Every summer, in August, Stanley, Idaho hosts my family and I as we set up camp on the BLM hills that overlook the town’s only road. The hidden road to the hills is a bumpy one, and grounds are scarce and only equipped with a firepit. Once you arrive, and only you will know when that is, the Sawtooth’s jagged peaks will at the same time take your breath away and make you grateful for the soft grass and hills that are your temporary home.
As confrontationally monumental as they are, the mountains are not our only view this weekend. Mid-August is the peak point for the ‘Old Reliable’ of celestial events, the Perseids meteor shower, which strikes Earth’s atmosphere with 50-100 meteors per hour. The dark sky reserve in central Idaho, boasting clean air and a lack of light pollution, is the best place to see the show. In between dusk and bedtime, you can only stare in awe.
I once watched the stars long enough to mistake the moon for a fire as it blinded me coming over the horizon at the darkest point in the night. I’d been hypnotized by The Milky Way, my peripherals stretched across the sky, trying to see everything all at once, and could not rationalize where this huge light was coming from as it grew. These are the stars, the meteors, that make you forget the moon.
As I am a film and not a digital photographer, I can only share the glory of the brightly-lit day. Below are some of my favorite photos from these ever-enchanting visits.
She Moves Abstract 