The Machinery of Night

Posted 6:57 PM by Angie Schultz

Foto Friday: Holy Mackerel!

In order to see the sunrise on Haleakala, you have to get up at oh-dark-thirty, gather your warm clothes (even though it's still 75 degrees outside), and drive for about an hour and a half (from Kihei, longer from the west side) up a twisting, turning road, dodging the occasional cow. And you have to pay ten bucks for the privilege. Most days, in my opinion, it isn't really worth it.

On this particular morning, it was:

Sunrise from Pukalani, Mar 21 2011

And this was just from Pukalani, still an hour down. It must have been awesome at the summit. The best times to go for sunrises (as for sunsets), is when the sky is cloudy. Unfortunately you have to get up and try to ascertain whether the sky is cloudy at the summit before you leave. And even then you can be bitterly disappointed, as I have been for countless sunsets: there's cirrus everywhere, the sun is setting in a golden puddle, and finally -- naw, forget it. Just a gray mush. So I've never gone to the summit specifically for a sunrise.

These are "mackerel" clouds, by the way.

Labels: Foto Friday, Hawaii, Mar 2011