The Road to Hana--Wed Jun 17

The Road to Hana.
Ask anyone who has ever been to Maui, and they know about the Road to Hana.
It's a thing.
A sometimes-one-lane-highway, full of curves and twists and bridges that are built prior to the Great Depression. It's a special kind of highway for the very brave or the very stupid.
Also nicknamed the "Divorce Highway," due to the impact that it can have on relationships between driver and passenger, but we took the high road (see what I did there?) and hired a driver. We took a cute little tour bus around the Hana highway. Led by "Jack the Legend," we hit the road around 6:30 am and were treated to a yummy breakfast before the big day began in earnest.

Aboard the tour bus

These sweet little waterfalls are like a dime a dozen along the road. 

Seriously. Waterfalls. The Road to Hana covers a stretch of Maui's wet rain forest that is rich in waterfalls. And rainbow eucalyptus. And golden bamboo. And all sorts of stuff that is a feast for the eyes for this family of Colorado.
Here's my analogy: Waterfalls and wild trees along the Road to Hana are like elk in Rocky Mountain National Park. After the first few thrills, you stop taking pictures... it's THAT plentiful.

Along a black sand beach

In a Lava Tube

Lava Tube=

1. a natural tunnel within a solidified lava flow, formerly occupied by flowing molten lava. (thank you, Google)

A family inside the lava tube

Check out this license plate

Reinstate Hawaiian Nation

 So, this is interesting. I learned a lot about the nice (aka crummy) work of the US in Hawaii....

Notice just how high the guard rails are! They ccome all the way up to Ruby's thighs!!

One of the stops along the way were the pools in the Haleakala national park. Now, with a tour bus, you don't have quite the leisurely time that you might if you were on your own. We had about an hour. Which meant, the pursuit to hit the pools and the the photo op was a high-paced adventure. Did I get to slow down? Not if I wanted the shot. Go Ruby! Go Scout! Get your butts in that sweet little pool filled with stream-water so that I can snap a shot for the family album, baby!

It was a bit precrious... Cory did slip a bit

Sometimes it's hard to see how far you've zoomed in.

And then you wind up zooming too far out.

Like Nixon he took to that pond

There's the shot! Look for it on the family Christmas card!

One of the stops--horses poking their head through the banyan tree

This stop, outside of Hana, is home to Charles Lindbergh's grave. There is a sweet little country church, a graveyard and some sweet little horses.

There are a ton of wind turbines on Maui

 It was right about this time that the girls took a little snooze. It was a beautiful ride, and the last stretch included a ride through a barren hillside that was once a sandalwood forest, a stretch of rock-wall that apparently is Oprah-adjacent, and a nice little trip to a sweet little botanic garden/coffee shop.

Rainbow!

About 10 minutes before we were dropped off, we saw a rainbow