The Nielsen Ranch is located in Yampa, Colorado, about 30 minutes south of Steamboat. It is a working cattle ranch, so please stay aware of your surroundings and wear the proper attire. Map to: 15990 CO-131 Yampa, CO 80483

On March 11, 2020, Bethany flew to Chicago to celebrate St. Patty’s day with her cousin, but a global pandemic had other plans. After every plan and party has been cancelled, and the “don’t come back into the office” e-mail had been sent, Bethany decided to stay with her family in Chicago for another week, just until the virus died down. That week turned into 4 months! During that time, Bethany’s cousin, Brooke, was searching for ways to get Bethany to stay in Chicago permanently, so Brooke created a Hinge profile for Bethany, listing her city as Arlington Heights, a suburb of Chicago. On the other side of the country (New Jersey, to be specific) Ryan was preparing himself for a move back to Chicago for work. Wanting to get ahead of the dating game, he also set up his Hinge profile. City: Chicago, IL. Ryan and Bethany are both Colorado natives and immediately recognized “home” in each others profile pictures. They connected over missing the mountains, and, after clearing up that neither one of them *actually* lived in Chicago, they continued to get to know each other more through phone calls and FaceTimes. July comes around and Bethany decides it’s time for her to head back to Denver, but still continues to talk to Ryan (what else is there to do during a pandemic?!). She gets a call from Ryan a few weeks later: “My lease in Jersey is up and since they don’t know when my move to Chicago will actually happen, the company has agreed to let me work from Denver so that I can be with my family until things settle down. Wanna go on a date next week?” OBVIOUSLY! The two met for a hike at Green Mountain on August 7, 2020. It was 97 degrees with no shade to be found. They both survived it, and grabbed a bucket of KFC for a romantic sunset picnic in the park. They laid in the grass and talked for hours about childhood memories and things they love about Colorado. This was the first of many hikes and picnics. Over the next two years they continued to go on hikes, have picnics in various parks, travel the country, and renovate houses. DIY became their favorite thing to do together. They helped friends and family with all types of projects, and made some updates to their respective homes as well. With every project, Bethany thought “Dang, we really make a good team!”.

On October 29th, 2022, after spending the morning working on building some garage storage with Bethany’s dad, Ryan suggested to meet his sister and her fiancé for a walk in Wash Park. As they walked through the park, they “ran into” friends and family who joined them on the path. After all, it was a beautiful day for a walk in the park! With friends and family around, Ryan pops the question, and, of course, I say yes! We are so excited to begin our next adventure together, and tackle life side-by-side. The first adventure is, of course, moving to Chicago where this whole thing started!