On our last day at Yosemite this year, Marian stayed in the Valley while I zipped around in the car trying to get to various places when I thought the light would be best. At the tail end of the day I made it to Bridalveil Fall, and as I pulled in there was a group of kids horsing around right in the middle of the parking lot. Instead of running them down, I turned into a nearby space and got out. When I did, I saw what they were doing: trying to pose for pictures with a Bridalveil rainbow right behind them. So I joined in and got a picture of the rainbow too.

And it’s a good thing I did, because I really had made it there just in the nick of time. By the time I walked up the path to the foot of the falls—a matter of five or ten minutes—afternoon shadows were already racing up the rock wall. The only picture I took that was any good was the one from the parking lot. Thanks kids!

February 15, 2018 â€” Yosemite National Park, California

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate