1997-07-14 - Salt Lake City, UT - Other

While on the roof of our 26 floor condominium building we saw what appeared to be a cloud or haze moving across the sky at about the same level as our location and about 3 blocks to the south. After closer observation we realized it had a definate shape, ability to change direction and altitude at will, and was indescribable in any common description.

My wife and I were sitting in the hot tub on the roof of our 26 floor condominium building in downtown Salt Lake City. From this location there is a complete view of the Salt Lake valley. I had noticed a small fire burning several miles to the west of the city.

Shortly thereafter, as I was looking to the south from our location, I noticed what appeared to be a small cloud of smoke floating from west to east and about 3 blocks to the south at the same level as our position. Initially I assumed it to be from the fire I had noticed earlier, until I realize the wind direction was the opposite of the direction of travel of what I assumed was smoke and also the fire was too small and too distant for the smoke to remain together for that distance. I immediately directed my wifes attention to what I was witnessing, and we watched in total amazement for several minutes as the object navigated within an approximate 2 mile area. The only way to describe the object is through relating it to other known objects. When we first started observing it, the object seemed to be just an undulating mass, but as we watched it, we realized that it did in fact have a shape that remained consistent throughout the entire episode. This shape and movement would relate perfectly to movies we have seen of large stingrays as they move through the water with their outstretched fins waving, similar to birds wings in slow motion The strangest part of the episode was that the object was almost entirely invisible, and the only recognition that it was even there was that it distorted everything behind it so that you could in fact make out the shape by observing these distortions. Again, to relate it to something familiar, it resembled the creature in the movie "The Predator". As we watched the object, it navigated in a very definate path, changing directions at will and traveling first from west to east, then to the south, then back to the west, then lowering in altitude close to a baseball stadium about a mile from our location,! then hovering at that spot for several minutes, then again rising in altitude and moving back to the west at a phenomonal speed until it totally disappeared. This was all done with total disregard to wind speed or direction, which ruled out the cloud theory or the fact that it could be caused by a pocket of hot air which could have caused a mirage affect. After it's disappearance, my wife and I remained stunned for several minutes just watching for it's return. We then tryed to figure out what we had seen, since neither of us had said anything while we were watching it. Our descriptions to eachother afterwards confirmed that we had both seen the exact same phenomena and that it was nothing we had ever witnessed before or probably would ever again. One of the things that we did realize was that it was our location that had made it possible to see it in the first place. Had someone on the ground tryed to see it they would not have been able to do so since it was only the distortions of the background objects that even made it possible to distinguish, and looking up against a blue sky would have made that impossible. Whatever it was, I know it was not a heat distortion, or a cloud and that it was definately under some sort of guidance or control. This event was very special to me since I have always been a believer in the possibility of many activities beyond our comprehension, but my wife has always thought that to be a rather ludicrous idea, until this event, which she still cannot explain or justify.