Caught in the Rain: Caris and Robert
You always hope for the best in weather when you have a marriage proposal in the Smokies.
And . . . sometimes you get it. After getting caught in the rain.
When Robert first contacted me he wanted to hike up to Charlie’s Bunion for his proposal to the lovely Caris. I was excited - that spot is one of my favorites and I don’t even mind the 8-mile roundtrip (have boots, will hike).
However, this winter has been a challenging one, a season that has been bringing some bad weather. And sure enough, the day before the proposal, the forecast called for a high wind advisory. And sure enough, the park rangers closed US 441, the road needed to get to the trailhead.
Oy!
Add to that some back-to-back fronts passing by, with the last one threatening to not only bring rain but drop temperatures. However, I saw a brief window of opportunity, a gap between them that would see sunshine and warm weather.
And so . . . we went to Mouse Creek Falls in the Big Creek section of the Smokies.
The water was roaring from the previous night’s downpour and I knew Nature would give these two a good show. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and I got into position . . . only to have, within seconds, a cloud block the sun and a roar of thunder was heard.
And then it started to rain. Hard.
Now, I managed to fashion some sort of shelter for my camera using a jacket and a rhododendron thicket, knowing that Caris and Robert were on the trail making their way to me - and getting drenched. But the temperature stayed warm so I knew a front was not blowing in early, it would be a typical Smokies thunderstorm - threatening, but brief. And sure enough, after about ten minutes, the rain stopped and the sun started streaming again.
And shortly after that, these waterlogged lovebirds arrived at Mouse Creek Falls.
And Caris was laughing.
Let me say this: if you find someone who can take the route of laughing at life’s little foibles instead of getting upset - marry them. Stick by them. Because that is the person who will walk by your side and fight dragons with you.
They met on the beaches of Florida, when Robert spotted Caris and wound up teaching her how to surf. Robert, who works in construction, has a quiet maturity about him while Caris is a high energy and vibrant soul, which fits her job of teaching high school physical education. A well matched couple, indeed.
Let’s see how how it all happened.
