2004-03-23 - Maricopa, AZ - Light

watched lights for 20 minutes in the desert.

Myself and two other friends were Varmit calling the night of march 23 in the Hasiampa river bottom west of Surprise,Az. we had taken Sun Valley parkway around the whwhite tank mountains (west) then into the dry river bottom. we like to call at night from the back of a pick up to locate any locations of preadtors then come back the next day and hunt there. We had headed south and had made 3 stops to call some 15 minutes each time. I have been around and in this wash all of my life, I ride my quads with my family in it 20 or so times a year. I know every bend and every part of that area. On the 4 stop while still moving south slowly I saw thur the tree's 2 light that appeared in the sky just ahead of us. They weren't there a few minutes ago but they were there now! Eric stopped the truck and we all got out and watched the lights. that were perfectly still bright yellow orangish color and very big. I know this area there is nothing out here except a few high line wires but these light were much too high to be the lines and I know they dont have lights on them anyway. I climbed up onto the truck and looked at the with a rifle scope and couldn't see anything except lights. I am a Vietnam veteran and I know chopper lights and chopper sounds.these were NOT choppers. I have shot flares off hundreds of flares in Vietnam. Flares swing down and leave a smoke trail.These lights were NOT flares. As I stood on the truck I could see the ground was lit up under them I couldn't see any lights from them but the ground was Illumated anyway. I estimate we were at least 1/2 mile from thse lights maybe more its had to tell at night. the boys got real scared and wanted to leave so we started the truck and headed back the way we came. as we were traveling north up the wash Eric the driver saw these two light go out! we stopped and looked again then they came back on. As we watch them again I now saw another light to the west of them across the wash several miles away. Then the lights went off again. We headed ! north again stopping at a fence gate as I got out the lights had came back on for the third time and were in the same place. We left the wash and headed east toward sun valley parkway watching these lights all the way. As we approached the highway we stopped and looked thur the scope again to see if we could tell what this was.We could see very clearly the light of the Palo Verde power plant to the west of the lights. I tried to pin point where their location was and the best estimate I have is east of the power plant and west of White tank mountains. I dont have any other explanation other than this was a UFO..I have elmiated all possible causes in my mind.Planes,choppers and flares. as we drove north we saw these lights untill the road went around the mountain and we couldn't see them any longer. I wish I could have talked these scared boys into going south on the highway to get closer but they were just to shook up to go. this must of been a UFO!! I have who friend asked me to put this on here. It is very interesting there was another report about these lights on the same date and almost the same time. Thanks for listening John