On Friday we drove the very narrow and curvy road around the north and east sides of Haleakala. The road has speed limits as low as 15 mph, and the numerous stream valleys crossing the road result in a crazy number of one-lane bridges. After 2.5 hours we arrived at Waianapanapa State Park; later we drove another 45 minutes to visit the Oheo River in Haleakala National Park.

Note, we have still not gone to a white sand beach We had too many other plans for our first few days. The black sand is of course bits of basalt (rock lava). We actually wondered why this color of sand beach is rare here!

It took us a while to recognize the one official blowhole, because so many places made big splashes.

These grew all along the coast. The fruit looks a bit like pineapple, and is used in medicines and foods. We liked walking through a forest that included these trees.

The scenery is so different from what we usually see in Colorado. It feels good just walking and watching. Next we went to the coastal part of Haleakala National Park.

• Maui 2022