2012 Year in Review: Rainbow warriors

In August we enjoyed some relief from the Midwestern heat by traveling to Hawaii. We stayed in West Maui, between Kaanapali and Kapalua. Maui is basically made up of two massive volcanic mountains protruding from the Pacific. The mountainside near our condo was shrouded in clouds, often with rainbows, too. We had great views of Lanai and Molokai from our complex's beach. Truthfully, West Maui is more developed than I would prefer, but we were near some spectacular natural areas, as seen above along the Kahekili Highway. We were able to do some paddleboarding, golfing and snorkeling, and we made a trip to Iao Needle, a rock formation near Kahului.

Birds were plentiful. We went to Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge, where we saw the rare Hawaiian stilt, wandering tattler, Pacific golden plover and a few more. I recorded a lifer tropicbird along the Kahekili Highway.

Hawaii is an amazing place, and I wish we had more time for hiking in some of the mountain areas or a trip to Molokini Crater. The other islands look very interesting, too.