Meteor Shower of Goodness

This week there were some great events that I participated in. I went on a hike with friends by the light of the full moon. I rode the lift at Sundance the next night under the almost full moon. Both events were incredibly beautiful. I also had some great late night conversations this week. I stayed up late to finish "Breaking Dawn." However all these adventures were not nearly as good as my Monday night activity.

Every year on August 11 there is an incredible meteor shower. There are more shooting stars on that night than any other night the whole year. So, naturally, I needed to go enjoy the view with some good friends.

The crowd I went with was an interesting one. There were a lot of people that ended up coming including my little brother and his friends. After it got late the groups started to drop off, one by one, until there was just me and four friends there. I think the group dynamic added to the experience many fold. There was quite a variety in the personalities and temperaments of the five of us. I think I spent the whole night laughing and chatting and enjoying good conversation. It was great to spend time with four of my best friends. It was truly great company to have.

The location added greatly to the whole experience. We went to my favorite meadow in Utah. It is on the Big Springs' Trail. We hiked up a little less than a mile to see that the whole meadow was basking in the light from the waxing gibbous. It was one of the most incredible sights that I have seen. We found a place in the center of the meadow to lay our blanket down and enjoy the stars. Because of the cold we all had to snuggle close together and share blankets. I feel that we all got very close on that occasion.

The sky. The sky was incredible. Right after we lay down we saw an brilliant shooting start that streaked across the horizon. It left a bright trail that left us starring even after it was burnt out. Several of us agree that this was our favorite shooting star of the night. This didn't mean we didn't see a good show, because we did. There were short bright ones, long dim ones, and everything in between. I have been asked several times how many I saw and I think the best estimate that I can come up with is about 75 in the five hours we were there. It was amazing how they didn't get old, not even after several hours of shooting stars.

We all huddled close until after four in the morning when everyone but me and Laura had fallen asleep. Then we decided it was finally time to go. We got up and hurried to our cars. As we drove home and I continued to stare at the sky I realized that we had just witnessed an amazing event that most people don't experience. We were in a beautiful mountain meadow far away from city lights. We saw meteor after meteor as it entered the atmosphere an put on a unique show. I am so grateful for all the beauty that I have seen this summer. I have had many adventures and they seem to keep getting better and better. I look forward to adding to my experiences every week of my life. It was a great week.