Yosemite National Park: Moonbow Bug Party

The Zinger's first overnight in Yosemite National Park

Our friends at the Yosemite Bug Hostel were all talking about getting a group camping trip to Yosemite set up. There was an obvious event coming up that none of us wanted to miss: an amazing moonbow sighting! Moonbows, Lunar Rainbows, or what John muir calls Lunar Spraybows need a few factors to make them visible. These include: clear skies, enough flow from the waterfalls, darkness, bright moon, and correct rainbow geometry and according to the University of Texas (moonbow experts for some reason), May 24 had all of these factors. So, we decided to head up to Yosemite that morning, set up camp and have a good time!

Our friend Cameo had just bought a motorhome (named the "Heart of Gold" or the H.O.G) she would be driving to Missouri to meet up with her boyfriend who relocated his chef position. So, we coordinated with her, Donny, Liz, Colleen, and Alex about weekend adventures. We drove up in the Zinger with Liz and followed Cameo and Donny in the H.O.G. Colleen and Alex had to work so they met us up there a little later. 

Walking Autumn and Gonzo. Two happy pups!

As the early crew set up camp, we made sure to get everything edible into the bear locker and all things drinkable into the H.O.G refrigerator. We got up there around noon and had until 8pm before we needed to meet up with Colleen who was getting off the YARTS bus. Cameo had brought her two amazing pups and because we were going to be leaving them in the H.O.G all night to view the moonbows, we needed to walk them around the valley floor to get their energy out. Although we were all antsy about being in the Valley without going on a real hike, time flew by and we finally met up with Colleen. After eating a balanced meal of PB&J and putting the dogs to bed for the night, we hit the Valley floor on foot with our destination being any place with the BEST view of the MOONBOW!

We did a little off-trail trip!

 According to the Texas State University's research on the Moonbow, there were two spots in which to get the best view. One was from a parking lot adjacent to Sentinel Bridge, the other at the bottom of the lower Yosemite falls. We tried taking pictures, but our cameras were just not good enough. Here are some pictures downloaded from offline taken from the two best viewpoints!

View from the bottom of Lower Yosemite Falls

View from the parking lot adjacent to Sentinal Bridge.
 We actually couldn't see the rainbow as seen in the picture but we think it
was because we were at the viewpoint a little too early

Walking around the Valley in the bright moonlight was an adventure in itself!  There were so many cool sights to see other than the moonbows.  Everything was illuminated and awesome looking.  We even saw lights on the sides of cliff walls, signs of rock climbers camping halfway through their ascents.  There were lots of other 'moonbowers' out and about and the park had a special energy that we had not felt on any of our previous visits.  Even though there were LOTS of people at the 'official' viewing sites our group had plenty of solitary adventure time walking around.  It was so much fun to have a big group of friends for this journey.  We must have walked a total of almost 10 miles!  By the time we made it back to our campground most everyone was ready for bed.  This trip was one to remember!  To see all our pics from the moonbow trip (plus some more from the Bug) check out this Facebook Album.