Another Mauii Day

We woke to a light, soft drizzle on Saturday morning that went on until about 9:30am. We enjoyed our breakfast, then went to a forest research area to take a hike in the forest. We hiked in the woods and down a mountainside to get to a Waihou Springs. This area was about seven miles from our cottage and was a popular area for hiking.
Afterwards back to the cottage for lunch then off to the north shore area to see the beaches. We found a big parking lot at the shore and watched the surfers and kite boarders enjoying the surf. We saw on the news that they had massive waves here the day before we arrived on the Island. I'm sure this beach would have been crowded when the "surf's up" call went out!
We laid around on this beautiful beach for a couple of hours (just long enough to start turning pink),  and watched the surfers playing on the waves. This is the Hawaii that we were anticipating.

Hibiscus blooms next to the cottage

Hiking the mountainside at Waihou Springs

Catching the pure spring water that was trickling down the cliff side

We saw plenty of these along the roads and trails. I'm always a sucker for taking pictures of the roosters

Here's the beach on the north shore of the Island. Waves were coming in pretty heavy.

 

The surfers were loving it.

 

Nancy was in Paradise!!

Mynah birds are everywhere here too.

 

A coconut palm on the beach.

Backyard at the cottage

We're not in Arizona any more!!

A great day exploring the valcano

We went exploring today at Haleakala National Park. We left the cottage and drove up the center of the Island. On the way up the mountain we passed groups of bicyclists coming down from the top of the park. They have outfitters here who take groups to the top and let them bike down along the highway. No pedaling, but make sure your brakes are holding!
We drove to the visitors center of the national park and then to the summit at an elevation of 10,000 feet and were amazed at the views. We were far above the clouds, and the views of the crater of the volcano were amazing. We had a lunch and then hiked into the wilderness of the park. It was an amazing place and we were so glad to have experienced it.
From the top of the mountain here we could see several peaks from the big island of Hawaii.
Here are some pictures from today...

The entrance to the park. It was fairly quiet in the morning, but got busier as the day went on.

Driving up the volcano to the top.

Some information on the creation of the Islands 

A view of the crater. These Islands were created by lava flows under the ocean.

The road to the summit. There is an observatory on top that is used to monitor all manmade objects that orbit the earth.

Summit elevation is 10,023 feet. We were well above the clouds.

In this picture you can see the peaks of the big Island of Hawaii in the distance.

 One of the few plants that can grow on top is the Silver Sword plant.

There is camping in the park, but I doubt if our fifth wheel would fit here.

Here we are getting ready to hike into the crater.

Some views of the area. It was like being in another world.

Did I mention that we were way above the clouds?

See what I mean?

Back at the ranch (or should I say cottage? We were very comfortable here and had everything we needed.

Orchids on the front porch.

 

Welcome to Maui

We woke early on Thursday and were at Sunshine Parking at 5:45 am to park the truck and catch our flight out of Phoenix. The first plane took us to Honolulu in 6 1/2 hours and there we caught a smaller plane for the final 45 minute jump to Maui.
The Islands are a stark contrast to Arizona. No desert here, everything is lush and green. The flowers are beautiful and abundant. We picked up a rental car at the airport and did a little exploring on the north central part of the Island in Kahului where the airport is. The city is a nice area and fairly busy. Lots of shopping here and a bustling community. Next, on to Makawao where our first cottage is located. We are in the center of the Island and near Haleakalo National Park where we will tour the volcano and do some sightseeing today. (The Hawaiian names are pretty challenging, but we need to learn them so we can get around)! Our cottage is in the country with a beautiful yard and is very cute and comfortable. After meeting our hosts and getting a tour we settled in then drove to Pukalani about seven mile away and stocked up on provisions for the next few days. We had a good nights sleep and were awakened by the darn roosters crowing at 4:45 in the morning. Wake up time!
I will start taking some pictures so that I have more to post later. We have a good Wi-Fi signal here and I am hoping we will at the other two places we will be staying. So get ready to enjoy Maui with us...

Here we are landing in Honolulu. (How in the heck did I get that picture?)

On the Island! It was 1:30 Maui time. Our flight left phoenix at 8am Arizona time. We gained two hours in flight.

The back yard of the cottage at dusk.

