OCR Text |
Show PARAGLIDING PROVIDES BREATHTAKING SCENERY i t 1 I I r A t 2? T 5 Check out Bre w Paragliding instructor Jason Laughlin and multimedia reporter Bre Opdahl during the ride Something New video at ; i.. zl Opdahl'sTry , t zS i youtube.comdixie-- : Ti" - sunnews BRE OPDAHL . j! breopdanlnews J) ' ? ' J ' Y Canyon. Laughlin is a certified tandem paragliding pilot and a personal friend of mine, so I called him and scheduled a flight. The problem with scheduling and paragliding is you can't exactly schedule an I was speechless until we dipped far and fast into the landscape and let out a liberating yelp. It was better than any rollercoaster plunge I've ever experienced. Anxious to watch my feet dangle over the desert STAFF PRO FILE OF THE landscape from a couple of hundred feet in the air, I tried something new and went W EEK r paragliding. I did not expect this good of a flight today, paragliding intructor Jason Laughlin said. We got super lucky with this air wind, and it's butter-smoot- h right now. A pair of hawks flew beneath us just then and perched on part of the jagged ridge, which slightly resembled Bryce exact time since the sport relies heavily on mother nature. The original plan was for Thursday, but the wind was not cooperating. The activity had to wait. Regardless, we headed to Hurricane late Friday afternoon to catch some wind off Laughlin's favorite spot to fly, formally known as Honey- moon Ridge. Laughins knowledge and undivided attention for the sport was intriguing. You learn how to control the wing on the ground, and once you do that, you take your first early-morni- flight, Laughlin said midflight. You leam how everything is controlled (and) how it works. When you become lift off A i' - ,v' iVs Honeymoon Ridge Friday Opdahl says she experienced adrenaline and breathtaking familiar with that, you can do bigger flights later in the evening when all the air is going up, like it is right now. For whatever reason, I anticipated paragliding to be more of a relaxing sport. After our first takeoff attempt, I realized how wrong I was. Laughlin instructed me to lean away from the pull from the parachute until it was directly above us. To do that, we put our body weight in the opposite direction from the chute as it rose with the wind. When the parachute, or wing, was in the sky, we ran off the ledge and jumped into the wind. This was hard, since my harness was giving me a serious wedgie, but I lived. After we were airborne, Laughlin had me tuck my knees into my chest to allow the seat on my harness to slide underneath my bottom. The adrenaline from the takeoff procedure wore off as a new adrenaline kicked in when the amazing scenery below me took my breath away. Laughlin told me to look and lean left to steer the wing further into the beautiful basin between Colorado City and Hurricane. We circled around the area a few more times and landed surprisingly smooth. The flight lasted 20 minutes, and I would gladly do it again. Paragliding is an expensive investment that costs at least $4,000, however, a ride costs around $120. F scener, I buy a new wing every years , but I always get the same colors so people kr it's me, Laughlin said. T L For people like Laughlin any amount of money is worth it because flying is an experience that has yet to be paralleled. Its honestly as dangerous as you make it, Laughlin sa If you make smart choices and are trained to fly, you are going to have a safe and enjoyable time flying." 7 ; t A A u m3 l;K O From left, paragliding instructor Jason Laughlin and multimedia reporter Bre Opdahl paraglide over Honeymoon Ridge Laughlin said paragliding is generally a safe activity TUESDAY AL EXIS WINWARD i Found You soulful gem for editor PHOTOGRAPHER A r i JALEN I i JONES fJZ" What is your favorite movie? A: "Tangled" Q: I t JalenDSN . 1 , What is your favorite activity? A: Photography and soc- Q: 1 j Whats crackalackin1? Your What was your main purpose for joining the Dixie Sun? A: Photography, what else? And to meet new people, suppose. Q: What is your dream job post graduation? A: Dentist Zack Villere, a student based out of New Orleans, is froyo ma (not to be cono fused with Ma). With this song, Villere composes a beautiful J e instrumental in which vocalist Charlotte Day Wilson floats over. This track is one that could be dedicated to a lost lover, the one who got away, so to say. It feels like a walk through the park during the autumn season, while leaves the shades of amber, gold and orange fall at your feet. The sun is shining with a slight breeze. Things feel right, but something's still missing. With another Valentine's Yo-Y- Dilla-esqu- cer Q: froyo ma - Spent Missing ( Charlotte Day Wilson) j i ; boy Jalen is back in action. I'm not gonna lie, this past week and a half has been something else. I've been stressed, feeling emotional, and been a little all over the place. This installment features the music I've been listening to in order to cope with this rollercoaster I'm on. Let's ride it together, shall we? Day approaching, if you're going to spend your time in isolation just loving yourself instead, this song would prove vital in helping you cope with feelings of loneliness, or it might actually enhance them. As beautiful as this song is, be careful with it. You don't want to end up calling your ex at 4 a.m. drunk, begging for them to take you back, unless you're into that kind of stuff. B Boys - Get a Grip On Get a Grip, B Boys experiment with a sound I like to classify as beach punk. It's erratic, high tempo, rough around the edges, yet it still has its moments of BY V,Y. 7 s W cies said the c new 25? j 'I A to gc '! iL. Tame Impala perform at the Fillmore in Detroit in 2010 Photo Jones says he can't help but smile when listening to the scr "The Less Know the Better" feeling the cool ocean breeze as you stand with your feet in the sand. It makes you want to jump, scream and shout. It makes you want to run Proc Righ ties Ubr, A wg; ges, Proft as the seashore along can. It makes you "jr the F to just do something that'' mittc start or dc see TUNES DAY pa? fh-yo- |