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Published: March 15th 2010
Can you see my knee print?
This is a photo from the bridge next to our house looking down the Hoback at the spot where I propose...Liz blogging. Currently listening to Meiko. Mark with the captions.
It has been one busy week for the Icenogle and Joseph families. On Saturday, March 6th, Mark asked me to marry him and I said "well maybe- whats in it for me?"(Ok, really, I said Yes and started to walk away, but more about that later). He planned it well- my mom was in town, who also happened to be the ring mule, and his parents arrived the next day.
Mark did keep it relatively secret, but both our parents knew as well as my aunt and uncle. Mark tells me he had originally planned to pop the question at the end of the month during our time in Salt Lake City. When both sets of parents decided to visit, he moved the day up. It seems to me that he was still uncertain of the how and why as the weekend approached. He did do some "recon" under the veil of possible tourist spots to visit with his parents, but still remained undecided. Meanwhile, I remained completely unaware.
On "the day" Mark, my mom, my aunt, uncle and I were going on a snow mobile trip to
Snowmobiles!
Pictures of Liz and I were in high demand on the day of our engagement a beautiful natural hot spring near by. The ring is a family piece from my mother's side and so that morning he sneaked up to my aunt and uncles to get it from Vicki. I wondered why he was so excited to go take care of the dogs we were looking after, but I wast still asleep, so I didn't want to ruin it. We were scheduled to leave with the snowmobiles exactly at 10 and so later in the morning, Mark and I took the dogs for a quick walk. We were walking along the beautiful Hoback River that runs directly behind our house and were headed back to the ranch when "it" happened. The dogs were the only witnesses! I was ahead of Mark and the dogs ahead of me. Mark likes to say he was a smooth as crunchy peanut butter. He called to me "Hey Liz" in a very strange voice. I responded in kind with a very sassy "Yes?" which made him more nervous. Then he asked "Do you ever think about all of the cool things we've been able to do out here?" I was more skeptical at this point, and said "yeeaahh" with
Driving Miss Vicki
I managed not to injure my future mother-in-law on our way into Granite Hot Springs. Phew! my eyebrow raised. The next part is sort of a blurr, I saw a white box (which I recognized from my mom's dresser drawer), Mark got on his knee, he asked me and there was a ring. Next it was my turn to be awkward, and I said "yes" matter of factly, picked the ring from the box, put it on and turned around and started walking towards the dogs. I think I left Mark wondering if that really just happened.
I have to admit that I have been wondering if and when this day might come. While Mark and I have discussed it in general terms and I've never felt the rush to get engaged, I am guilty of
attempting to glean clues from his actions and reactions to things. I thought maybe it would happen at the end of the month, but it never occurred to me to suspect the weekend when both our parents would be here - DUH! So when Mark got down on one knee, I was very surprised. In retrospect I'm glad I didn't figure it out- what fun would that have been? I don't know how to fake cry or anything.
Granite Falls
Along the road to the hot springs we passed Granite Falls - I'm not sure this photo does the view justice So, after it was all settled, we had to get our rears in gear to get out the door for snowmobiling. Poor Mark had to basically pack for me, because I was just walking in circles. I did manage to make us celebratory mimosas, though. Priorities, priorities. My mom thought he was going to ask later in the day and when we went up to tell her she was surprised too! So thats it, that's how we got engaged.
Our snowmobiling trip turned out to be just an incredibly fantastic day. Our final destination was
Granite Hot Springs, which is a 7,000 foot concrete pool fed by a natural hot spring and runs a steamy 112 degrees in the winter. It is approximately a nine mile ride in on a groomed road. You can also get into the hot spring by Iditarod dog sled teams or by skiing. Between the five of us, we had four snow mobile seats, so my aunt, uncle and Mark took turns skiing parts of the way. At one point we stopped at a Granite Falls for a break and some pictures. The snow was starting to get soft and while trying to take a
Posing at Granite Falls
Newly engaged and just prior to receiving my new nickname path less traveled, I kept punching through the snow pack about two and a half feet deep. I eventually gave up trying to get up and called for my "fiance" to come help. Mark deadpanned to me "Why are you calling me Beyonce?" The concept of being my fiance had not registered with him yet so what he heard will live on in infamy - from here on out he is my Beyonce! We eventually arrived at the hot spring, and it was beautiful. We were blessed with clear, sunny skies and it was perfectly luxurious soaking in the pool.
That night, three of my second cousins came to visit from Pocatello so it was a fun filled night punctuated with lots of celebratory drinking and Mark jokingly being threatened by one of my cousins that they should go outside and rumble as a congratulatory gesture. Welcome to the family, Mark, welcome to the family.
We haven't begun to discuss the many details that follow the engagement - like the what, when, or where - but we do think it could be fitting to rent a bison and ride off into the sun on it after the ceremony.
Welcome to Jackson
Elk antlers are plentiful on the refuge in the spring - the boys scouts pick them up and sell them as part of a fundraiser. A few thousand went into building arches at all four corners of the town square as well. (If that joke doesn't make sense, read
this.)
So the next five or six days are sort of a blurr. Mark's parents arrived on Sunday afternoon after a very long day of travel from Boston. We had a fantastic dinner at
Rendezvous Bistro for the summit which went very well. On Monday we headed to Jackson with both sets of parents and went on a horse-pulled sleigh tour of the
National Elk Refuge. Of the 551 national wildlife refuges, this is the only one that allows visitors to take trips onto the refuge. And oh man did we get some great views! The guide was extremely knowledgeable and even played the part by sporting an over-the-top cowboy outfit - including buffalo chaps. During the winter, elk come down from the mountains to lower ground to be able to feed. When Jackson was settled, humans began to take over the elk's natural winter feeding grounds. Not only did this create pressure on the herds by limiting their winter feed area, the settlement created an increasingly dangerous situation for the elk and humans. The refuge we toured is one of many winter feeding grounds in the valley, including one located directly behind our house.
