Ok, so there were hardly any places to pull a vehicle over and take pictures of until you got past the 5,000-foot marker...

Here we are, looking down Haleakala, above the clouds...

At the Leleiwi Overlook, around 7,000 feet above sea level. This is a shot across the Haleakala Crater.

The Crater is not an extinct volcanic crater, as most tourist literature erroneously describes it. Rather, it is an erosion crater created by two valleys that gradually formed into one another. The Haleakala Crater was partially filled with lava and volcanic gravel after Haleakala's last eruption, over 200 years ago, but it is not a volcanic crater.

Another view across the Crater, shot from Leleiwi.

In fact, the Haleakala National Park prefers to call it a basin or valley, and most of the official literature refers to it as Haleakala Valley.

One side of the Leleiwi Overlook.

The Turners on Haleakala.

Since we were the only ones at the overlook (most people don't take the time to walk the .15 mile trail, and take pics from the parking lot - see what they miss?), I had to quickly learn the auto-timer features of my Nikon Coolpix 950...

Heading back down the trail from the overlook.

Underneath those clouds, toward the base of Haleakala, is lush pasture land. We passed quite a few cattle and horse ranches on our way up.

Kelly at the Leleiwi Overlook sign.

Unfortunately for most tourists, this is where they stop. The shots you saw before are from the actual overlook, and beat the stuffing out of what most people take from here, beautiful though it is.

From Haleakala's summit, you can see the twin volcanic peaks of the big island of Hawai'i. Yes, Mau'i and Hawai'i are that close to one another...

Part of the Haleakala Valley from the summit.

Kelly at the summit. More than 10,000 feet high!

This is definitely the highest either of us has ever been, outside the confines of an airplane...

Looking at the terrain, you may be wondering what endangered species there could possibly be.

It seems that there are thousands of insect and microscopic organisms that make their homes in the red grit soil of Haleakala's summit. These species cannot be found anywhere else, hence the warnings to not to disturb the soils. Stick to the trails...

Clouds from the summit.

Haleakala Valley from the summit.

Another part of the valley.

We could see hikers making their way down into the heart of the valley, a popular camping spot (which, like everywhere in Hawai'i, requires a permit).

This is a silversword. They developed their dense covering of silver hairs to survive in the harsh environment at the summit. They seem to only be found above 7,000 feet.

Silverswords can live as long as 50 years, but like salmon, only reproduce when they die. They are a protected species, and the fines for fooling with them are heavy.

You don't see much growing around the summit on Haleakala. Sometimes, though, even the smallest flower can find enough soil to take root.

And that small flower can reproduce to form a beautiful bouquet...

One of my favorite shots of the valley. Notice the myriad colors; these pictures do not do this beauty justice.

From the summit, the left side of the valley.

The right side of the valley.

More of Haleakala Valley.

Across the valley to the other side of Haleakala, looking out to the ocean.

From the summit, a close-up of one of the valley walls.

Just down from the summit is White Hill. It offers some slightly different views than what you can see from the summit.

Chris's self-portrait on White Hill.

Kelly decided to take a breather down in the parking lot at the visitor's center. Personally, I think the thin air got to her, though she says she just didn't feel like hiking...

Hey, that's Hawai'i over my shoulder!

Looking down at the lot from the top of White Hill.

The dark red truck above the white car on the left-hand side is our rented Blazer.

We capped the day off with dinner at Humuhumu, one of the restaurants in our resort. The full name of the restaurant is Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, which is the Hawai'ian name for the state fish. A hundred points if you can say it correctly on the first try.

Kelly decided on native lobster for dinner, and got to catch her own from their pool.

"Oh my god!"

I still don't think she believes she held her own live lobster.

And it was sooooooo good.....