Catch a Rare Lily Blooming in a River

For a few weeks each year, the shoals of the Cahaba — the longest free-flowing river left in Alabama — fill with Cahaba lilies: tall, white, spidery flowers that grow only in swift, clean water running over rock, and that open for a single day each before they’re done. This is a genuinely rare thing; the lily survives in just a handful of Southeastern rivers, and the Cahaba holds one of the largest stands left on Earth. Miss the window and you’ve missed it for a whole year of your finite supply of them.