Staying Close

We drove into town and did some looking around. It rained hard most of the day, but the clouds broke about 3 pm and we were able to take some pictures.

Sun out, view from our condo.

The condo!

Another view looking east.

Two sunset shots.

Took this from the bluff, kind of cool!

Sunset.

Morning rainbow.

North Weather Change

It rained long and hard during the night last night. Most of the day has been overcast with sprinkles on and off. Linda, Don and I watched the Seahawks game. The birds won so we were all happy.

We hiked down to the beach below the condo and looked it over. I went swimming and took some pictures. 

Later in the afternoon we drove into Hanalei and had a look around.

Traveling North

It was moving day and our stay at Barking Sands had come to an end. The early morning was spent loading up the bags and cleaning up our cottage. Once all was ready, we split up; Linda and I leaving first and Don and Caroline next. We stopped for gas and it took us a bit to figure out how to open the gas tank, but once we figured it out all went well.

Cows!

Our first stop was a quick unscheduled pull-off. On our trips back and forth to the base, we noticed that in this one area we always saw a ton of surfers preparing at their parked cars. This peaked our interest, so we decided to follow the trail and see what was up. The trail wound through a bunch of cows and along a small stream. When we hit the beach we could see the draw. The break was very gentle and regular. It looked to us to be a good spot and this was confirmed by the number of surfers sitting, waiting for their next ride. I believe the beach is named Pakala Beach or also called Infinities. This name is used because they say the ride seems to last forever.

Surfers

We drove East and then pulled off at an area where there was a beautiful tree tunnel over the road. Many years ago old Walter Duncan McBryde had 500 eucalyptus trees left over from landscaping his home so he donated them to the county. Everyone joined in and planted them, creating this wonderful canopy. We stopped and I ran out into the road for a picture.

Wailua Falls

Our next stop was Wailua Falls. It was at the end of a winding, narrow road, literally! We approached the viewing area with great caution. The road ended with cars parked everywhere. I had to do a six point turn to get our car turned around and headed back the way we came. Beautiful area, but they really should put in a bigger parking area or at least some signage explaining the end of the road mess.

Continuing on we drove to Poli'ahu Heiau.This site was built from lava rocks and used for religious purposes. There are many of these in this area. The locals still follow their ancestor's be-liefs and hold these areas very sacred.

Opaeka'a Falls was our next tourist stop. The road up there was narrow and curvy, but we followed the masses of sightseers and made our way with no problems.

Our final sightseeing stop was at Kilauea Lighthouse where we walked down and looked at the panorama. Just off the shore is Moku'ae'ae Island where many birds nest. In fact, birds were nesting everywhere around these headlands.

We are staying at Pu'u Poa in Princeville. I'll post some photos of the place later. Now, I have to relax.

Linda at Poli'ahu Heiau.

Opaeka'a Falls

Kilauea Lighthouse

Moku'ae'ae Island

Waimea Canyon

We checked and re-checked the weather and decided that today would be the best day for a trip up Waimea Canyon Drive.  After loading up we drove to Waimea and hung a left up Hwy 550. The views were amazing and we stopped for pictures many times.

Linda and I hiked to Waipo'o Falls while Don and Caroline went further up the highway to several lookouts. The hiking was very steep with many big up and downs, but the views were grand.

It took us two and a half hours to do the 4-mile hike. I moved slow due to a foot injury, but we made it.

Once back to the car we drove up to the Kalalau Lookout and then the Pu'u o Kila Lookout where we took photos and watched the fog move in and out. 

We drove back to Waimea and had lunch at the Shrimp Station and followed that up with shaved ice from Jo Jo's Anuenue. 

View of Po'omdu Canyon.

A very jungle like, 2-mile hike into the falls.

Waipo'o Falls from Waimea Canyon Drive.

It is straight down behind Linda. 

Along the ridge trail into the falls.

Looking over the edge of  Waipo'o Falls.

Small upper falls and pool at the end of the hike.

Trail was very steep. Linda did a lot of waiting at the ridge tops.

View from Kalalau Lookout.

Kalalau Valley from Kalalau Lookout.

Kalalau Valley from Pu'u o Kila Lookout.

Coconut shrimp.

Barking Sands

As soon as we get settled in I'll update this post. All I can say now is that we got up at 3:30 AM and Mike Wassmuth drove us to the airport. Thanks, Mike! You are the best! 

Our connecting flights took us to Seattle where we met up with Caroline and Don. Then on to Kauai, Hawaii where we landed, collected our baggage, and rented cars. Then we went to Costco and Safeway for provisions. Once the shopping frenzy was over we drove south to the Pacific Missile Range Facility, at Barking Sands. 

Looking east at a rainbow @ Barking Sands.

We cleared inspection and got our passes and found our cabin. Opening up the place was a bit hot, the humidity must be real high. We packed our gear in and found spots for most of it and then we walked down to the beach. 

Our cabin from the beach.

We were warned about the chickens in Kauai. It's true.

This owl flew in, funny, all the chickens left.

Copter out on the base entry.

A Nene, a goose, not the dance.

Chicken whisperer.

Watching the sunset.

I think this is Mars after sunset.