July 19, 2025 1:20 AM | Rocky Gorge, NH

A Fireball Over the Milky Way at Rocky Gorge, New Hampshire

I was hoping for a good sunset, but that just didn’t happen. Since it was clear and the moon wasn’t going to rise until around 1:00 AM, I wanted to get a good Milky Way composition. I was torn between Marshall Point Lighthouse in Maine and the Albany Covered Bridge in New Hampshire. I conferred with a fellow photographer while I was stuck in traffic in Ogunquit. He said he was thinking about Albany bridge for himself, but that he thought I should do Marshall since I was already in Maine. I was short on time, so I decided to go for the location that would take less time to get to, which turned out to be Albany. This was quite a surprise to my friend as I yelled his name to locate him in the middle of the Swift River in the pitch dark.

We didn’t shoot there long and left to go to Rocky Gorge. The Milky Way was going to align perfectly in a “V” of trees in about an hour. I let my camera take interval pictures for a while. The perfect alignment happened at 1:04. My friend wanted to let his camera go a bit longer, so I just decided to hang around and let my camera continue as well. As I was laying on the rocks in the Swift River in my snow pants and winter coat (it was a little overkill, but it was either that or the shorts and t-shirt I was wearing, and it was in the 50s and the rushing water made it feel even colder), I was gazing at the outrageously dense and bright stars, when a bright white streak of light appeared above my head and soared straight down the Milky Way. It seemed to last so long because I was able to differentiate as it turned from white to green and exploded into nothing. I was in awe, and my immediate thought was, “man, I hope my camera wasn’t in the one second break between shutter clicks.” As I scrolled through my pictures, I was blown away by the white to green streak, made even better by the green reflection in the river.

So, so, so many times I make so much effort to get places and I get home feeling defeated, but it’s times like these, once in a lifetime moments, that keep me excited to get back out there, even if it means a long drive and an all nighter. My daughter was  in LA visiting a friend. She’s a night owl anyway, so she got on the phone with me to keep me awake on my 2.5 hour drive home. I arrived safely at 4:30 as the sun was already illuminating the sky.

About Rocky Gorge and the Swift River

Rocky Gorge sits along the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest, one of the most scenic stretches of road in New England. It’s the spot where the Swift River narrows and roars through granite walls, right beneath a small footbridge that’s become a favorite stop for hikers and photographers alike. Just a few miles down the road sits the historic Albany Covered Bridge, first built by the town of Albany in 1858 and still standing over the Swift River today after a 1970 renovation. Between the rushing water, the dark skies of the national forest, and a nearly moonless night, Rocky Gorge turned out to be the perfect place for a Milky Way shoot, and an unforgettable meteor, on this particular July night and made even better by sharing it with a friend.