I was driving a couple of friends back from the Grand Canyon on highway 64 at about 7 pm in the evening. This was May of 2003.My passenger, who has some knowledge of aviation matters, told me to look up at some strange lights to my left. (south/east over the Navajo Reservation) I looked up and saw three bright lights smoothly moving across the landscape over a mountain range. I stopped the car immediately on the side of the road and got out. It was a very clear cold night and myself and my friend looked closer at these lights. The other friend was trying to find a camera inside the car and missed most of it.The lights where flashing like a camera flash bulb going off, almost a blueish tinge to it, but the light was not regimental like a regular plane tail light and where much brighter. They where moving very quickly and silently and it perfect formation, one slightly ahead of the other two. Judging from other planes in the sky that night (I had time to compare) these lights where moving extremely fast but there was no sound. Then they stopped in mid air and then the 'last two' changed from this flash to a beautiful round orange glow. This slowly died away in brilliance and the sky returned to it's inky blackness. There was never any sound at any time. The other light kept on going, and then a few moments later a number of these orange circles appeared where the path of the flashing ceased to be. They appeared one after the other and like the others, faded as the next one appeared a little further along the sky. I counted 7 in all. Then all was quite and silent. We drove back to Flagstaff in silence.((NUFORC Note: Witness indicates that the date of the incident is approximate. PD))