NUFORC Sighting 105253

Occurred: 2013-05-12 22:00 Local
Reported: 2013-12-11 22:06 Pacific
Duration: 1-2 hours
No of observers: 1

Location: Arches National Park, UT, USA

Shape: Unknown

dancing light; flashes of light; one extremely bright spotlight

My boyfriend and I were camping in Arches National Park near Moab Utah. We decided to do back country camping, and hiked down for at least a mile away from any major trails. The first night I didn’t notice anything unusual in the skies. However on the second night, there was a strange occurrence.

First, my boyfriend noticed some lights in the distance up near the main trail that seemed to bob up and down. At first I thought they were flashlights from people walking around (it was past 9pm, probably close to 10pm, when we got back to our campsite). The lights almost looked like they were coming toward us, so we put our shoes on just in case (there would be no reason for anyone come that way as we were a good distance from the main trail with no other campsites visible). After studying the lights for a while (maybe 20 min, it is hard to say), we still could not tell what we were seeing. The lights just kept dipping below the horizon line, which showed the outline of trees and other formations of the park, and weaving behind the trees or formations. Like I said, it was hard to tell.

We finally decided to just forget about it and have dinner. After, we looked at the sky. I saw several brilliant flashes of light out of the corner of my eye. My boyfriend said that he saw several as well. However I was never able to pinpoint the source of light. There were no clouds in the sky, but I’ve speculated that this could have been a type of heat lightning. I don’t know if that is even possible, but that is the only explanation I could think of.

Finally, and this is why I have decided to report this sighting, I saw something even more bizarre. We were going to bed, and I had just finished reading and was trying to fall asleep. I noticed an intense light from below my closed eyelids and opened my eyes. There was a brilliant light, for some reason I have the word “spotlight” in my mind, that shined right on our tent. It lit up the whole inside of the tent. Terrified, I tried to wake my boyfriend up. I remember saying “Oh my god, there’s a light, there’s a light, there’s a light outside”. I shook my boyfriend’s shoulders to try to rouse him. He just mumbled something, and continued sleeping. At that point I knew we were basically sitting ducks and that there was nothing I could do, so I just forced myself to close my eyes and I shoved my head down between the blankets. It felt like the “spotlight” just kind of moved on after a minute or two (even though my eyes were squeezed tight, I could still see light, so I knew! when it had left because the light was gone). I don't remember anything after the feeling that the light had passed; I don't remember if I fell asleep, or stayed awake. The next thing I remember is waking up some time later towards morning. To note, I do not remember hearing any sound associated with the light.

I have never had anything like this happen before, and it has taken a while, but I thought this might be worth reporting.

Posted 2013-12-12