For
dinner the previous evening we went into Lahaina. Parking
was a nightmare, but we prevailed. The next morning, our
destination was Haleakala Crater. At 10,000 feet, it is
the highest peak on the island of Maui and the second highest
peak in the Hawaiian island chain.
The photos below are what we saw.
The
plaza in Lahaina had a huge Banyon tree that had taken over the
whole area. All of the trunks visible are the same tree.
While
this photo might cause you to believe otherwise, the area was
quite crowded. Most of the people were north of where this
photo was taken.
The next
morning as we were driving toward Haleakala I spotted this Coast
Guard helo hovering over the water. It appeared to be either
a rescue operation in progress or a training mission. Note
the spray from the rotor wash. He hovered for quite awhile
as we drove past the bay. While the photo above is not
pristine in quality, it was shot from a moving vehicle at 60
mph. This is a crop of a zoom at 70mm.
About
half way up the face of Haleakala we were rewarded with a nice
view of the other volcanic peak on Maui. The wind farm on
the west flanks is in use nearly every day due to the prevailing
trade winds. The winds cause the clouds to form on the
windward side of the mountain.
From the
peak at the overlook we got a better view to the
northwest. Visible in the distance is the island of
Molokai. In the foreground is the harsh volcanic rock
ejected from the crater.
From the
peak we could see the telescope array. These instruments
are operated by the government for various purposes.
The can-shaped
structure is a special device used to track space junk.
This information is used to predict object paths with the hope
of avoiding collisions.
To the
south we could see a helicopter and in the distance two other
islands.
I
assembled a panorama from the overlook at the peak. The
wind was howling at 40mph with even faster gusts. The
visitor's center is on the left and the central portion of
Haleakala Crater is in the center.
The sign
tells the story. This couple was on the lee side of the
building making standing outside acceptable. I can assure
you that the windward side was not acceptable. The strong
winds were not just blowing dust but gravel and small stones and
pelted me as I was attempting to take photos.
Everyone
has their own opinion about "lifted" trucks, but independent of
your personal opinion, you will clearly agree that the paint job
on this rig is first class. To be sure, with this kind of
paint, this truck will never be on any trail where the is a risk
of brush scratches.
This
panorama is centered looking east. Note the blanket of
clouds. At the altitude of the peak, most of the weather
is usually below you.
Taken
from a different overlook, the panorama above clearly shows the
dark brown lava flow that came from the volcanic vent at the
right of the photo above.
Looking
into the crater, the cinder cones are clearly visible as are the
hiking trails that allow tourists to get to the cones.
In
addition to showing the source of the lava flow, the photo above
shows that there has been slumping on the sides of the main
cinder cone.
Stephanie
was nice enough to take a photo of Kathleen and I at the peak.
As we
descended from the top, we spotted a hing glider above us.
This fellow was launching as we were going up the hill at about
9,000 feet elevation, so at this point he must have been in the
air for at least 45 minutes, maybe more. The winds near
the top were really strong.
Kathleen
was driving, so when we finished with Haleakala, she drove to
the Ocean Distillery for a tour. In the yard were many
pallets of finished product awaiting loading into a shipping
container.
The
guest reception area was a small structure flanked by huge trees
that looked like mesquite but lacked the sharp thorns.
The tasting
area was an open ramada. In the foreground are herb
gardens used for making exotic martinis.
Ocean
Distillers grow their own species of sugar cane.
The
sugar cane is pressed and crushed in this machine. The
juice is output through the black pipe at the bottom.
The "cracking
tower" for distilling the vodka and rum was clearly visible from
the outside of the building.
Earl,
the tour guide, shows us the stainless steel storage tanks for
distilled product. Both rum and vodka are produced by the
distillery
Special
water used in the process is shipped in the cardboard
boxes. The still is on the left and the condenser for the
final product is in the wooden barrels.
This
small machine bottles all their product.
From the
distillery at the base of Haleakala we traveled back to Lahaina
to Fleetwood's Bar. Fleetwood as in Mick Fleetwood of
Fleetwood Mac. Nice enough place, but the bartender was
incapable of making a reasonable mojito. I sent it
back. Noisy, crowded, expensive but other than that just
another bar on Maui.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2016, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.