More of the Crater at Haleakala

This place must certainly inform the artists who imagine scenes on other worlds. For, in my travels, few places have rivaled the other worldliness of these vistas.

Haleakala near the Observatory

At the very top of the volcano we find a collection of observatories, which we mere mortals are not allowed to drive to, and vistas that can be a bit difficult to comprehend. On the slope above we look along a field of broken lava to abrupt change is slope beyond which appears only sky and ocean. Like one of the modern "infinity pools" one finds on hotel roofs, this "infinity field" on top of Maui is equally unsettling.

Haleakala

No trip to Maui is complete without a visit to the top of Haleakala to see the volcanic crater and the curious landscape there. I picked a clear morning and was able to see all around the crater to the edge of the clouds that are apparently always present on the southern side of the island.