Shoshone Falls double rainbow, July 1, 2023

 While waiting for the night to fall to look for moonbows in Shoshone Falls, we spent the afternoon getting photos of the falls during the day, including seeing this double rainbow in the mist of the falls.

These falls are east of Twin Falls, Idaho and at this viewing, there was a good flow of water, thanks to releases from upstream dams on the Snake River.  This view is from the main viewing platform for the falls in Shoshone Falls Park.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Moonbow in Upper Mesa Falls, Mesa Falls Scenic Byway, Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Idaho

 After our successful photo trip to Shoshone Falls to see a moonbow in its mist (see the previous post), we headed to the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway to see if we could photograph a moonbow in Upper Mesa Falls along the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in eastern Idaho.  We had heard from a forest supervisor about a year ago that she already knew that someone had photographed a moonbow in Upper Mesa Falls, so we knew it could happen.

We hadn't modeled the terrain and moon's path ahead of time, so we didn't know where the best vantage point was or when it might happen.  We headed to the main observation platform the night of the full moon, Monday, July 3rd.  The moon was rising behind a cloud bank along the eastern horizon.  As soon as the moon cleared the clouds, its light shot up the canyon making the whole streamcourse glow up to and beyond the Upper Mesa Falls.  We saw this moonbow almost as soon as the moonlight set the canyon aglow around midnight.  It appeared fairly close to the waterfall itself and progressed toward the waterfall as the moon rose.  It soon seemed that the moonbow would be drowned out by the waterfall itself.

We moved to another observation platform to our left and caught sight of another moonbow and watched it as it progressed to the right, toward the waterfall, just like the previous one had done.  We left around 2 AM with that moonbow still visible, but getting very close to the waterfall and we presumed that it was about to disappear.

The photo above is of that initial moonbow sighting and is a vertical in order to show the stars in the sky to prove that it was taken at night.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

A Moonbow in Shoshone Falls, Twin Falls, Idaho

 We have for the last dozen years or so been making a nearly annual pilgrimage to Yosemite to see the famous moonbows in Lower and Upper Yosemite Falls.  We have long thought that moonbows might occur in other waterfalls, but that few others have thought to look for them there.

 With that in mind, we headed to Twin Falls, Idaho to visit the "Niagara of the West," Shoshone Falls, east of the city along the Snake River.  We got special permission to spend the night there on the night of Saturday, July 1st, two days before the night of the full moon.

Much to our delight, we did see a moonbow in the mist of the gushing waterfalls that is Shoshone Falls.  It first appeared in the far left end of the mist cloud just before midnight and progressed to the right as the moon climbed higher in the sky.  When we left at 2 AM, the moonbow seemingly had pressed itself against the cliff to the left of the waterfall in this view and had shortened to just a stub.

But that means that a waterfall that wasn't known for producing a moonbow, not only produced one for us, but that it lasted for some two hours two nights before the full moon night.

Thanks to Wendy Davis of the City of Twin Falls Parks and Recreation Department for allowing us the opportunity to photograph and videograph the moonbow in Shoshone Falls.  Check out our YouTube timelapse video of this event in our Nature Observations playlist.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.