We recently drove to the Haleakala National park, which has a volcano crater. We had to drive through winding roads, and up to 10,000 feet elevation. As we reached about 8,000 feet we were so high that we were driving through the clouds. Finally we reached the volcano. The volcano forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian islands of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by the West Maui Mountains. As we drove through the entrance, we went straight to the visitor center to pick up a map and a Junior Ranger Booklet for Haleakala National Park. To receive a Junior Ranger badge, we had to complete a certain number of activities in the booklet based on your age. 
Finally we were prepared for our long hike called Keonehe'ehe'e (Sliding Sands). It was called sliding sands because along the trail were loose gravel. There were many signs showing the way of the trail, so nobody went off. When we started our hike, the clouds were coming in, and we couldn't see the volcano. After about ten minutes everything cleared up and we took many beautiful photos. We saw all different colors of mountains. At the bottom, there was some green grass growing, and to the right of that, there were some pink and red mountains. It was very windy above the clouds, so we put our long-sleeved shirts around our head, so it would cover our ears. We felt much nicer and warmer with the sweaters around our ears. In the beginning of the hike, we went straight down for about 40 minutes but then we had to go back up. It took double the amount of time to go back up, so that hike back up took another about 90 minutes with a few short breaks. All together we hiked approximately 3 miles. 
After we finished that hike, we ate lunch, and got ready to go back to the visitor center to get our badges. The ranger checked all our booklets, and corrected our mistakes. Then she told us to read the pledge that was written on our books to always take care of nature. Finally, we earned our badges, and took a photo together with the ranger. We are now official Junior Rangers of Haleakala National Park. 
Have you ever visited a volcano?
Dear SARAH !!
ReplyDeleteWe don*t have enough English words to describe
what impression your posts made on us.
It seems to us that we know everything about
Maui as if we was there.
You made such amazing pictures which help a lot
to see the island.
We are so glad you had such wonderful time and you can share your magical moment with people.
Thank you for the post,proud of you .
Love you, grands Mila & Isay
Dear grands Mila & Isay,
DeleteThank you so much for spending your time to leave me such a lovely comment! I really appreciate all of the wonderful comments you always leave on my blog and Miriam's blog.
I agree that Maui is a beautiful place, and we hope to take you along with us next time we go.
I love you very much, and hope to see you soon.
Love from your granddaughter,
Sarah
Dear Sarah,
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful post and the pictures are great, I have seen many volcano's and it's always fascinating to watch the eruption. The colors of the lava are so different from black and grey to pink and red. You all were probably very tired after such a long hike, but it's very rewarding.
You had a wonderful time my little "official Junior Rangers of Haleakala"
Love you,
Grandma Tanya and Grandpa Eugene
Dear Grandma Tanya and Grandpa Eugene,
DeleteThank you so much for spending your time to leave me such a lovely comment! I really appreciate all of the wonderful and quality comments you always leave on my blog and Miriam's blog.
I agree that it was a very long hike, but it is really rewarding as if we didn't go, we would have missed a lot.
In what states have you seen volcanoes?
Love from your other granddaughter,
Sarah
Dear Sarah,
ReplyDeleteWhat an informative post about Haleakala National Park! I visited this beautiful site, but did not have the time to hike down to the bottom. Plus, when I was there it was very hot, and I was concerned about hiking in the heat.
I visited Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. This park has two active volcanoes, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa. While there, Kīlauea was oozing lava out of its vents. We hiked out to see the slow moving lava, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! The lava was approximately 2000˚ F and moving very slowly. As you can imagine, you could feel the heat coming off the lava well before you got near it. We had to be very careful where we went.
What were some of the tasks you completed to earn your Junior Ranger status? What are some facts you can share as a Junior Ranger?
Your proud former teacher,
Mrs. Y♥llis
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for spending your time to leave me such a lovely comment! I really appreciate all of the wonderful, long, and quality comments you always leave on my blog!
I can't believe it was hot at the volcano when you went, as the volcano is above the clouds. I also think it very interesting that you saw the 2000˚ F lava rocks slowly moving down.
We also went to the two volcano's in The Big Island. Since we went 2 years ago, I don't really remember much about the hike.
Some of the tasks we had to complete were writing about your favorite part of the hike, and filling in a page about a rock that you find while hiking. We also had to write about some of the animals we saw, and tell some facts about that animal.
Your former student,
Sarah