'Iao Valley

This past weekend we visited 'Iao (pronounced 'EE-ow') Valley, known for its beautiful scenery and as being the site of one of the most famous battles in Hawaii history. It was here in 1790 that King Kamehameha I destroyed the Maui army in an effort to unite the Hawaiian Islands in the Battle of Kepaniwai, which means damming of the waters. It was said to be such a bloody battle that dead bodies blocked up the stream and that the stream ran red.

One of the most famous points there is the 'Iao Needle, which served as a lookout for the warriors. It is 2,250 feet high. Unfortunately, you could only go to a lookout point to see the needle from afar, but you cannot really get near it. We walked around the paved path, which is very short, and then decided to go off on one of the trails which followed the stream. It reminded me a lot of the green belt in Austin, except surrounded by mountains. It was really nice and shady and the water was freezing cold! We hoped in for a little while to cool off and then hiked right back out.

After that, we left west Maui, dropped my friend off at her house in Paia, and went surfing in south Maui, near Lahaina. After we surfed for a while, we went to eat at a Mexican fusion place called Cilantro. It was just okay. I really do miss good mexican food here!

Well, if you want to see more pics of 'Iao Valley, please click on the "'Iao Valley" title above. If that link does not work, please copy and paste this to your browser:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=133817&l=50b8e&id=723885367