Moooooose!!!
My parents had only been in Jackson for 30 minutes when we passed two moose eating along the side of the road - very unusual. The elk travel upwards of 100 miles to winter in Jackson's Hole. There are approximately 4,500 to 5,500 elk on the refuge this year. In harsher winters there might be in excess of 7,500. There are also wolf packs which have only recently pushed into the area. One of these packs has smartly taken up on the refuge to cut into the herd. In the wild, the winter mortality could run anywhere from 35%!t(MISSING)o 50%!o(MISSING)f the herd, but the refuge provides such a safe places, that it is more like 1%!t(MISSING)o 3%! (MISSING)
After a great lunch at a long-time favorite spot of my mom and mine,
Sweetwater Restaurant, we headed over to the
National Museum of Wildlife Art. Besides being filled with paintings and sculptures from the founders of wildlife art, we got a real kick out of a spoof, short film they were showing called "Showdown in Elk Town." The film was produced by the BBC and sponsored by National Geographic and if you happen to scroll past it on your television guide take ten minutes to watch it.
Let's see, the next morning my mom had to leave on a jet plane to go back to Missouri. The
Summit at the Summit
Everyone was happy to get out and see the elk on the refuge! rest of the crew searched all of Jackson for wildlife and views of the Tetons from as many angles as possible. The only animal we failed to see through out the entire week were bison, which was ok with me (sorry Mom, Steve and Wendy!). On Wednesday we took in some more nature and visited a Trumpeter Swan mating pond. They really sound like trumpets! We also took a ride on Big Red which is the Tram at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. It takes approximately 100 riders at a time up 4,100 vertical feet to the highest part of the resort. This is the second year the new tram, a 31 million dollar investment by the resort, has been in operation. Replacing the old tram was quite a feat and the result of some amazing engineering (all done by the Swiss). For example, the installation of over a mile of continuous steel cable to haul the tram cars up the mountain. The views from the top were breathtaking, but we didn't stay long - the cold and wind literally took our breath away.
The other noteworthy outing we took was a hike in Grand Teton National Park with Mark's
Elk Refuge
Yeah, there are a few of them...in the early spring they shed their antlers and not necessarily both at the same time. This lopsided guy only had one left. parents. Though we originally planned to cross country ski, the rental store had put their skis on sale assuming no one would want to rent at this late, mushy point in the season. As it turned out we were lucky losers as the snow conditions were more suited for walking versus skiing. In total, we hiked for about three hours to two frozen, snow-covered lakes -
Taggart and Bradley Lakes - while paralleling the base of the Grand Teton. Again, we had beautiful weather which included comfortable temperatures and a cloudless sky. Though we didn't see any wildlife save for some curious birds, the view was outstanding. Steve thought we might be trying to kill him toward the end, but he arrived safely back at the car with a (potentially forced) smile on his face!
Friday came too soon and Mark's parents had to leave the beautiful valley as well. We hope everyone enjoyed their visit!
While the week was a great celebration, there was something missing - my dad. Oh how I wish that he could been part of it. He would have loved every minute of the celebration, taking Mark's parents around to all of his favorite places, basking
Cowboy Guide
This is our very knowledgeable cowboy guide from our sleigh ride in the elk refuge in the beauty of the mountains, everything. I'm not sure Mark realizes that he asked me to marry him at one of my dad's favorite places to fish and it's easy to imagine that he stood right where the proposal took place. It was very special to me that even though he couldn't be here with us there were times throughout the week where it felt like he was and that we were spending time at some of his favorite places in the world.
So what is next for us? We plan on leaving this Wednesday - yes, in two days - to make our way back to Missouri. The last week and a half has been so insanely busy, though, that we haven't even had time to plan when and where we will be traveling to get home. Here is what we know so far: We will be in Salt Lake City on March 31st for a concert we bought tickets for in December and we need to be in Kansas City by April 6th. I have a meeting on the 7th and Mark is taking the GMAT on the 8th. Send Mark lots of smart, positive thoughts.
Be Nice!
Aside from an occasional glance the elk did not seem fazed by our visit. Tentatively, we will be going to Portland, San Fransisco, Fremont, Monterrey, Los Angeles, Orange County, Arizona (Chandler), the Grand Canyon, Mount Zion National Park, Salt Lake, Arches National Park, the I-70 corridor of the Colorado Rockies, Denver and then Kansas City. I'm already exhausted thinking about it but also very excited. Pray for us that we don't kill each other as we take Black Betty, the Civic, through the United States. Speaking of which, we will start packing the car tomorrow and it will almost certainly require an amazing feat in engineering. We will be sure to take pictures for our faithful readers - imagine the U-Haul we packed back in October to prepare for our departure from DC and then replace it with a two-door coupe.
We've had a fantastic time in Jackson, but still remain surprised that we were unable to find full-time employment. In the last year, we've learned that despite our best efforts, there are some things that simply can't be planned. We hope that trekking back to Missouri brings better opportunities and a place that we can settle down. In my view, life is too short not to experience it so that is
Monster Elk
One of the bigger guys out on the refuge. what I've been trying to do. And I hope that I'm doing it justice. I feel so incredibly fortunate that through this journey I've had so many people to support me (and Mark). While I really look forward to my next career-stop, I can't help but think that this time has given me a special perspective on life, love and learning which will help guide me in all that I do next. Life is here and then it isn't; I want to make the most of it while I can.
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Jenna
non-member comment
My favorite blog post to date!! This has been a LONG time coming and I am so excited for you two! I can't think of two better deserving people for this happiness! Looking forward to the months of celebration to come and your blog entires a long the way.