85 MILES!!!!!!

It was a quiet, misty morning ... you could hear the doves calling as the light crept over the lava hills ... and you hear the feminine voice "YOU MADE ME WALK 85 MILES!! And THAT'S why I ate the banana bread, the lemon bars and the smoothie!!"

The Road to Hana is long, arduous, frustratingly slow and amazing, all in one.  For those who haven't driven this road, the speed limit ranges from 10 to 20 miles per hour, for 50 miles.  Unless you fly, it is the only way to get to Hana.  Being the race car driver that I am, I LOVE this road.  At least half of it is single lane wide ... exciting when you meet a dump truck!!!  At any rate, I drove it yesterday so Patty could see the tallest waterfall on Maui.  It took three hours!!!  There is only one place you can access the ocean on that side of the island before arriving in Hana.  That place would be Keanae.  Not swimmable, the surf here is extremely high.  They do, however, have the best banana bread on the island!!!  I stopped for a couple of loaves for lunch.

In the 1940's, there was a tsunami which destroyed most everything at this site except the church.  It's as beautiful inside as out ... as is the beautiful cemetery right next door.

On to the National Park where Patty's pass got us in free ... we bypassed Seven Pools and headed up the trail to the waterfall.  Since it is the tallest ... the trail is therefore the steepest.  Patty thought she worked off her banana bread in the first .2 miles ... little did she know she had 1.8 left to hike!!  Take water!!!  It's hot and did I say steep??  About halfway there, you walk through this huge bamboo forest!!  

Most of the trail is rock steps with some dirt/mud areas.  Definitely wear tennis shoes.

Further on it becomes very muddy and walkways are provided for you.

Finally you reach the falls ... hot, sweaty and tired, ready for a plunge in the pool.  Except here isn't one any more.  The rocks falling off the mountain have filled it in.  I was ready to go back and lay in the creek we crossed!!

We did run into this sign ... and you know, all of those signs saying "danger falling rocks" or "fatal drop" ... they are just there for the tourists!! 

There were 8 people there when we arrived.  I was taking a couple of pictures when I heard a loud CRACK!!!!  Two seconds later, as I turned around, a huge rock (I'm sure it was the size of a volkswagon .. almost) that had bounced off the cliff (hence the "crack") ... landed close enough to us and the guys nearby, to spray rock shards all over everyone!!  You should have seen the people clear out!!!

With only Patty and I left, we enjoyed the quiet (behind the sign) until it was time to head the two miles back down the hill.  

One last shot of the day ... on one of the bridges we crossed, Patty pointed out this Passion Flower for a portrait.  I can't get over the gorgeous flowers growing here!!!

With a smoothie and lemon bars in hand, we drove the 3 hours back to Kihei.  Yes ... it's worth the trip.  But leave no later than 7:00 am, take lots of water and food and plan on an all day trip!!  Upon your return to the parking lot, you can walk the short distance to Seven Pools and swim there.  We were too hot, too tired and too hungry ... so we just headed back to the condo!!