Rekindle Your Romance with Surprise

Last week my wife, Pam, told me she had a surprise for me on Thursday and Friday. I didn't think much about it and marked those two days off. Pam has a history of planning fun little ove ight trips for us, so I assumed that must be the case. We got up as usual Thursday morning and went to the gym. Interestingly, there were no bags packed, nothing was in the truck, and she told me just to wear jeans and a t-shirt. We drove to get fuel and stopped for a breakfast burrito. Then Pam told me to drive to the private airport near our home. When we got to the airport, Pam finally informed me she had planned a four day trip to go hiking in the Grand Tetons outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. As I mentioned last week, we put that trip on our dream board in January, but I had decided it wasn't going to happen this year because of timing. The trip reminded me how great it is to truly Live Every Minute with a wife who understands the importance of the element of surprise. She had managed to plan everything from rental cars and camping sites to river rafting, all without me ever having a clue. She was working to meet my human needs of adventure, variety and surprise. We have an amazing relationship because we are always thinking of ways to meet each other's needs and to make each other fall in love all over again. She has mastered that art! It was beautiful as we flew over the Rockies at 14,500 feet, admiring the world below. As we came into Jackson, we could see the Tetons in the distance. After a perfect landing, we jumped in our rental car and headed off to find our first stop, Jenny Lake, where we had planned to set-up camp for night one. Jenny Lake is a gorgeous natural lake made from melting snow. After a delicious dinner at the Cowboy Bar in Jackson, Wyoming, we headed back to our tent for the night. The 32F degree chill in the air was refreshing, as we snuggled in our Kilimanjaro sleeping bags. In the morning, I cranked up the camp stove and made Pam breakfast. The romantic breakfast by a campfire was the perfect kick start to a day of hiking into the Tetons! Throughout the day we saw beautiful points of nature, including Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point and Cascade Canyon. Upon entering Cascade Canyon, we spotted a huge bull moose, a cow, and a calf just 100 feet from us down in the river. After watching them for some time, we continued up the canyon, where we found a nice flat rock to use as our table for lunch. Shortly after lunch, we stopped to hear one of nature’s symphonies: a bull elk calling above us and coyotes howling below. Later that day, while climbing dow Signal Mountain, we saw a black bear briefly on the side of the road, and we attempted to follow him down a dirt trail. While we lost the bear, we came across a huge wolf, and a bit later, a bull elk standing on a ridge. He was amazingly majestic. On Saturday we slept in a little bit, and then I’m proud to say, Pam started her first campfire. We utilized our time on Saturday by visiting Yellowstone National Park. We had lunch at Old Faithful, watched her go off, and then took a hike through Geyser Park. For our last night, we decided to give up the tent camping and have a romantic evening in a hotel. When we hit the bed that night, we crashed hard, making up a little I think for the two nights spent sleeping on the ground. For some reason, the ground seems to have gotten harder than it was when I was in my 20s - must be global warming. On our last day, we made our way back to the airport via a scenic drive, hoping for one more sighting. We were not disappointed. We found two bears up in a tree eating berries. It was amazing, and we got some great photos. We took time to fly over Jenny Lake and right along the Tetons, before heading southeast towards home. The flight is beautiful over the Rockies, and it was a great way to wrap up a surprise weekend that captured the essence of living every minute for me. It reminded me that nature is inspiring. It brought me back home and reminded me of why I love the Rockies. And most importantly, the trip reminded me of how appreciative I am to have a wife as wonderful as Pam. The next time you think you need a get away vacation, plan your significant other a weekend getaway instead. Don’t tell them what you’re doing. Just tell them to schedule the time off – and surprise them with the time of their life. They will love you for it. Guess I’d better get planning!!! [Ed. Note: Do you have a useful tip on how to Live Every Minute? Share it with everone on the Living Every Minute Facebook Page.]