Every year in August, the Earth passes through rock and dust fragments left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle, last time it came near the Sun. As these small particles collide with the Earth’s atmosphere, they burn-up, often creating a startling streak of light across the sky.
I decided that I was going to watch this heavenly display and invited Joe along. In order to do so, we went to bed very early so that we could get up about 11:30 pm and head out into the countryside and find a place to watch this.
So, the time came for us to jump in the car and go. I drove a few miles out of town to get away from the city lights. We parked outside the gate to a private ranch and pulled our folding chairs out of the truck and sat down to watch the light show. (I had to pull a sweater out of the car too as it was a little bit chilly.
The moon was so bright that night that it was hard to see a lot, but we did manage to see some spectacular shooting stars. We didn't stay long since I did have to get up in about three hours to go to work.
It did bring great memories though of several years ago when Corey and I had a similar experience. Some big meteor shower was going to take place and we planned to go and watch it by ourselves since Les didn't want to join us. We'd gotten permission from some friends to go in the middle of one of their fields for the events. We brought us a blanket to lay on and a picnic basket full of goodies and munchies. If I remember correctly, we were out there for a couple of hours and were well-rewarded with a great show until about 2:00 a.m. That was one of my favorite times with Corey.
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