Day Two in Maui: Haleakala Sunrise Trip

Waking up at 2:30am is never an easy task, even when you're in Hawaii and still running on New York City time.  Even so, we were up before the dawn so we could ascend 10,000 feet to the top of Maui's volcano, Haleakala, to watch the sunrise over the island.  It was a bit of a shock to go from the humid 80 degree weather on Maui's beaches, to the arid 30 degree weather just a short hour later, but the views were worth the adjustment.

With the sun, finally risen, we were able to see into the volcano's crater.

We then proceeded up the the rest of the mountain to the summit.

The Silver Sword Plant, which only grows at the top of Maui's volcano.  This plant lives for 30 - 60 years, and it only blooms once in its life.  After it blooms, it dies.

After visiting the summit, we drove to another location on volcano and were able to get a different perspective on the crater, which allowed us to see the "new" lava flows which are only 400 years old as well as the "ash mounds".