On the move...Next stop: Maui!!!

Last night we had a nice campfire and enjoyed some company from the camp next door. Don and Julie joined us for some wine and socializing. They are from Springfield, Missouri and are starting to spend time camping in the winter. They are a couple of years younger than us, with five grown children and are new to the winter camping lifestyle. We talked about our adventures and listened to theirs. They have traveled quite a bit, but mostly flying and touring rather than in a camper. We hit it off quite well, and hope to correspond with them in the future.
This morning we broke camp and started driving west. We took the road back to US10 and headed through Tucson, then past Casa Grande and on to Phoenix. We parked the camper at an RV storage facility and are in a hotel for the night. We fly out of Phoenix Airport in the morning and will be in Maui an the afternoon! We have twelve days in Hawaii at three vacation rentals for four days each. We should have plenty of time to explore the island and are looking forward to the most excellent adventure!
Hope everyone is well and having fun.

The campground on Patagonia Lake. We liked this spot and hope to return another year.

Prickly Pear Cactus looking pretty healthy and leafy

The creek running from Patagonia. 

Jenny was here!

This is the vista named for her!

Some friends along the trail

Taking off from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Aloha y'all!!

Another Sunshiny Day

Enjoying the southern Arizona days. We've had a run of good weather even though we haven't been able to match the 80 degree day we had on Friday.
This morning we joined the rangers for a guided bird walk. We must really be going off the deep end huh! We saw a lot of birds and were amazed to hear how these people have every species stored and filed in their brains. They can tell you what the bird is, what it's calls are, what markings tell him apart from his cousins, and weather he is a he or a she and what the difference is! We are lucky if we even see it. We did, however, see the prize of them all for this area. See below...

Every one that comes to Patagonia wants to see this guy. We found him this morning. The Elegant Trogon is his name.

This afternoon we went exploring the mission at Tupac, just north of Nogales, Arizona.

It's 80, but it's that "dry" heat!!

We are finally getting our tropical temperatures. Yesterday we hit 80 and today it's 75 so far! We drove from Patagonia to Sierra Vista which is the biggest town short of going back to Tucson. We did laundry then had lunch at La Casita. Getting groceries too, so that we are well stocked until we move on Wednesday.
Last night we took a guided sunset/moonrise hike at Sonoita Natural Preserve just outside of the state park. Lots of information from the ranger and spectacular views in every direction. We had a beautiful sunset and a full moon on the rise in the east. The sky lit up in shades of red and purple and everyone had a great time and lots of Kodak moments.
We talked to Mike today and he is up at the house on Wheeler Rd. He says there are about sixteen inches of snow, so lots of fun in the north country.
Here are a few pictures from the day...

A view from the top. Patagonia Lake in southern Arizona.

Another view.

 

Sunset where we are was at about six pm

We saw a full moon risin'

Happy hikers on the mountain

The sunset was spectacular last night

Moonrise wasn't bad either!

Lake Patagonia behind our campsite this morning.

 

We hope everyone is well and enjoying life as we are. God Bless you all!

Friday, and we are at Patagonia Lake State Park

We've been getting some great weather the past week with highs in the low seventies. It's been sunny and great for hiking and sightseeing. The lake here is in a valley surrounded by low mountains and is a favorite area for birders since there is a big migration of birds that come into and out of the states to Mexico. They see parrots here at times and a wide variety of tropical birds seen very few places in the United States.
Patagonia (the town), is a  small artsy craftsy village with a lot of character and a few conveniences for us within a short drive of the park. We are here for a week and plan to join in on a couple of the ranger led activities that they have daily.

At Organ Pipe Cactus Campground we were within a short hike of the Mexico border. Signs along the trails warned of impending doom. We had no problems.

This was our visit to Lukeville. We expected a town, but all we found was this border crossing into Mexico. Other campers told us about Rocky Point in Mexico. It is and hour south of Lukeville, and is a favorite resort area on the Sea of Cortez, northeast side of the Baja peninsula. We might go there another year.

A last look at the mountains at OrganPipe.

This is it!

Main street in town

It's all about the birding here. With lots of species of birds in a confined area of the desert.

Northern Shovelers in Lake Patagonia

A view of the lake

We walked the trails through grazing cattle.