15. Journey to the Top of Maui

On Thursday, I drove Mary Etta and Chester to the top of Mt. Haleakala to visit the dormant volcano crater. It is a huge territory that is managed by the National Park Service and covers the upper elevations of one of the two volcanic mountains that make up the bulk of the land mass of the island of Maui. Since Cynthia and Lorita had visited the mountain-top before, they decided to pass on the drive up the winding road that ends at the summit almost two miles above the ocean surrounding the island. The summit posts an elevation of 10,023 feet, and, as a result is really quite cold. We found temperatures in the mid-fifties, but compared with the sunny beach days down below, it really did seem rather cold. Warning signs posted around the Observation point suggested walking slowly due to the altitude. The crater is the focal point of the summit, and often is closed in by the clouds that frequently cover the entirety of the mountain peak. However, as we arrived, there was an opening in the cloud cover, and a large area of the crater became visible for a very few minutes. Soon the entire crater was only a blur of moisture as the cloud covered the viewing area. Then as we began our descent, we stopped at the next to highest viewing area, and once again, the clouds rolled back just long enough for Chester and I to see some of the boulders and vent mounds on the floor of the crater, before the cloud moved back across our viewing overlook. We then began to re-trace our curvy, winding road back down the mountain to the level valley below. While visiting the Park Ranger’s Office and Visitor Center near the mountain top, one of the resident rangers gave us a short lecture demonstration of the silversword plant, which only grows at the highest altitude on the peak of Mt. Haleakala. It blossoms just before it dies, and we saw several of the unusual plants, with huge blossoms, scattered around the observation point at the summit. It seems very strange that these plants can be found in no other part of the world than in the Hawaiian Islands. We were also treated to one sighting of the Nene, a goose-like bird that also is found only in the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Hawaiian Goose, and has been named the State Bird of Hawaii. The day did provide a cold change from our very warm days in Hawaii. The Upcountry of Maui has many different rural farms, including cattle, horses, lavender and protea farming, which we saw, as well as surely many other tropical flower farms, and even a winery that were not visible on the road to Mt. Haleakala. Halfway down the mountain, we stopped for a rest stop at the Kula Lodge and Restaurant. An outlet for a protea farm, “Proteas of Hawaii,” was located next door. As we admired the flowers, the attendant offered to give us two bouquets of proteas for our hotel rooms, so we have had fresh flowers in our rooms ever since. On departure from Maui, Mary Etta and Chester gave their bouquet to Lorita, so we both still have live flowers in our rooms for a beautiful tropical accent. As we reached the fertile valley between the two dormant volcanoes of Maui (thus the island’s nickname is “The Valley Isle”), we saw huge green fields of sugar cane. While not the vibrant industry it once was for these islands and their economy, there are still many acres still in production. We saw some of the heavy machinery used to transport the cane, after the green leafy tops are burned away, as the cane is moved to processing plants to produce both sugar and molasses. After the lengthy ride up and down the mountain, there was just enough time to squeeze in a bit of rest before our next island adventure, attending the Old Lahaina Luau. Stay tuned for that discussion in the next update.