Onward and Upward

Posted on November 12, 2016November 12, 2016 by Dusty Roads

As we left the first Visitor Center I was getting concerned about the gas situation. I could not see how we had used so much gas but I didn’t want to get stranded so I told Sandy we might not get to the summit this trip.

The road up the mountain was very winding. Cue music to “the Long and Winding Road”.

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Soon we were passing through fog and clouds and the air was becoming cooler.

We started to see elevation signs. I was having a blast maneuvering around the hair pin turns but Sandy wasn’t enjoying it quite as much. She had a pretty tight grip on the seat and didn’t seem to be looking out at the passing views much. I only caught glimpses but what I saw was pretty spectacular.

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Suddenly we were above the clouds. The sky was blue and we could see the 2nd Visitor Center ahead. As we pulled into the parking lot the gas gauge hovered around the 1/4 mark. Even though we could see the summit from the lot, I was just afraid to go any further. It made me think of a scuba dive. When you have used 1/2 of your air you turn around. You don’t push it so that’s what we decided to do but first we wanted to take some pictures.

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I started looking out over the side of the mountain. Impressive but it didn’t really get me excited. It looked like it might be a little higher if we walked from the parking lot up to the Visitor Center, elevation 9,740 ft! I’m so glad we did. We would have missed the best vista if we’d stayed in the parking lot!

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That’s when the strange and amazing landscape revealed itself. I found myself looking down into the remains of the crater which was sprinkled with cinder cones! This area is known as the Sliding Sands and it is beautiful in an alien sort of way.

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I could have stayed right there admiring the view but others wanted even more and followed a trail from the parking lot heading for the summit.

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Although we did not get to the summit this time. (We plan to return with a full tank of gas) We could see the Observatory complex on the summit.

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Because of the remarkable clarity, dryness, and stillness of the air, and its location above one-third of Earth’s atmosphere, as well as the limited light pollution, the summit of Haleakala is one of the most sought-after locations in the world for ground-based telescopes. As a result of the geographic importance of this observational platform, experts come from all over the world to take part in research at “Haleakala Observatory”.

Next time we’ll definitely make it to the top!

Haleakala

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

Leaving the Banyan tree behind we started for Paia. But sitting at a stop light we saw a sign for Haleakala National Park. You guessed it…diversion #2. It was about 10:30 am by now and we thought it would be a just a quick side trip. After all, we weren’t going at sunrise or sunset, the 2 most popular times to visit.

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The airport shuttle driver in Albany had told us that we should make the drive because we could see the whole island from the summit and it would be worth it. As we entered the park a sign warned that there was no gas available in the park. I looked at our gas gauge. It was 1/2 full so I figured that should be enough. The sign also said it was 22 miles.

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Haleakala, aka “House of the Sun”, is a dormant volcano that is famous for its sunrise and the people that take the bike tour to see it. They take a van to the summit and after they watch the sunrise they bike down the mountain.

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The operative word here being “down”. They really fly! All along the road were warning signs to watch for bikers. There were a few hard core bikers that were going up. I guess there are always going to be a few people that have to do it the hard way!

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We made it to the first check point with no problem. Sandy had a National Park Pass so we only had to stop at the gate to pick up our brochure and show the pass. The entrance fee without the pass is $20.00 per vehicle in 2016. The price is scheduled to go up in 2017 to $25.00.

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2nd stop was at the first visitor center.

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Here we made a rest stop and chatted with the rangers. We learned that the park is home to the Nene, the Hawaiian Goose and state bird. There is a pair that lives near the station but they only come out when it rains to play in the puddles. We didn’t see a Nene but we did see some little birds that seemed to be hunkered down. 017

Still we were cautioned to drive slowly. We wouldn’t want to be responsible for the loss of a goose when it’s so endangered.

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Gas check…It looks like we’ve used almost 1/4 of our gas. All this uphill driving must be taking a toll.

It’s Just a Little Tree

Posted on November 10, 2016November 10, 2016 by Dusty Roads

We started out to visit the valley between the west mountains and Haleakala. Then we planned to stop at Mama’s Fish House in Paia. A friend said to have lunch and watch the surfers. On the map it looked like quite a drive so we figured it would be a full day.

Of course we didn’t stick to the plan. Why should we? We’re on vacation.

Our first diversion came in Lahaina. We’d driven through there but didn’t see the huge Banyan Tree. Now I was determined to find it. How can you hide a tree that is said to be 60 ft tall and takes up .66 acres! It’s a whole block! And we didn’t see it??? Maybe we’re blind.

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I found a map with the location of the Banyan Tree and it was right where were were the day before so before we headed out to Paia we headed to Lahaina.

We turned down Prison St so named because there is an old prison built in 1882 to lock up rowdy sailors.

Some of the original rules posted on the prison wall are:

Tobacco, opium, or intoxicating drinks may not be used by prisoners unless the physician determines they are necessary for health.
Prisoners must not spit on the walls or floor.
Singing, whistling, and laughter are prohibited.
Prisoners who violate the rules may be flogged, or have their food reduced, or their head shaved.

But back to the Banyan Tree. We parked at the bottom of Prison St. As we left the parking lot on foot we turned right. We walked about 1 block and spotted the tree. Its in a park at the corner of Front St and Canal. I remember driving right past it but I was busy looking at the restaurants and shops to my right and missed the tree all together.

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I’m glad we found it now as it is quite impressive. Planted in 1873, the tree now has, in addition to it’s main trunk, 16 secondary trunks of major size. The canopy spreads over more than 1/2 acre. 007

It only takes a minute to visit the park unless you get caught up with the vendors who set up stalls in the shade so be sure to add this to your Maui Bucket List.

Surf’s Up!

Posted on November 9, 2016November 9, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Day one on Maui and it was time to do some exploring.

We sat through an Expedia Presentation so we had some ideas on where we wanted to go for starters.

First of all we headed back toward the airport to see what we’d missed in the darkness when we drove in. It was a beautiful drive. The sun was out and the road (rt. 30) followed the coastline.

People were already gathering at the various beaches along the way. Finally at Ukumehame Beach Park we spotted some “would be surfers”. We pulled over to watch but it soon became clear that there just wasn’t enough surf. The ocean was calm and all the wannabe surfers were just sitting on their boards hoping for a wave that wasn’t coming any time soon. Time to move on.

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Next stop was the scenic look-out over the whale sanctuary. There were some boats and a couple of divers but no whales.

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We moved on a bit further then turned around and headed back the way we’d just come. We wanted to go to mile marker 38 to see what was on that stretch of road. The Expedia rep said after mile marker 38 the road got very dangerous so that was going to be our stopping point.

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We had lunch at Beach Bum’s Bar & Grill then headed back up Rt 30. It had started to rain and the traffic was slow. Eventually it came to a halt. After sitting for awhile we finally began to move and around the corner we saw the reason for the hold up…paving crew! Once past this obstacle we were surprised when all of the cars ahead of us began to turn off the road. Not knowing what was going on we followed and there they were… surfers! The real deal.

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We later learned that we’d stumbled on one of the premier surfing spots on Maui, Honolua Bay. This was a great experience. Much more thrilling to watch in person than on the TV. I hope we see more surfing like this while we’re here.

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In The Morning Light

Posted on November 8, 2016November 8, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Maui is beautiful.

Ka’anapali Shores is beautiful.

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I got a good nights sleep. Woke up at 6:30 am Maui Time, that would be like 11:30 am east coast time. At first I couldn’t understand why I was seeing my co-worker’s text. Then I realized it was Monday and I was waking up in Paradise.

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