’s family, vacation is a bit different.  Vacation is an adventurous and planned event, which is not a bad thing at all.  I’m a big fan of adventure, really….just not so much before the sun rises!  I can be a tad on the grumpy side.

And that’s just how the morning of July 2, 2008 started out in the Black Hills National Forest of South Dakota.   We rose early that morning to get a head start on a hike to Harney Peak, the highest mountain in South Dakota.  I love the outdoors, and I love hiking. Cody and I have hiked in the Shenandoah Mountains and in the Great Falls area of Virginia.  It’s a killer workout and fun to watch Cody pretend to read a topography map…FYI…he can’t.  But this morning, I was in a cranky, can I just stay in bed and you can tell me all about it mood.  I found out after the fact that Cody’s mom was afraid I would decide not to go at all, meaning I would ruin everything.  Luckily I’m too agreeable and hate to disappoint, so I did my best to shake off the crabby and begin the ascent up the mountain.  Once the blood started pumping, I was much more cheerful!

On the summit of Harney Peak sits an abandoned fire lookout tower at 7,244 feet.  On a clear day, you can apparently see forever.  After the three mile hike up, Cody and I reached the summit first, and were enveloped in nothing but fog and clouds. You couldn’t see anything! It was also about 30 degrees colder than at the bottom of the mountain…so around 40 degrees!  Cody’s mom and her fiancé were just behind us, reaching the top about 15 minutes after we did.  Before I could comprehend what was going on, Cody was down on one knee (only to be in extreme pain because the floor of the tower was an open grate), and I was instantly bawling my eyes out.  Like most other proposals I have heard about, the whole moment is a giant blur.  Time seems to stand still and move in slow motion, while at the same time, going so fast that you seldom remember what was said.  I remember thinking, here I am literally standing in the clouds, being asked to marry the man I love.  It was the greatest surprise of my life! One of the best parts was that Cody’s family could be there to share in and document the joyous occasion.  Not to mention that a bottle of champagne made it on the hike as well in a backpack for extra celebrating!