Bang! I'm Married.

39 years of the bachelor life and I’m proud to say that my friends have been right all along; I truly am the luckiest man in the whole world. I married Nanci.

The flight into Eagle Colorado was beautiful, watching the terrain pass below the jet confirmed out choice of performing the ceremony high in the Rocky Mountains. Sure, my family would rather swallow molten lava than bless the event, but who give a fuck? Not me, if they won’t back my decision then to hell with them and their shitty attitudes. Nanci looks amazingly happy.

10:45 am, and the plane touches down at the Eagle County Airport. I love the rustic architecture and cabin like exterior of the airport. Man, how do the pilots manage to navigate the mountains? Nanci and I quickly secured the rental car, a small economy number that barely holds the snowboard bag, and we head off to the county courthouse where we will pick up our license for the upcoming ceremony.

Inside the old courthouse the clerk is pleased to take our information and fill out the short paperwork. Fifteen dollars and 30 minutes later Nanci and I head down the winding highway on our way towards Vail Colorado. The plane is simple, find a good spot in the mountains, climb up, and marry ourselves in front of God and whatever hawk might choose to witness.

We stopped at a rest area overlooking a shallow river and wide stretch of mountains. It wasn’t the spot for the ceremony, but a worthy visit for some photos and a chance to catch our breath. The ground is dry and rocky, but the mountains are covered in the white powder that I plan on conquering first thing in the morning. After several silly posses we are off on the final leg of our journey.

We pull off the highway into the town of Vail Colorado. We had made the 45 minute trip without choosing the location. No matter, we still had a couple of hours to kill before check in time. I suggest we drive through the town and maybe a local spot will present itself.

The town of Vail is unbelievably beautiful. The real estate industry is booming and many luxury homes have been built along the hillsides and river. We drive long ways through the town, spotting several possible locations above the homes in the hills. An amazing frozen waterfall stretches for hundreds of yards up the side of the mountain and while it looks like a romantic location the treacherous climb was unanimously unappealing.

At the far end of town the road comes to an abrupt end. The signs show a hiking path covered in several feet of hard packed snow that winds alongside the river and up into the mountains. I suggest that this might be the way to go. Nanci changes into her chosen white sweater. She looks amazing! I grab the video camera and double check the rings in my pocket as we head up the path.

The snow is deep but the path packed hard from heavy use. Ski tracks are everywhere along with some large dog tracks. The trail leads down alongside the river and under the huge bridge that carries the highway towards Denver. I suggest that a nice spot along the river would be nice and we leave the trail and make our way into the ravine. Bad move.

The snow is deep and unpacked. Several times I found myself up to my waist in powder. This doesn’t seem to be a good idea and we cut back up the river in an effort to regain the trail about 200 yards upstream. The river runs along side us and the view is incredible. Water winds through rocks of all sizes, babbling along it’s way through snow covered arches. The journey back to the path takes us longer than we would have liked and snow is now soaking into my leather hiking shoes. The price I paid for them earlier in the year now seems a good buy.

We catch the trail up stream and once our feet hit the packed powder on the wide trail we laugh about our bad decision to leave the trail for the river. The highway is no longer visible, nor the town or any homes. We wind our way up the steep path, short on breath but excited. We know that we are close. Two boys on cross country skis are hauling ass down the path on their way to Vail. They ask us how much further as they race along. It’s peaceful. The sky is rich and blue with only a few white clouds floating far above us. We hike about one half mile further up to the top of the hill that overlooks the whole ravine. I suggest to nanci that this is the place. She agrees.

We married ourselves high atop the Rocky Mountains, deep in the blue sky, witnessed by the wind. I’ll never forget how beautiful Nanci looked as she told me her vows. I am a lucky man, the luckiest man in the world.