Thursday, May 8, 2008

Journey to the House of the Sun


This is view from the summit of Haleakala on the Island of Maui looking down on the cloud cover below. It's a two hour drive from the coast to get to the summit. For an admitted acrophobic - its the longest two hour driver ever taken. And upon my arrival to the top -- I felt an immediate evolutionary connection to my quadruped ancestors and emulated their carriage perfectly. I even used my toes to hold on. A 50 mph wind is always a nice mountain-top touch for an closed-eyed, white-knuckled acrophobic.

Haleakala means "House of the Sun" - looking toward the east its possible to watch the sun rise from below (if you start your journey from coastal Maui at 3:30 am). Haleakala is a dormant volcano and at 10,023 feet above sea level - the tallest peak on the island of Maui. This crater is large enough to contain the entire island of Manhattan. It is 7.5 miles long, 2.5 miles wide and 3000 feet deep. Within the crater are nine cinder cones -- the largest more than a 1000 feet high.

Lush Hawaiian rain forests flank the summit midway through the drive and the birding is superb. I didn't see the infamous nene goose this day - but I did sight the beautifully plumed and rare 'apapane in the Hosmer Grove Forest.

37 comments:

  1. Amazing shot!
    Well done!

    Petunia

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  2. Wow... this is amazing!! I would have loved to make the climb to this.... beautiful photo!
    Rocky Mountain Retreat

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  3. Excellent sky watch post.. both picture and words..

    Thank you for taking part this week
    Tom

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  4. Anonymous4:21 PM

    And what an amazing journey to the house of the sun this must have been.
    I don´t know why but when I saw you're title I remembered of that great music called "House of the rising sun" by The Animals!

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  5. Amazing and interesting, excellent.

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  6. Excellent photo with a magnificent sky, I wish I could be in place to observe this beautiful landscape and can enjoy this calm and tranquility. seems that paradise is even there, when everything we can see that on top of clouds

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  7. This is really breath taking...Congratulatios fabulous shot.
    Thanks for your visit and generous comment.

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  8. OMG! Just an amazing shot!

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  9. Great photo = love it.

    My Sky watch from Belvoir Castle Grounds are now up.

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  10. Anonymous5:42 PM

    Whoa! Very cool.

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  11. How about that! That's is just gorgeous!

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  12. Anonymous7:35 PM

    House of the Sun. Great taken.
    Congratulations for shot and trekking.

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  13. A great view! Beautiful.
    Your blog is beautiful as well.
    All of your photographs actually. :)

    Ida

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  14. Fantastic entry for SWF! mine's up too hope you can visit... Happy weekend!

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  15. How inspiring! Your photograph and description make me want to be there!

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  16. This is a fabulous picture,love it!

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  17. Awesome mountain there. A loooong way from Chicago, lol!

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  18. TR: truly love this view from above the clouds. Really nice story to go with the view for SWF.

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  19. Anonymous7:49 AM

    Talk about being on top of the world. You could see forever from there!

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  20. That is the most amazing shot. Great info too.

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  21. Wow that was fantastic

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  22. Anonymous10:51 AM

    An amazing picture of an amazing place !

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  23. Excellent SWF post! Amazing shot.

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  24. Anonymous12:47 PM

    I'm also a bit acrophobic so I understand very well how you felt at the summit of Haleakala! :-) But you made a great shot!

    Glad to hear that you come to Istanbul next week. How many days will you stay? I have a business travel to Adana but I'll be glad to meet you if we can arrange our programs.

    Friendly greetings,

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  25. That's unfortunate about your fear, but you described it in a very funny way! Outstanding photograph!

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  26. T.R. great photograph. I love the composition here. thanks for sharing.

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  27. Amazing shot! Thanks for the notes on it and for sharing this. :)

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  28. A superb photo.That was quite an achievement to get to the place where you took this photo.I would certainly have been on my hands and knees as well!

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  29. Came here from Lana's blog. I really enjoyed this shot because of the composition and the unusual percentage of the silhouette. Makes for a compelling image.

    I've been a fair way back through your blog and really enjoyed your nature shots, as well as the divers in mid-flight!

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  30. What a unique picture, lovely. Must have been a fulfilling climb to get to view this.

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  31. Sorry about the acrophobia, but what a mystical shot. I love this!

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  32. no need or no words i get to write after i saw your blog , nice blog , i suppose are you very busy with your work ,these lines is saying by your work , nice work you have done.

    keep it up in forward direction

    god bless you

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  33. Following all the links on SWF is the most amazing journey, but your photos and stories are stunning. Thank you for sharing.

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  34. I was born and raised in Hawaii. I live in the Midwest right now and loved seeing Haleakala. You are really a fabulous photographer.

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  35. WOW WOW WOW. The picture takes my breath away, and the info is so interesting too. LOL, I'm surprised you opened you eyes long enough to take the photo while you were on top, clutching on with fingers and toes and clenched teeth!

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