Cumberland Falls

My blog has been quiet for so long now that I'm sure you're thinking this must be one amazing KG adventure in order to end the silence, and you'd be right!!

This weekend I travelled south to Corbin, Kentucky in search of a natural phenomenon known as a "moonbow".  A moonbow (a.k.a. lunar rainbow or white rainbow) is basically a rainbow by the light of the moon. 

I met my friend Rene (and her dog Savannah) at Cumberland Falls, and here we are waiting for the moonbow to come out! 

(Don't you just love our headlamps?!)

Moonbows are moody things; there are plenty of conditions that must be just right in order to see the moonbow such as: full moon or nearly full moon, crisp cloudless weather, relative darkness, constant mist from a curved waterfall, and a viewing spot from above the falls.

Because of the wacky conditions, there are only 2 places in the world where moonbows are visible on a fairly predictable basis: Cumberland Falls (in Corbin, KY) and Victoria Falls (in Zimbabwe, Africa). Moonbows have also been spotted in Hawaii and Yosemite Falls on a irregular basis. Historians also say that moonbows were once quite common at Niagara Falls, but now the lights from the city are too bright to allow them to be visible.

As you can imagine, moonbows are pretty tricky to photograph.  You need a slow-speed camera with a tripod, so my point-and-shoot digital camera with GorillaPod doesn't really make the cut.  This pic below was snagged off the internet, but gives a pretty good interpretation of what we saw.  On Friday night, it wasn't a complete arch, and it wasn't super bright.  But the moonbow was definitely there, and colors were visible.  It faded in and out depending on the mist and cloud cover of the moon, but you could see it really well at times.  The whole crowd would "oohhh and aahhh" and squeal with excitement when it got really bright! 

This wasn't mine and Rene's first attempt to see the moonbow, so we were especially excited to know the entire thing wasn't a hoax!

On the way out of the park, we had to get our picture next to the official "Cumberland Falls Moonbow" sign!

The next morning we went back to the falls to do some hiking, and to our delight there was an awesome rainbow!!

View of the very top of the falls

Rainbow in the mist down below. 

This is almost exactly where the moonbow was the night before. 

At the bottom of the falls, ready for our hike.   

View of the Cumberland River, opposite the falls.

I may look like a professional hiker, but I am far from it.  Most of the time, you have to drag me into the woods. 

Rene and Savannah, on the other hand, have been all over to see the natural beauty of Michigan, Kentucky, and Georgia. 

Saturday's weather was awesome.  You can tell by our outfits that it was warm and sunny, especially for the middle of March (and still technically winter).

Another lookout point for the falls

Hiking Hotties

KG takes a break on some sweet sedimentary rock! 

(For some unknown reason, I just love that stuff...)

Rene and Savannah take a break as we stumble across what looks like a impromptu classroom setting.  Or perhaps its an area where people hold some kind of haunted meeting in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night...

Saturday night, we're back again to see the moonbow.  This time the weather is much colder, and we are joined by our (newly engaged!) friends, Karen & Brent.

Cumberland Falls was crazy-busy that night because of the "Supermoon".  (Supposedly the full moon was the viewed from the Earth as the largest and brightest in 19 years!)  We got there early, found a great spot next to the railing, and waited for about 3 hours.  Unfortunately, the moonbow never did fully appear under the Supermoon (likely due to cloud cover).  You could at times see a white arc in the mist, but it was always very faint and only for a fleeting moment, and I couldn't handle the crowd of pushing people.  As we were leaving, the parking lot was as full as I had ever seen it... cars were on the grass, nearly in the forest, double-parked, along the road, and people were still streaming in.  It was like a mob scene for a football tailgate.  What a disappointing night for all the fans of the Supermoon!  Thank goodness we came a day early and got to see the moonbow in all it's glory on Friday night!!

Sunday morning we simply couldn't leave the area without one more quick look at the falls.  The rainbow was out again, and it was even more brilliant this time...

The rainbow was so large, it was hard to get the entire thing into one photo!

KG by the falls with the rainbow!

Next stop = Lunch, and you'll have to wait until tomorrow's blog to see where Rene and I ate before hitting the road back home...