@travisdovephoto

Had a few magical nights with the synchronous fireflies at Grandfather Mountain. Very cool to see it on the cover of @washingtonpostmag to close out summer ・・・ Our Fall Travel Issue’s cover story explores a relatively recent phenomenon in the travel business: fireflies tourism. Leigh Ann Henion (@leighannhenion) traveled to parts of the Great Smoky Mountains, in North Carolina and Tennessee, to observe synchronous fireflies. And in doing so, she offers a moving meditation on our changing relationship to light, when, particularly during the pandemic, we have been in a sustained state of hypervigilance, falling under the influence of phones, computers, and tablets like never before, “seeking entertainment that might numb me, news that might serve to comfort me.” In a time of global confusion, Henion argues, we’re trying to find answers that do not exist, and in seeking out these fireflies and their light, she is hoping to break the spell that screens have cast. Head to the link in our bio to read her full story. (📷: @travisdovephoto)