November 18, 2009

There is a very small town nearby called Eloy, which is home to some local skydiving. We heard they are busy every weekend, so yesterday we drove over to watch. There are a few bleachers set up for spectators; this is a common spectator sport around here. While we were there several planeloads went up. The planes are large-bodied and have open backs to make it easier for jumpers to exit.



There was an almost steady stream of skydivers coming down. I was surprised at how fast their landings were. I thought the jumpers would slow down as they get close to the ground, but they continued at high speed until they were about 2 feet off the ground. Then they twisted the canopy a bit and just took a couple of running steps. A couple of guys mis-judged the distance and skidded to a stop on their backs. When a new jumper is diving tandem with an instructor, the student is supposed to raise their feet and let the instructor handle the landing.



The last group we saw was 3 planes that went up together, and they were gone longer than the others. Eventually the people in all 3 planes – about 40 people – jumped together. They stayed very close together for awhile, forming a red, white and blue patch in the sky. Then they broke apart and filled the sky with tiny parachute canopies.

Today we are back to our usual schedule – Randy is doing some maintenance work, and I am supposed to be looking for work, cleaning the RV and getting some miscellaneous tasks done. But the truth is that I am homesick today. I miss the people and places I know. To cheer me up, Randy suggested we meet up with some of our new friends and go out to dinner. We went to The Gym, a local sports bar, for appetizers, and then to Cold Stone Creamery for dessert.