The Wonders of Waimea Canyon

I'm back and I'm overwhelmed. My experiences in Kauai has altered me on so many levels that I didn't know where to begin with my posts. It has  actually taken me a weeks just to mentally shift back from Kauai and more days to decide what would be my first account. In a week of cultural exploration and natural spectacles, there's a lot to choose. So I went with the most dramatic.  Waimea Canyon unfolds with such dazzling beauty that it literally snatches your breath away.

It was a long, hour drive from the South Side of Kauai to the West Side, where the canyon stretches 14 miles long, one mile wide and 3,600 feet deep. I wasn't quite prepared when I faced these panoramas of crags and valley gorges, washed in shades of  emerald and russet. They don't call it the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" for nothing.

I know these pix look like  re-touched post cards or professional shots but I took them with my little Cannon 495. There really isn't much chance of taking bad photos of the canyon unless you get fog or clouds. I'm told that our group was very lucky to get a clear day because rain is inevitable on Kauai.

The views were almost too much to absorb. Every angle offered another perspective, every direction provided more beauty. The spiritual energy, as can be expected, was quite high and I actually became a little dizzy. I now completely understand the phrase, "dizzy with wonder."