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Megan & Sean THE AMAZING JOURNEY OF

Inside: OUR LOVE STORY NEVER STOP EXPLORING FRIENDS & FAMILY LOVE

OUR LOVE STORY It all started inconspicuously enough…

Two kids growing up in different, far-apart regions of the country: Megan in America’s dairy capital of Wisconsin, Sean in the big sky country of Montana.

The when, where, how and why of how they would eventually come to find each other and forge such a unique, lasting and loving friendship would have seemed implausible from the beginning. And yet, as good fortune would have it, their individual paths were ultimately set to converge, not once, not twice, but at three distinct times and places before they were to discover that they were truly meant for each other.

Missoula, Montana (September 2003): While Megan studied in the environmental studies program at the University of Montana, Sean was, quite literally, across the lawn studying all things trees at the school of forestry. “Hippies” and “rednecks”, as went the lowest common stereotype applied to those two groups, suggested a low chance of mutual interaction. And indeed that was true, as for the three semesters that Megan and Sean lived and studied in the same small town and same university, not once did they actually meet each other, in spite of common interests, common friends, and a common sense of wonder for the natural world. Megan graduated and moved west to Washington state to work for the

“NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST” - J. R. R. TOL K I E N

Department of Natural Resources, while Sean stayed behind to finish his studies, seemingly ending any chance of them ever finding each other.

Eventually Sean graduated, and was on the search for a decent job himself. He’d always heard western Washington was a super place for tree nerds, and so he set his sights westward, applying for a job with the same Department of Natural Resources in Olympia, Washington, where Megan was employed. As it turns out, Megan’s boss was looking to hire help for her one-woman crew. It came down to two finalists for the job, and she couldn’t decide on who to hire.

So she called in Megan to get her thoughts. One of the job finalists just happened to have graduated from the University of Montana, so naturally Megan was inclined to go with the fellow Griz. Hired!

Sean packed his meager belongings into his small, crappy but trusty car, and moved out to be among the towering trees and soaring volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest. All he knew is that he would be spending the next 6 months outside with one other person, who was to be his crew leader (basically, his day to day boss). Easy sell.

Upon meeting Megan for the first time, pleasantries were cordial and professional. Sean undoubtedly thought he lucked out in getting to work with a seemingly cool gal (she was pretty cute too!). But there was much work to be accomplished that summer. So off they went together for days on end, traversing the deep forests of the Olympic mountains, basking in the glory of the landscape, and cursing at the misery of the weather, thorny plants, steep mountainsides and bad drivers. They shared many incredible days, and many other days where they both wondered, “Why are we doing this again?” But they persevered, and after 6 months had passed, it was time to say goodbye. They had forged a solid bond, first as well-matched co-workers, and secondly as good friends who enjoyed afterwork barbeques, boat rides and beers. Being the adventurous travel-bug knowledge-seekers they both were, the itch had set in again for both. Once more, they were headed their own ways.

Soon after, Megan looped back around to Missoula to study the ways of the Canada lynx. This venture would take her into the wintry depths of some of the most far-flung mountains of Montana, trapping lynx and discovering their close-kept secrets. Meanwhile, Sean headed north (far north) to British Columbia and on into the tundra above the Arctic Circle, where he sought to discover how trees could survive at the extreme reaches of their Earthly range. All the while they stayed in touch, occasionally getting together in Missoula over a coffee or beer whenever Sean passed through. Eventually Sean moved again, this time to warm, sunny southern BC, whereupon Megan decided to pay him a visit along with a mutual friend. Legend has it this is where the first sparks really started to emerge—at least in the form of competitive crokinole, a game unknown to most Americans that would come to be one of Megan and Sean’s favorite shared pastimes.

After mulling a longer-term defection to Canada, Sean ultimately decided to return to the US, and took a summer job back in Washington, this time with the National Park Service. Megan was grinding through her graduate studies, with a job on the horizon with the Fish and Wildlife Service in Spokane.

Building off of their earlier time together in southern BC, Sean continued to visit Megan every time he came to Missoula. Finally, on one fateful day in early September 2012, Megan took Sean to visit where her favorite lynx lived near Seeley Lake, Montana.

Sean had his cedarstrip canoe (that he had just finished building), so they took it along and spent a day paddling around lynx country. Sean was duly impressed with Megan’s deft canoe handling skills, let alone their solid canoe chemistry, and thought “boy, this girl just might be the one.” And so it was, while star gazing on the roof of her apartment that very evening, they finally crossed into the void and declared their love for each other.

Six years after first meeting in Olympia, Sean and Megan moved to Spokane and commenced their newfound lives together in a new town, with unknown and yet-untold adventures ahead of them. Now, nearly seven years later, they continue to love each other stronger and more deeply each and every day. Their marriage is a testament to the enduring effects of a nascent friendship that was built deliberately over the course of 12 years. The time has now come to cement their bond and cast off into this life together as one team: Partners in Crime.

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THE WORLD IS BIG AND I WANT TO HAVE A GOOD LOOK AT IT BEFORE IT GETS DARK. - J O H N M UI R