Haleakala and Hana...

I just returned from another wonderful week on Maui. I have a lot of images to sort through, but you can click on the link below for some highlights from the Haleakala Crater, the road to Hana and Hana itself. The image above is the crater. At just over 10,000', it's the tallest point on the island and a completely different experience than the rest of the island. Think long pants and thermal underwear. 

This somewhat abstract shot is of a Silversword, one of the rarest plants on the planet. It's been listed as a threatened species since the 1920's when goats and humans nearly erased them from existence. They lead quite the interesting life, quietly living for 50 years before dramatically changing appearance, blooming for a brief period and then dying. They live their whole life for one moment...

Geographically these are out of order, but whatever. These two falls are along the road to Hana and were flowing nicely even though most of the creeks were completely dry. The one above is a tough shot...it's a gorgeous waterfall, but it sits awkwardly in a canyon of sorts. I'm about 90% happy with this one...

This is a Banyon tree...another unique species. It's sacred in India and their national tree, although I doubt they really are too worried about the ones in Hawaii. I have some ideas for shots with one of these...next time!

The next two are form one of the many roadside fruit stands along the way. At this particular one, Adam had to ride on a bicycle that powered up the blender to make our tropical smoothies. He did all the work, I just supervised...

Just a random shot of some 1/4" flowers from the house we stayed at in Hana.

Finally (for now), another version of the crater. Normally I won't post up two shots that are this similar to one another, but I can't help but make an exception here...I like them both quite a bit. What is your preference?

Aloha!