Redwood Creek Romance Wins The Engagement Story Contest

Congratulations to Zach and Jaymie - winners of the Engagement Story Contest! 

Here is their story: 

A few years ago, Zach and I read The Wild Trees, a book by Richard Preston. It is an incredible book that we both read in only a few days. The book is about the Redwood trees. Preston brought the magic of the Redwoods alive through his story. Both of us had seen some Redwoods closer to central California, but had not been to the biggest ones in northern California.

After a friend's wedding in Seattle, we planned to take a road trip to California and see all the trees that Preston wrote about. I sort of had a feeling that we would get engaged soon (having been together almost eight years). However, I thought that somehow he would want our dog, Telah, to be involved, so I did not expect a proposal. We went to the wedding in Seattle, where Zach was a groomsmen. He experienced his first migraine ever at that wedding. We later attributed the migraine to his nervousness about his next move.

We loaded our backpacks with all our gear in our rented PT Cruiser at the Seattle Tacoma airport and headed to Humboldt County. Actually, we took along two friends, Scuba (also known as Heather) and Matt to Matt's sister's place in Portland. It was on our way to Portland that we realized the PT Cruiser was really loud.  Zach and I could barely hear one another talk on the highway. Then, we thought we could listen to some tunes when we realized we brought none. So, we talked loudly and held hands while driving. We have always loved taking road trips together.

After our pit stop in Portland, going thrift shopping and eating the best vegetarian food in the country, we finally headed south toward California, buzzing with the thrill of adventure! 

We stopped at the beach where the visitor's center employee told us we could stay. However, there were no other cars or people. It was not clear whether it was a legal place to camp. While on the beach, we walked around in the fog and collected interesting rocks. At one point, Zach was about fifteen feet away and said, "Jaym, come here, look at this rock." For a second, I thought he was making a joke and I would come over and he would have a ring out. That did not happen. It was just a cool rock.

When we arrived to Crescent City, it was about 8:30. We did not have reservations at a campground or motel. However, we passed a big stained glass studio on the highway into town.  Zach is a stained glass artist at Princeton Stained Glass, so we made a u-turn and pulled into the parking lot. We caught the owner who was about to leave, and he instead offered us a quick tour when he found out Zach did stained glass back in New Jersey. By the time we were walking out the door, the owner, Roger, had given us several places we could stay. We were excited about staying on the beach just over the border in Oregon. It was dark, though, and we were tired, and a motel did sound a little nicer. Roger offered us to stay in his new bed and breakfast down the road. He said we could pay him whatever we would have paid at the cheap motel in town. 

Rose of Sharon Bed and Breakfast was the nicest place we had ever stayed, and it was decorated with Roger's private collection of priceless European stained glass windows! Zach was in Heaven. After we put our stuff down, we went to town and got Mexican food take-out. We ate in our room sitting on the cleanest floor at the shiniest coffee table ever. I thought he might propose then too. Instead, I had a couple of beers and feel asleep in a king-sized bed with about ten pillows around me.

The next day we went to the visitor's center again. This time, we went for a permit to go backpacking in Redwood Creek. They only give out a limited number of permits daily so as to protect the wilderness there. When they give you the permit, they also give you the code to the padlock so you can open the gate to the road that then leads you to the trailhead.

We got to the trailhead and made sure our packs were ready to go. We hiked all afternoon that first day, and at about six o'clock we decided to look for a place to camp. We were walking along the creek, when we both saw the sun shining down on this little island across the creek. Zach convinced me to walk across the creek for the most perfect spot to camp. I was giving him a hard time, and complaining about how we did not have the right gear to cross the water.  I was all on my high horse. Just when we crossed the water, we realized that actually, the sun was shining on a spot that would force us to cross several more times. I continued to complain until we arrived at this special spot after crossing the same creek six more times. By the time we got there, the sun had just about set, but we knew we were way out in the wilderness, totally alone under the moon and stars, and so at peace together.

Zach got a fire started while I set up the tent. I cooked some soup and macaroni and cheese. We drank warm wine from our packs and told stories to one another while falling asleep.

The next morning, Zach got out of the tent first (which is rare). When I got up, he was standing in the bright warm sunlight in front of the creek.  I walked over and we hugged good morning to one another. I said, "I'm going to get the food bag" (which we hung so the bears couldn't get it).

He asked, "Wait a minute, I have to tell you something." While still hugging me, he said, "Look." He was holding the ring in his hand. He paused. Then, he said, "I want to marry you and I want you to marry me too." Even though he forgot to ask me a question, I said yes anyway. We hugged and cried alone together among those magical trees and the beautiful water.

We climbed up the fallen trees and ran around and took pictures. We even went skinny-dipping in the amazing translucent water. We felt like the only two people on Earth, like this beautiful world was all our own! After our swim, we warmed up by the fire and then packed up our camp to hike on to our next adventure.  We took a few last photos before we left our secret little spot deep in the forest, a place we'll never forget.

Zach knew I did not want to wear a diamond that was from a place of violence. He gave me his grandmother's engagement ring. MomMom and I got to know one another well before she passed away. Before she died, she told Zach that I was the one. It's the most perfect ring (and it is a diamond).

When we got home to New Jersey, we planned a little celebration dinner with our families and to our great surprise we discovered a bottle of wine called Redwood Creek. It may not be the best wine out there, but we love finding a bottle once in a while.  After all, on the label is a drawing of the actual spot Zach and I crossed six times on our way out into our forest, where our lives were changed forever.