Middle of the Night Meteors

Everybody say, "Middle of the night meteors."

Every year toward the beginning/middle of August it is a good time to see meteor showers. We looked up which days and times were best this year and went on a night near those times that fit into our schedule. We went down to Payson and drove up the canyon just a little ways to a big parking area where we could get out to watch the stars. 

Jr. and Lucky both fell asleep on the way. Jet surprisingly stayed awake and Jr. Jr. stayed awake to watch the lightning as we were driving up. It was far enough away and we didn't hear any thunder and there was no rain and only a few clouds.

The first thing we noticed when we stepped out of the van was the sound of crickets. They were so loud. I couldn't believe how loud they were. I guess when you're out in nature completely surrounded by them as compared to however many you get outside your house in the city... We could also hear katydids clicking in the trees which Jr. Jr. commented sounded like marbles clacking together. Good description but that's Jr. Jr. for you.

Jeremy, Jr. Jr., and I started looking at the sky and it wasn't long before we started seeing shooting stars. It was great. Jet was so patient and we finally got him out. He was a little less patient after that. He didn't want to look at stars. He wanted to get down and run around which is not a good idea in the dark. So he had some troubles. 

We eventually got Jr. and Lucky up and they both saw some shooting stars. There were plenty to see. As does happen sometimes when people are tired (I mentioned this was the middle of the night, right? Two o'clock in the morning), some of the kids only lasted so long. Jr. Jr. had a blast. He loves nature. Jeremy and I divided our time between watching the sky and dealing with things.

I'm so glad we went out. One more family adventure (except without Nichole- she was at girl's camp and got home later that day.)

By the time we got home, I was the only one still awake. Jeremy and the boys planned ahead so the boys had sleeping bags on the floor of the living room waiting for them.

I keep thinking Jet hasn't been able to have certain experiences that the other kids have had (though he's too young to remember experiences right now). He's never been to Arches (which used to be an annual trip). He didn't go with us to Yellowstone or Zion National Park or Dinosaur National Monument when Jr. had his National Parks Pass and we didn't get to do any of those things with Jr. Jr.'s pass. There's enough of a gap in age between Lucky and Jet that we did so many things with Lucky as a baby on up until Jet was born. There were a lot of years in there to have family adventures when there wasn't a global pandemic. Then I realized Jet's still a baby and already he's experienced things the others have experienced such as going to Thanksgiving Point (a few times now), Antelope Island, Cascade Springs, doing Summer reading programs, playing and hiking at Big Springs. He's also gone on some new adventures with the family that we never experienced before he was born (even if at this point he won't remember them)- going to see fireflies, driving up Mirror Lake Scenic Byway, going to look at a comet. And we will have more adventures and eventually he'll get some of those other experiences (I still want to go back to Yellowstone someday. He hasn't visited Oregon or Washington yet and seen the ocean). So even with being cautious about traveling and being around other people, Jet and the rest of the family are not lacking for experiences. And c'mon, none of the rest of the kids has traveled the full length of the Provo River Parkway, but Jet has.

There are different seasons in our lives when there are different opportunities available to us. It's okay if life isn't always the same. We can enjoy what opportunities we do have in each season that we are in and be grateful for those experiences whatever they may be.