Ross and Karen first met on a dog sledding trip of all places!  Karen was a zookeeper at the time, practically married to her job with not a lot of free time.  Ross was (and still is) a hardworking mechanical engineer working for a small company.  Both of them had been members of Wilderness Adventurers for nearly a year but had not yet met.  Ross joined about 3 yrs before to learn how to canoe white water and add it to his repertoire of outdoorsy talents.  Karen had joined to find some new people to camp with as all her old camping buddies had just recently settled down and got married.  Somehow, Karen and Ross ended up being partners on the same sled and within about 15 minutes, were functioning as a well oiled machine, barely needing to talk through the steps required to right the upset sled and untangle dogs etc. Karen was thinking, "Wow!  I've finally found someone cool and single I can go camping with!"  Ross was thinking, "This girl actually has as much camping gear as I do!" 

Well, he asked her out, and she said yes, against her better judgment (she didn't want to mess up the possibility of a new camping buddy for the summer). 

By the 3rd date, Karen knew she had discovered the elusive Mr. Right! 

By the 3rd date, Ross had discovered that Karen actually had more camping gear than he did... and couldn't wait till the fourth date!

The big changes came fast.  By fall 2004, there was talk of moving in together.  October saw a 9 day trip to the Grand Canyon (a true test of a relationship) and a job change for Karen.  And by November they were planning on buying a home together!  Through all the transitions over the last 2 years, their connection to one another continues to grow stronger every day. 

Karen and Ross got married on a fabulous July 15th, 2006, with friends and family.  Now they're on to their next big adventure!