June 22, 2007
Friday night was our Stargazing on Haleakala Sunset Dinner. It was a long and winding road there; picture Lombard Street in San Francisco, only for 36 miles up the side of a volcano. With cows dotting the hillside and sometimes on the wrong side of the guard rail. We emerged above the clouds and above the tree line at 9,740 ft elevation. The bathrooms had signs warning us that the toilets use reclaimed water, so please do not drink. And me, with my toilet-drinking habit.
We hiked to the edge of the crater, which was quite impressive. The sun began to set and it was absolutely gorgeous from above the clouds. My camera battery chose then to die, so I didn't get some of the really stunningly colored pictures.
Once the sun was down, our guides set up a high-powered telescope and told us about the night sky. We saw a crescent Venus and craters on the moon, four moons of Saturn, a new star (blue) next to an old star (orange), and I even saw a falling star! Our guides were extremely knowledgeable, and Dad was in his glory, thinking back to the observatory and telescope he'd built as a teenager back behind his house.
Definitely something to look into if you're planning a trip to Maui.
We hiked to the edge of the crater, which was quite impressive. The sun began to set and it was absolutely gorgeous from above the clouds. My camera battery chose then to die, so I didn't get some of the really stunningly colored pictures.
Once the sun was down, our guides set up a high-powered telescope and told us about the night sky. We saw a crescent Venus and craters on the moon, four moons of Saturn, a new star (blue) next to an old star (orange), and I even saw a falling star! Our guides were extremely knowledgeable, and Dad was in his glory, thinking back to the observatory and telescope he'd built as a teenager back behind his house.
Definitely something to look into if you're planning a trip to Maui.