I’m Alive!

Posted on February 13, 2017February 13, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Well as you can see from the title I not only survived the nose to nose standoff, I managed to come back down the mountain side and get back to the safe driving.

The first car would not give an inch. I climbed a boulder to get as far off the road as I could. Finally the car I was facing gunned the engine and shot past me. My car immediately slid of the rock and settled back onto the road but there was still one more car that had refused to back up.

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With much arm waving and shouting the spectators finally got him off to the side of the road so I could just squeak past. I didn’t dare look at the drop off to my left or I’m sure I would have fainted dead away.

Having passed that obstacle I finished my drive to the top where I found a food truck with a small parking area. There were lots of cars parked and everyone was milling around. I pulled in too. It seemed as good a place as any to bring my heart rate back down to something close to normal.

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I made up my mind that I was not leaving that parking area unless it was to go back the way I came. I’d had quite enough of the Road to Hana. I didn’t care that I hadn’t found the park I was looking for. Another time maybe.

It was almost 30 minutes before we saw cars beginning to climb the road on the opposite hill. Everyone ran for their cars including me. I tacked onto the end of the little caravan. But about 100 yards down we came to a stop. Finally a man came back to tell us all to back up. As the last in line I was the first to start to back up.

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Still shaken from the first experience I wasn’t doing too good a job so our traffic director hopped in and had me back in the parking area in short order. It was obvious that he had a lot of experience backing up. Another 20-30 minute wait and we all started down again. This time he had the upcoming cars pulled over and our line of about 15 cars all managed to pass without incident. I was the last one and I watched the cars head on up the road once I had passed by.

The Road to Hana is beautiful but as I learned the hard way, also dangerous and treacherous. I don’t want to do a repeat of this anytime soon!

The Road to Hana Revisited

Posted on February 12, 2017February 12, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 8 Comments

What a gorgeous morning. It was quite windy but it was warm and the sky was a brilliant blue with white cloud accents. It seemed as if the storm that started my day had passed through.

I’d spotted at least 3 whales from shore so that bodes well for the boat trip on Wednesday. My UTI was either gone or in check for now so all was right with my world.

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I continued driving on RT 30. Eventually it would turn into the notorious Road to Hana, one of the top 10 deadliest roads in the world. Sandy and I drove part of it in the rain our first day in Maui in November. We then took the tour that drove us the whole way. I was willing to do the first section because that didn’t seem too bad but not the rest. Today I was just looking for the park where we saw the beautiful surf and the rainbow.

I didn’t remember it being too far out and it was a two lane road there.

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I was stopping often to take pictures. I was seeing things I hadn’t been able to see from the tour bus or notice in the rain. It was just beautiful. I also think it was much more green than when we were there in November. Probably because of all the rain in Maui’s winter. I was really intent on what I was doing and lost track of mile markers. The resort said not to go past mile marker 38.

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Suddenly I was looking at a long downhill stretch that was one lane. OOPS! I think I went too far. I could see a line of cars stopped that were going in the same direction I was . No place to turn around either. So taking a deep breath I eased forward.

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This section wasn’t too bad and I didn’t meet any cars coming up. Probably due to the traffic jam ahead of me. I crossed the one lane bridge and started the climb up where I’d seen the cars stopped. I had a whole line of cars behind me when, close to the top, another car rounded a blind corner and we were nose to nose on one lane. A cliff face to my right and a deadly drop off to my left. Somebody was going to have to back up!

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For some reason my mind chose that moment to flash to Josh Gates and his series “Expedition Unknown”.

We pause now for this commercial break or until I can get my panic under control!

Some Final Thoughts on The Road to Hana

Posted on November 26, 2016November 26, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Early on in our drive we stopped at a park. I wish I had written down the name for you. Sandy and I had found it the week before in our explorations. It’s on the left as you travel toward Hana. If you like big waves, this is a spot to check out. When we first found it, it was so wild that there weren’t any surfers but the waves were mesmerizing.

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It was a calmer day when we stopped with the tour and surfers were out in force. Some were very young.

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There were also vendors with things like jewelry and souvenirs on display.

We made a stop at a red sand beach. It gets its color from the iron in the sand. It rusts!

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The little coral church we stopped at is Palapala Ho’omau Church, built in 1857, it’s known as the burial ground of prominent aviator, inventor, explorer, author and activist Charles Lindbergh.

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Forty-one years after his infamous non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, Charles moved to Maui and settled in the remote area of Kipahulu, seeking privacy, beauty and simplicity. You can find the grave of both Charles and his wife under the shade of a Java plum tree at the limestone coral church.

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A small choral group was practicing when we arrived. It was beautiful. We all stood respectfully while they sang Amazing Grace.

