Upper Yosemite Falls moonbow closer-in, Yosemite Valley, California, June 2, 2023

This is a tighter shot from the previous posting.  Read the story there behind this photo.

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

Upper Yosemite Falls with moonbow and reflection, Yosemite National Park, California, June 2, 2023

 After a very wet winter the waterfalls in Yosemite Valley were gushing.  So, it was that we visited Yosemite the night before the full moon, June 2, 2023 to observe the moonbow in Upper Yosemite Falls.  We had gone to Lower Yosemite first, but the mist kicking off the falls was so heavy that we got drenched in a short order.  Only an occasional favorable wind kept us dry before the mist would hit us with a good soaking.

So we decided to go see this night's moonbow in Upper Yosemite Falls instead.  It turned out to be gorgeous.  When the predicted time for the moonbow to start came up and we weren't seeing much happening, we thought we might be disappointed with tonight's display.  The colors of the rainbow started in the main stream of the Upper Falls in a narrow band that wasn't very extensive.  We hoped that eventually the moonbow would work its way downward and eventually hit the big cloud of mist coming off the base of Upper Falls and that's what happened.  Eventually, the moonbow extended across the entire mist cloud to the base of Upper Falls.

Also, thanks to the wet winter, Cooks Meadow, where we shot this from, had a large pool in front of us that provided us with a nice reflection of what was happening up on the granite walls of Yosemite Valley.

If you've never heard of a moonbow, or lunar rainbow, be sure to check out our YouTube video "What is a moonbow?"

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

Bridal Veil Falls, Highway 50 near Fresh Pond, California

 

A number of waterfalls are named Bridal Veil Falls with at least two in California.  There's the more famous Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite National Park and then there's this one along Highway 50 near Fresh Pond.  The highway goes right by this waterfall and there's a broad turnout for travelers to pull off and take in this view.

We stopped off to see this waterfall on Saturday, May 13, 2023.  Since California had gotten a lot of precipitation during a very wet winter season, this Bridal Veil Falls was gushing.

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

Pigeon Guillemot seabird at Montaña de Oro State Park, California

 

The pigeon guillemot is a seabird that nests on cliffs and feeds on small fish. This bird is in its summer plumage, which is all black with white wing patches. The guillemot is in the Auk family (Alcidae) of birds. This photo was taken at Montaña de Oro State Park in Spooner Cove along the California coast between Morro Bay and Pismo Beach. The birds were nesting on the cliff below us and this one took a break from fishing to care for its feathers.

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

Phantom Fall with rainbow, North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, California

 

Phantom Fall gets its name because it's seasonal and might not appear at all in dry years. We hiked out to see it the first week of April in 2023. We arrived just at the right time to see this rainbow form in its mist. The North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, where the fall is located, is north of Oroville, California. The reserve protects a volcanic tableland that is level for the most part, but streams cut deep gorges in some parts. The water drops along the rock wall, then free falls in front of an alcove. There's a steep trail down to the base of the fall and we saw people walking behind the water.

Canon 70d, ISO 100, f13, 1/30 sec, 49 mm,

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

Indian Lettuce (Miner's Lettuce) at North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, Spring 2023

 

This unusual plant has white flowers emerging from the center of a circular leaf. It was used as food by the native California people and the gold miners of the 19th century. So it can be called Indian lettuce or miner's lettuce. Its scientific name is Claytonia perfoliata. These plants are found all over California. I even have it growing in my yard, even though I made no attempt to cultivate it.

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

The Fire Wave in Valley of Fire State Park during a New Moon hike, Nevada

 While Bob was attending the Natural Arch and Bridge Society's Spring 2023 Arch Rally, centered in and around Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, he took advantage of a New Moon Hike event by the park to visit the Fire Wave at sunset and during the evening.

The Fire Wave is a sandstone formation of alternating red and light colored layers.

The park lined the path to the Fire Wave with red LED votive lights and Bob's guessing used the blue LED lights in the photo to highlight the high peak right of center.  The streak in the upper center is an airplane.

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

Ravine Falls, North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, near Oroville, California

 A followup to our previous posting.  We went back to the North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve on April 5th, 2023 to take in the wildflowers as well as visiting Ravine and Phantom Falls again.

In January 2023 California was hit with a series of storms and it has been in the media that the seasonal waterfalls at the North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve in northern California were flush with water. This reserve is northeast of Oroville, California.

 This is Ravine Falls is about a mile and a half hike from the trailhead.  This is a difficult waterfall to get a good photo of.  The lower portion is always shaded, while the upper portion, at least when we visited, seemed to have strong backlighting that made for a very contrasty situation.  On this followup visit, Bob used a graduated neutral density filter to reduce the contrast and got this image.

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

Ravine Falls, North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, near Oroville, California

In January 2023 California was hit with a series of storms and it has been in the media that the seasonal waterfalls at the North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve in northern California were flush with water. This reserve is northeast of Oroville, California.

 This is Ravine Falls. It's about a mile and a half hike from the trailhead. We knew we were heading toward this waterfall when the trail took us from open rolling plain and started switchbacking down into a ravine, hence the name of the fall.

We had been wanting to visit this reserve for many years now, because of our interest in vernal pools.  They occur in the rolling plains that visitors can see right at the trailhead.

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

Valley Oak at sunset, North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, near Oroville, California

 After an afternoon of hiking in the North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, near Oroville in northern California, we got back to our vehicle at sunset. Right next to the parking area was this beautiful valley oak, making a silhouette against the bright horizon. We've heard about this place for many years, but this was our first visit and it won't be our last. This visit was in January, so we plan to go back later in the spring when the wildflowers are in bloom.

Taken with a Samsung a52 6u smartphone, ISO 2000, f1.8, 24 mm focal length equivalent, 1/8 sec, using Night Mode without tripod, processed in Digikam and GIMP

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

The Robinson Twins camped in Yosemite along the Glacier Point Road

 

We went to Yosemite to check out Rick's new 4-season tent. We skied along Glacier Point Road and set up near the Sentinel Dome parking area. According to the reviews, this tent can have excessive condensation and needs better ventilation. That matches our experience with it. We've since learned that this model has been re-designed to improve ventilation, so now we have to figure out to accomplish that with the old design. 

The camera was set up on a tripod and we used a timer to get this image the next morning of the trip.

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

Lower Calf Creek Falls by moonlight, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

Bob attended the Natural Arch and Bridge Society's 2022 Fall Arch Rally at Escalante, Utah.  After he finished a hike to see a couple of arches, he hurried to the Calf Creek area in the Grand Staircase-Escalanate National Monument to hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls.  He made it to the falls in the early evening and then stayed to take photographs of it by moonlight, since it was the night before the full moon.  This was his last shot before packing it in for the night.

The long exposure makes the waterfall look silky and the stars show up in the sky.  This last shot had a cloud show up above the gap that the waterfall flows through.

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

 

Rainbow Fall, Devils Postpile NM, taken at night

 

During a July visit to Devil's Postpile National Monument, Rick visited Rainbow Fall at night to see if he could get moonlit shots of the waterfall. Except for the top quarter, the rest of the fall was in moonshadow. The shadows of the trees along the left wall are from moonlight. You can see stars in the sky. Using a very bright flashlight, he lit the water during a long exposure and got this image.

18mm focal length, ISO 1600, f8, 30 seconds, Canon EOS 70D set on a tripod

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