January 6, 2005. Judy and I both had things to do in the afternoon, so we decided to meet at the river about 8 am and take a short ride.

This time of year in Florida we get early morning fog conditions in low-lying spots. There was no fog as I drove across town, but as I headed west past Interstate 95 towards Camp Holly I could see a thick band of fog ahead of me. There was one spot in the dark fog that appeared as a soft white glow, but I couldn't see what could be causing it. I passed through that band of fog into a section that was completely clear, then into another, thicker patch of fog that sat over Camp Holly and the river.

We launched the boat and pulled out on the river to find that the fog was so thick we couldn't see very far in any direction. Fearing a collision with another boat we proceeded a short ways to find a safe spot to sit and wait for the rising sun to burn off the fog.

The rising sun was behind us as we looked to the west and saw an incredible sight - a rainbow like I had never seen.

Other than a little tinge of color at the farthest ends, this rainbow was completely white.

I couldn't get the whole bow in one frame, but it was a perfect arc.

The northern end of the rainbow was a lovely thing to see, but the southern end looked like it was touching down in a clump of trees not far away.

I suppose it's the Irish in me to have to go chasing leprechauns, but we braved the fog to follow the rainbow....

We were sometimes accompanied by alligators as we motored slowly through the still water.

Always seeming to be just ahead of us, the elusive light drew us ever deeper into the marsh. The water, the sky and the birds were still, with nothing moving but us and the alligators.

Just as we appeared to reach the end of the rainbow the sun burnt off the fog and it all disappeared in an instant.

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