Leonids

Last night I got a group of people together to go see the Leonids meteor shower. I've never been too impressed with them in the past, but then again, I've always been a little too close to the city lights and surrounded by trees. This year, we decided to drive out to west desert to check out the stars. I've always been amazed by how clear the night sky is out there.

We loaded 3 camp chairs, 4 jackets, 3 guns, 2 walkie talkies, 2 head lamps, and 1 quilt, and 4 excited friends into "Jaws" around midnight. After driving out into the country we made our way into the desert. We pulled off from the "main" dirt road and headed up the smaller path to a clearing with a fire circle. It was beautiful.

The sky was so clear, and I could see the kind of stars I'm only used to seeing when I'm out on the ocean. We stepped out of the car, and a breeze came up similar to an ocean breeze, except it was freezing cold. I bundled up in about 4 layers, but after a while the cold just penetrated every fiber of my body.

The boys pulled their guns from the truck, and each shot, accompanied by a warm lash of fire from the end of the gun, rumbled like thunder through the quiet night. I sat and listened to them as they ran off into the distance. I saw a few stars streak across the night sky, but nothing too exciting. The best part of the night was sitting and looking at the beauty that I don't get to enjoy every night.

After about an hour we became too cold to continue, and decided to pile back into the car and head home. I fell asleep watching the country side slowly turn into the city. All in all, it was a great night.