Meteor Shower

So thanks to my friend Meisha, I had known about the Perseids Meteor shower and had it marked blatantly on my calendar at least a month or two prior to the actual event. August 12 crossing over into the wee hours of the morning of August 13. I wasn't going to forget it. I've always wanted to witness a meteor shower -- I wasn't going to miss this one.

But as time rolled around, it also came to my attention that the peak of the meteor shower was on Friday morning around 2:00 AM...the day before I had to move out of my lovely (and very missed) summer apartment.

There were star parties going on all across the valley. I could have gone with Meisha, I was told about one at the American West Heritage Center, the ward went on a boating activity and was just going to stay on the beach that night. Yet through the hecticness of the day, through cleaning and packing and life...Bill and I stuck close to home.

We went up to USU's amphitheater and crashed alongside the hill around midnight -- along with various other couples and groups dotting the grassy area. I tell you what, the amphitheater continues to grow deeper and deeper in meaning for me all the time, and this event furthered its magic. It was the perfect place, with the hill facing the Southwest, where most of the meteors would be visible.

Bill and I sat and talked and talked and talked while listening to the mumblings of other conversations behind us...some in different languages, some unitelligable prattle. It was so steep that I was constantly slipping down the hill and battling to keep myself up. But what I loved most was the fact that we were all there, gathered together, watching the night sky. Everytime a falling star shot across the sky, there was a shout of acclamation from the onlookers and fists punching through the air pointing out that last blaze of light that you might have missed.

About 12:30, a group came wandering over to the amphitheater and settled on the hill near some trees fairly close to us. Bongos. Guitar. Harmonica. A strange combination of instruments to throw together. They sounded terrible. Haha :) But despite their inability to keep a strong rhythym and blend their sounds, they made my whole night. This group of guys sang and jammed together without a care in the world. It changed the ambiance of the evening, and definitely solidified this already extraordinary event into my memory.

Bill and I left about 1:30 AM or so. We had seen some stellar meteors shoot across the sky! And by now, most everyone on the hillside had left from what I could tell. So we went back to Bill's apartment and had hot chocolate in August. Lip-smackin' good. Drinking the hot chocolate reminded me of how excited I am for the bitter winds and changing of the leaves that come along with the Fall. Oh how I love the seasons. Oh how I love nature.