Haleakala

When the alarm went off at 3:30 am, I really didn't want to get out of bed. Not only was it the middle of the night, but I was also on vacation. But Mr. UR and I had planned to drive to the top of Haleakala, the dormant volacano that makes up75 percent of the island of Maui,  to watch the sunrise at the beginning of our trip to Maui while we were still on Mainland time.

We headed to the road to Haleakala in our rental car and started the climb. To my surprise there was a man running a concession stand with bagels and coffee on the way up. We stopped to chat with him - his family owns the land his stand was on- and grab some coffee ( By the way, a perfect job for a night owl - he worked until dawn and then headed home)

I'm not keen on heights so I'm glad that it was pitch black out on our climb. When we got close to the top there was a sign saying that the parking lot at the tippy top was full. Luckily there was a 2nd parking lot one level down.

I had put on several layers of clothing and boy was I glad I did. The temperature at the top was in the 30's and the wind was killer..

There was a viewing area with a plexiglass shield that we huddled behind - and we did alot of jumping up and down to keep warm.

But the sunrise was beautiful....and the views of the rest of the island were great. I think the middle of the night alarm was worth it.

I didn't expect the landscape to look so desert like. It looked what I picture the surface of the moon to look like.

We made a short stop at the Visitor Center and passed the Observatory.

And then it was off to a delicious breakfast at The Kula Lodge located at the bottom of the volcano! If you get an opportunity to see the sunrise at Haleakala, or just visit Haleakala, I would definitely go. And Kula Lodge is also a worth a stop - try the french toast.

I'm linking up with www.walkingontravels.com/2014/05/15/friday-postcards-ballard-farmers-market/. Go view some beautiful photos of the Ballard Farmers Market in Washington