Waimea Canyon -- Kauai

Waimea Canyon is also known as "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific." It's about 10 miles long and over 3000 feet deep. The center of Kauai, is one of the wettest spots on the planet. The Waimea River ("reddish water" in Hawaiian), drains that area and cuts the canyon.  Because of all the rain there, the island of Kauai is the fastest eroding land mass on earth.

feel free to enlarge the photos

Even the drive to Waimea Canyon was scenic

Driving up into the mountains

I posted this only because I liked the tree

The entrance to the state owned, main observation area was closed for repairs. We had to pull off the road wherever possible to take photos. There were no guard rails and it was a little scary. To quote my wife... "Pat, don't get too close to the edge!" "Pat, watch where your stepping!" "Pat, back up!"  

The Waimea River is in the upper middle of the photo. If you've been to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, it is easy to see the similarities between the two places.

"Shrimp Station"

The BEST shrimp tacos (or maybe any tacos) that I've ever eaten. On the side of the road in the small town of Waimea.

There always has to be a totally strange occurrence on our trips. After we left the canyon we stopped at the Kauai Coffee Plantation. You might have seen their coffee in stores. The guy standing next to this coffee roaster is my brother-in-law. He did the gold colored pin striping on this roaster several years ago for the company that made it in Southern California. The odds of him running into this machine, several years later and many thousands of miles from home, are pretty darn slim.

.