In all the excitedness of making it home from our camping trip without being eaten by bears, I forgot to tell about the cool dudes paragliding off of Squak Peak.
D and I drove out to the Peak to find cell phone coverage. We decided to get out and walk around for a bit. It is so beautiful in the Uintahs. SP and its neighbor, Hope Campground are definitely at the top of the list. I love being so far and yet so close to Provo.
We were enjoying the scenery and fresh air when suddenly, we stumbled on this!
Three guys preparing to jump off a cliff. They were loaded with high tech gear and equipment including a device strapped to their legs which beeped when the wind went a certain direction. We watched as they prepped and soon, a small gathering of spectators had gathered.
D and I waited patiently, sitting on a large rock, as the men checked and double checked and checked again to ensure all was in order for their impending flight. Finally, one man began to jog down the rocky hill. His parachute caught a gust of wind and as his legs cycled down the slope, the ground below seemed to slowly fade away.
The other dare devils took off shortly after and we watched as they dropped into the valley, ran into a strong breeze, and floated off into the West.
The first flier found what D explained to be a thermal, or an area of hot air. In an instant, he began slowly spinning in a wide circle. Following what I can only think to describe as a giant invisible rotini, the man sailed up and into the sun. He flew so high it was difficult to find him if your eye wandered even just a bit. D and I craned our necks to watch and squinted and looked into the sun until our eyes watered and we could see the blackish pink ball on an imprint the sun left on our eyelids when we closed our eyes.
Eventually, our necks ached and our eyes burned and we remembered that people would be arriving at the camp site soon and they would need us to wave at them when they drove by. So we left without watching the brave men land. To this day, I imagine the flying man floating around with his parachute waving to the sun.
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