A great aspect of missionary service is being immersed in a new environment and experiencing its unique qualities - its people, weather, geography, and culture. We have a preparation day (p-day) each week when we’re excused from our normal missionary responsibilities and pretty much have the day to ourselves. Aside from catching up on house cleaning, shopping, and other chores, we also use our p-day to explore the surrounding area. Recently, we traveled to Watkins Glen, well known for car racing, wineries, and its beautiful location on the southern tip of Seneca Lake in New York’s Finger Lakes region. We spent a couple of hours, along with a lot of other people, hiking the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen State Park. For sight seers, this hike is a rewarding experience with multiple waterfalls, beautiful scenery, and plenty of photo opportunities. For those seeking a recharging day in the outdoors, away from crowds and noise, this is not the place to visit, especially on weekends. Crowds and noise aside, we enjoyed our time being together and experiencing another aspect of New York’s amazing diversity 

     I grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and a favorite childhood memory I have is hunting for lightning bugs (fireflies) on hot summer nights. First, my siblings and I would raid our family’s kitchen cabinets grabbing any glass jar we could find. Next, we’d fill them up with leaves and twigs and then run around our neighborhood trying to capture enough fireflies to make our own portable lanterns. Sadly, just like the quest for leprechauns on St. Patrick’s Day, our efforts never proved successful. Sure, we caught a lot of fireflies, but we never could figure out how to get them to all light up at once! In retrospect, getting our lanterns to work really wasn’t all that important. It was the excitement and joy of running around our neighborhood at night and our youthful innocence in even thinking we could turn a jar of fireflies into a lantern that makes this memory so sweet.

     Here’s a picture I took last week just outside our boarding. The view of the sunset is nice, but it’s the two, almost microscopic sized specks of yellow light in the left side of the frame that I was most interested in capturing. Fireflies - as magical as the sound of bells on Christmas morning.

Firefly Update

Journal Entry: July 8, 2022 

     It’s 9:23pm, and there’s still a bit of light to the day. I’m seated in the middle of one of the trails at Ganondagan State Park and am on the first leg of a personal quest to hunt lightning bugs. And here I am surrounded by them! - on the ground beneath me, in the air in front of me, to the right, left, and behind, and overhead in every direction. Non-stop twinkling. What a show! [Video Link: Lightning Bug Quest] 

     I left Ganondagan sometime around 10 o’clock and then made my way to the Ganargua Creek Trail in Macedon. This is a trail Sister Collins and I hiked earlier in the week. I parked my car at the Victor Road & Wilkinson Road junction and then began my hike at the lower entrance. The lightning bugs were certainly out in numbers, but nowhere near as prolific as at Ganondagan Park. But though less intense, the display was every bit as enjoyable especially considering how different this setting is from Ganondagan. Here, a creek runs alongside the property, and the twinkling of lights in the night air is accompanied by the sounds of frogs and other creatures, their croaking, creaking, and groaning filling the air as they sing their timeless chorus. 

     I concluded my night by taking one of the back trails around the Sacred Grove at the Joseph Smith family farm in Palmyra. I made a loop by starting at the gate on the far south side of the property and then walked west to the first trail junction. From there, I turned north and made my way to a short trail that leads from the Sacred Grove to the Smith’s original frame home. I turned south at the frame home and then hiked the old Stafford Road back to my car. As with Ganargua Creek, the lightning bugs were fewer in number compared to Ganondagan Park; but the feelings of reverence and gratitude that always accompany me when walking the Smith farm made for a perfect ending to my night. Quest accomplished, and then some.