Kauai- Part Deux, the Saga Continues

Welcome back to the exciting tale of my family vacation to Kauai.  When we last left our protagonists, they were fearing for their lives on a swinging bridge and admiring a beach littered with industrial trash.

This time, we will explore the "grand canyon of the pacific" and other sites on the west side.

The west side of Kauai is fairly unpopulated.  It has several farms, a giant military base, and a lot of land that is uninhabitable.  Fortunately for me, it makes for great scenery.

One of the reasons I wanted to come to Kauai in the first place was to see the Waimea Canyon, which is nicknamed "the grand canyon of the pacific."  The guide book says this quote is attributed to Mark Twain, but he later revealed he never actually said that.  Regardless, that catch phrase sticks.

There is a 19-mile scenic drive with many pulloffs and overlooks into the canyon.  This road begins in the town of Waimea and quickly gains 1000 ft elevation in a short distance and keeps climbing from there.  Before long, we were gazing into the canyon from the side of the road.

OK, so it's not as grand as the grand canyon, but it is pretty awe-inspiring with the colored layers of rock.  It made for some nice pictures.

At the very end of the drive, there is a lookout into the Kalalau Valley from atop the rim of the canyon.  It is almost surreal to look down into this valley, which is a few thousand feet below you, and watch it extend on into the ocean.

After a short lunch break on a nearby bench, we decided to attempt the hike at the end of the road.  Let me first explain that this part of Kauai is riddled with hiking paths.  We could literally be out on the trails all day every day for weeks on end.  I don't think our toddler and infant would appreciate that, though.  We decided to hike until the whining from the toddler almost reached "point of no return" status. 

So with a baby once again strapped to my chest, the four of us set out on the only hike we would attempt as a family while on this vacation.  Mary was a good sport about all this.  She was glad to hold my lens cap while I stopped to snap some photos of the scenery.

After about a half mile or so, we turned around and headed back to the car.  After stopping for lunch II at the best restaurant on Waimea Canyon Drive (i.e. the ONLY restaurant on Waimea Canyon Drive), we set about exploring more of the south coast we discussed in the previous post.

Wild chickens are all over the place here!

There is one more thing I want to mention about the west side of the island.  It is so close to the neighbor island of Niihau that you can actually see its silhouette from Kauai.  This is a fascinating island simply because it is the only privately-owned island in the Hawaiian chain.  Some rich family bought the entire island a long time ago, and generally doesn't allow anyone to visit.  They say they are trying to preserve the nature and wildlife there and protect it from the tourists.  Sounds noble. Regardless, here is a nice silhouette of the private island taken from the balcony of our Barking Sands cabin.

And with that I shall leave you with some sunset photos taken about 100 yards from our cottage on Barking Sands.  Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion to our Kauai story!