Best Bachelor Party Ever!

I just returned from a 3 day epic journey to the Republic of Utania. The trip consisted of 2 full days of driving, and one full day of play. The main reason for the journey was to attend Santa's bachelor party at the Ogden Skydiving Center. Instead of strippers and crack, our party featured a Cessna Caravan, gobs of altitude, and a bunch of good friends. Part of the fun was that it was a surprise party.

Here are some pictures I stole from Jeffrey Farrell's Paragliding Blog . Check out his Blog to see more pictures. In the photo of Chris and me sitting in the plane, do my goggles look dark enough for the time of day? I could barely see my glow in the dark altimeter. I told Santa that I didn't have a good feeling about not being able to check my altitude, so he traded me for his clear ones. What a pal!

It was supposed to be a paragliding/skydiving trip, but the winds didn't cooperate for gliding. Fortunately, the skydiving made up for the lack of soaring. The Ogden Skydiving Center is a fun, friendly place to jump. The Caravan is a sweet jump ship and their pilot flies it very well.

I got four jumps despite the fact that the weather wasn't the greatest and we had to stand down for a while due to wind and rain. The last jump of the day was supposed to be a sunset load, but it turned into a night jump complete with small strobe lights on our harnesses. I caused our 4 way linked exit to hinge and flip wildly for 5 or 6 seconds before we broke apart. After that I lurked above and watched Chris, Scotty and OJ dock on each other before tracking away to my own airspace. Falling through the black sky, watching the lights on the ground get bigger was otherwordly. I pulled high and enjoyed a smooth canopy flight down to a soft landing next to the hangar.

After we put the plane and parachutes away a huge pot of homemade soup appeared and we all sat around the hangar living large and telling lies till it was time to drive back to SLC. Later that night Jeffrey and I sat at his kitchen table, drinking whiskey out of a plastic bottle and making plans for total world domination.