Sunday we drove up Haleakala, the inactive volcano that dominates Maui’s east side.

A plant called silver sword grows here–the only place in the world where it’s found naturally. Silver sword blooms once and then dies, but we didn’t see any flowers; it’s the wrong time of year, apparently.

Okay, if I remember my terminology correctly, these are caldera, not craters.

Then we headed down the mountain to Iao, which I really enjoyed. The main attraction is the Iao Needle, or Kuka’emoku, which stabs 2,250 feet into the sky.

Just below the needle, King Kamehameha fought (and won) a battle to dominate Maui. The body count was so high that the Iao stream was dammed by corpses.

Looking back down the valley toward the ocean:

Okay, does anyone else remember the Sesame Street episodes when they traveled to Hawaii and searched for Snuffelupagus (sp?) Mountain? These steep, green-draped mountains always remind me of that.

After the needle overlook, you can follow a trail that runs along the stream and through dense tropical forest.

After walking along the river, you cross up a hill and then back down into a garden that features native Polynesian plants.

Some plants were in shallow water gardens, with irrigation routed from the surrounding streams. The little waterfalls were quite soothing, and I found the whole garden very peaceful.

I feel like a brat. I am so fortunate to be here in gorgeous Maui, where at this exact moment I’m watching a gecko stalk bugs across the ceiling, and I’m completely preoccupied with how dim my future seems and what a failure I am. Life would be so much simpler if I were, well, a gecko. Though not so much if I were a bug.

Anyway, enough self-pity. I leave you with a sunset: