535 – Hawaii III

We left off and we were in Maui. On our second day there, we took my car and drove up a volcano named Haleakala in the middle of the island. Keep in mind, this is a 10,000 foot mountain and the road to the top is 22 miles long! That means, a lot of switchbacks, curves and narrow roads.

Here’s a photo we stopped to take not even halfway up the mountain!

Little did I realize when we started this trip, that we were going above the clouds!

At this point, I was beginning to wonder how we get down this mountain without ruining the brakes on our car, as it was long and downhill.

More on that later… but as we ascended, we got to a ranger station that began the state park, and when I mentioned to the ranger “Thank Goodness We’re Here!”, she chuckled and said “hon, you’re not even halfway up!”.

So, up we climbed.

(Click on any picture to ‘embiggen’)

See the photo at right about the volcano.

When we finally reached the top, the view was breathtaking (as was the altitude… breathtaking I mean!)

 

This i s where I took one of my favorite photos in Hawaii.. the crater at Haleakala:

 

This photo is only half size, but you can see the beauty in it!

The colors there are so rich and vibrant… it was well worth the drive.

More coming soon….!