We first met Erin and Ken last year when they were planning their elopement. They got married outside of Charlottesville, Virginia, and hiked up a steep trail to exchange vows at sunrise. Later that day, their friends and family gathered at a nearby farmhouse for a more “formal” ceremony and most importantly, pie. It’s hard to believe that was almost a year ago!

Often, after we work with a couple, life gets busy and we mostly keep up through Instagram. So it was a great surprise when Erin and Ken decided to meet us in Telluride, Colorado for an Adventure Session in the San Juan Mountains! Of course, we were thrilled to catch up with Erin and Ken, but we were giddy with excitement to meet their lab, Railay. As two currently dogless people, we always welcome our couples’ pups to their Adventure Sessions or Elopements.

We met Erin and Ken (and Railay) in the dirt lot of a local park before sunrise. Together, we started our off-road journey to an alpine lake that is tucked at the foot of a steep mountain. As we approached the end of the trail, we were confused, there was no lake. But as we started the steep, uphill hike, the lake came into view. We couldn’t believe how blue it was, even in the early morning light!

We spent the next hour or so hiking and exploring the lake. After 5 months in quarantine, Railay was so excited to be able to run around and even take a short swim in the water. She’s 9 years old, but you would’ve thought she was a puppy! Once we had all worked up an appetite, we laid out blankets and had a socially distant picnic. During the picnic, we mentioned that we planned to go stargazing later that night. This time of year is perfect for viewing the milky way because the optimal viewing time is shortly after 10 pm (instead of 3 am like earlier in the summer). So even though Erin and Ken were already running on very little sleep, they agreed to join us.

We met up at 10 pm at a lake along the Million Dollar Highway, just outside of Ouray. They set up their camping chairs, we laid out a blanket, and we sat on the edge of the lake together (socially distant, of course) and watched the sky. From where we were sitting, we could see Jupiter (the super bright spot in the photos), Saturn (the slightly brighter than usual spot to the left of Jupiter), and even a couple of shooting stars! It felt so rare and special to just sit and look up at the milky way. Soon, it was almost midnight and we all agreed it was time to call it a night. We packed up our things and said our goodbyes. We can’t wait until our paths cross again for our next adventure!

Photographs

Colorado Elopements

Destination Elopements