The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks tomorrow night. Here is information about it:

What: an annual celestial light show of "falling stars" or meteors.

When: This year, peak viewing occurs on August 12-13, 2011 beginning at 9:30 PM ET on the 12th, and growing more spectacular in the early morning hours until dawn.

Where: look toward the horizon at the constellation Perseus rising in the northeast sky.

What to bring: lawn chair, bottled water, camera, tripod, bug spray

We have never had luck seeing it, not for lack of trying.

As you know, I rent vacation cabins. A couple of years ago I got a phone call from a woman who wanted to rent one of the cabins so her family could watch the meteor shower from here. She asked me if this would be a good spot.

There was a big silence on my end, and she accused me of not even being where the rentals are. "Oh no," I said "I'm definitely here, I'm leaning toward the window looking at the sky to figure out if you're going to see any meteors from here; we are down in a river valley, and our sky just isn't that big. It's plenty dark, though."

Then, Mr. Traveltales came back from the post office, and I asked him what he thought. "You have to look toward the north," he said. So we leaned toward the window and contemplated the northerly direction. Our view was obstructed by high rock cliffs and trees.

"Have you ever seen a meteor shower?" I asked the woman.

"Yes, several years ago at a lake in Oklahoma."

"Well, that'd be your best bet," was my advice. "Or drive up to Wyoming where there are hardly any people, no light pollution, and you should have a good view of the full sky."