We arrived at the Maui Sunriders bike shop at 3:00 am (after leaving our hotel at 2:30am!). We were outfitted with bikes, gloves, and waterproof pants & jackets, and the shuttle to the mountain top departed around 3:30 or so for the almost two-hour d - Sat 28 Aug 2004 10:01:45 AM Haleakala means "house of the sun"; we would see why when we watched the sun rise above the clouds from the Haleakala summit. It was dark on the way up the mountain, so we took this picture on the way down. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 07:41:49 AM Before dawn at 10,023 feet, it was below freezing... about 28 degrees. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:07:53 AM A bundled up Michele - Sat 28 Aug 2004 05:53:39 AM Joel, trying to stay warm - Sat 28 Aug 2004 05:52:58 AM We were prepared, and brought jackets, sweatshirts, and wore layers. Other tourists who came to watch the sunrise must not have known how cold it would be. This guy was wearing shorts, and wrapped in his hotel bedspread. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:05:51 AM Another view of the sunrise watchers. Check out the people wrapped in hotel blankets & towels. Not pictured is a couple wearing their hotel bathrobes as jackets. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:07:53 AM The first light of day before sunrise. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 05:29:22 AM aaw - Sat 28 Aug 2004 05:44:48 AM Getting lighter... - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:01:40 AM abj - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:03:49 AM The sun first begins to come up above the clouds. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:06:30 AM abn - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:06:49 AM Coming up... - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:07:22 AM Almost there... - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:09:20 AM And there it is. This picture was taken at 6:18am. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:18:27 AM The view from the summit after the sun came up. 6:20am - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:19:39 AM abd - Sat 28 Aug 2004 05:57:18 AM Once the sun came up, we saw just how many people had driven up the mountain to see the sunrise. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:10:32 AM Silverswords are an extremely rare plant, endemic to the top of the currently dormant Haleakala volcano. An endangered species, they grow on Haleakala, but no where else on earth. There was a sign next to the flower bed that said not to even walk on the d - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:12:32 AM abw - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:12:44 AM "Science Town" Meteorology & astronomy equipment at the summit. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:06:21 AM abs - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:10:11 AM The visitor center was a a bit down the mountain from the summit. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:18:18 AM Volcanic terrain by the visitor center. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 06:19:29 AM Joel & Michele about to begin the 37 mile bike ride down the mountain back to Pa'ia town. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 07:03:12 AM Looking over the valley on our way down the mountain. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 07:11:20 AM Another view of the valley. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 07:11:26 AM Joel in full biking gear. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 07:11:57 AM The Upcountry Harvest flower & gift shop, just outside Haleakala National Park; the flowers sold here are grown at the Sunrise Protea farm down the street. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 08:51:17 AM A beautiful protea, up close. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 08:42:20 AM King Protea $5/stem - Sat 28 Aug 2004 08:42:04 AM Exotic Protea $5/stem - Sat 28 Aug 2004 08:43:05 AM An arrangement of proteas - Sat 28 Aug 2004 08:43:19 AM Makawao, one of the towns we went through on our way down the mountain, is known as Maui's paniolo town. Paniolo is the Hawaiian word for cowboy. The first Hawaiian cowboys came from Mexico, and "paniolo" is a Hawaiian-sounding version of the - Sat 28 Aug 2004 09:28:40 AM aco - Sat 28 Aug 2004 09:27:04 AM Store fronts in Makawao have an "old west" look, on Maui. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 09:22:31 AM Rodeo General Store. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 09:21:54 AM You know you're in paniolo, or cowboy, country when there's a rodeo arena. I didn't expect to see that on Maui! - Sat 28 Aug 2004 09:13:45 AM Michele & Joel, having shed some of our layers, in Makawao. This picture was taken about 9:30am, and it had warmed up considerably as we got closer to sea level. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 09:20:25 AM A pineapple plantation near Pa'ia. Pa'ia town is known as Maui's plantation town. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 09:34:48 AM A sugarcane plantation - Sat 28 Aug 2004 09:35:01 AM These old trees are on a Maui historical register, and because of the trees, there are no bike lanes on the road down the mountain, the most heavily biked road in America. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 09:37:21 AM A church we passed on our way down the mountain. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 09:44:25 AM Another church, near Pa'ia. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 10:05:56 AM adb - Sat 28 Aug 2004 10:06:47 AM Landscaping around the church, and sugarcane fields in the background. - Sat 28 Aug 2004 10:07:20 AM We made it back to Pa'ia about 10:00am, we'd been up since 2:00am! - Sat 28 Aug 2004 10:07:00 AM
