Whew
At the end of May and into early June, a friend and I went to Tennessee and Kentucky to see the synchronous firefly display at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and we took a week to do it and drove around the area, staying at a restored Shaker village and at a wonderful B&B on Lookout Mountain above Chattanooga, among other places. And we went on a guided hike inside the park to see the fireflies. This isn't just a few random fireflies flitting around your backyard, it's thousands of them, and they flash together - that's the "synchronous" part. It's astounding, and it only happens at this one time of year - a mating ritual, and it's wonderful to see. We met up with our group (ten or twelve people) and went to the park. First the guides made a campfire and we all sat around snacking on the provided crackers, cheese and sausage and having S'mores. And when it started getting towards dusk, we hiked up the mountain trail to a spot known to...