047 Our guide skipped the Garden of Eden stop which surprised me. I’d heard a lot about this attraction. Maybe he skipped it because there is a fee.

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“It’s worth paying to enjoy walking the grounds, which are immaculately kept up and offer all kinds of photo opportunities. Here you can see an 100 year-old mango tree, bamboo, ocean views and Puohokamoa Falls.”

You can find a list of stops online and many shops sell ‘Guided tour” CD’s but everything takes time.

Our guide did as best he could with the amount of time allowed. The 8 hour tour ended up being 12 hours so I’d have to say we got our money’s worth.

The Road to Hana

Posted on November 25, 2016November 25, 2016 by Dusty Roads

The Road to Hana has to be the number 1 attraction in Maui, or at least close to it. Everyone knows about the Road to Hana.

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To drive or to tour, that was the question. If we toured I could enjoy the scenery too. If we drive that would be out of the question. Then our concierge told us it was an 8 hour trip depending on how many stops we made. I like driving challenging roads but 8 hours? I could feel my shoulders get tense just thinking about it so tour it was. Another guide reminded us to take our Dramamine. Many Hana trekkers have been done in by car sickness on the bumpy, windy road.

Bright and early Sunday we were picked up in front of our resort. At first the road looked very familiar. It wasn’t long before we were passing through Paia. There was Mama’s Fish House on the left. I spotted the little roadside stand where we had turned around on our previous adventure looking for “Jaws”.

As we continued on the road became even more narrow. At times dropping to one lane wide.

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All of the bridges (there were 54 in all) were one lane so if you met another car someone had to wait but most bridges had a waterfall or deep gulch at the least.

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Once in Hana we stopped for a picnic lunch and a bit farther along a roadside stand to stock up on banana bread and Maui honey. There is nothing quite like Hawaiian Honey!

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We stopped at an ancient church made from coral that had survived devastating storms and tsunamis.

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At the 7 Sacred Pools our efforts to see them were thwarted.

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We only had 45 minutes and from the parking lot it was a good 15-20 minute hike. I talked to someone who tried to make it and he said he only had time to get to the top pool. Returning would have been all up hill. Of our tour group only 1 couple actually made it all the way down and back and they were late returning.

On the backside of Haleakala we hit the bumpiest section of the road. At one point we were right on the edge staring over a huge cliff.

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At another spot we got out to look out over deep gully. The trade winds were blowing with enough force to knock you over. There at the bottom of the ravine was an upside down crushed car. The driver had survived thanks to a passing guest on a tour like ours who spotted the injured man. It was a sobering story.

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Our tour lasted 12 hours. We arrived back at our resort in the dark; a long day. My take on the Road to Hana? Everyone should do this once and a tour is definitely the best way. If I go again I’ll drive but I won’t cover the whole distance. I’ll stop often so I can get the best photos and maybe stock up on more banana bread and honey.

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Best of Intentions

Posted on October 11, 2016October 11, 2016 by Dusty Roads

With the laundry done on Saturday I had no excuse not to get out on Sunday and do something interesting to tell you about. But when I woke up it was dark and it was raining…hard. It was a perfect day for sleeping in and my bed felt so warm and comfy. As I’ve gotten older comfy has become very important to me. Even so, Rocky wasn’t going to be patient forever. He wanted his breakfast so began poking me in the face with his paw and walking all over me. Might as well get up.

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I was thinking about making the drive to Vermont today. It’s quite a long haul from where I live but the news was going on about the beautiful colors this year. I’m not much of a leaf peeper but still I thought a dreary day might be good for photographing the foliage and maybe the rain would keep the fair weather tourists away.

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I wasn’t thrilled with my plan but I was determined to have something interesting to write about so off I went, camera and rain gear in hand. By the time I had topped off the gas tank and made it to the highway it was almost 9 am. I should be in Stow Vt around 1 pm. The most direct route was to take Rt 93 which goes through Boston. Since it was a Sunday and raining I gambled that the expressway would be clear and not its normal bumper to bumper nightmare.

I lucked out. The traffic was moving at about 40-45 MPH. Pretty good for that stretch of highway but the rain was getting worse the farther north I traveled. By 10:30 I was just getting to the Rt 95 Split just north of Stoneham and already my shoulders were tight. It had taken me 90 minutes to go 60 miles. At this rate I wouldn’t get to Stowe until closer to 3 pm, not 1 pm and I’d be looking a a return drive in the rain and dark. As the Rt 95 split approached my car seemed to develop a mind of its own and I was off 93 heading south on 95.

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It took another hour plus to get back to Taunton. The rain had settled in for an all day drizzle and we need it but I was done running around in it. I made a quick grocery run and headed inside for the rest of the day. Still no big stories to share.

Time to put on the Pat’s game and welcome Tom Brady back to the field.