The Journey

In the Fall of 2013, I did some blogging about Robin. He had a rich life but now is gone. We said our goodbyes and have had lots of time to reflect. Robin had directives in place to disperse his possessions. But there was also a last request. He wanted his ashes taken to the island of Kauai.

After he lost his wife Carey, to cancer, he returned to Kauai in 2010 to scatter her remains. Years prior, they made a number of trips to the island. Carey worked as a nurse at the hospital in Lihue and went again in 1993, after Hurricane Inniki ravaged the island. They were both very fond of the place and told captivating stories about it.

Robin wanted his final wish to be carried out by me and Denise. His directions where to go, were not crystal clear. As clues, there were vague vocal descriptions about “the end of the road”. There were also some photographs and a journal that we used, to narrow down the possibilities.

In March we embarked on a journey that ultimately took us to the North Shore of Kauai to carry out our calling. It was an introduction to a gorgeous part of the world. And for me personally, it was inspiration to remember a friend and revitalize my photography.

wing

Reality didn’t set in until I was cruising high over the Pacific Ocean bound for Kauai.

Waimea

The next day I was standing on the edge of Waimea Canyon.

secret

We spent some time exploring beaches around Kilauea.

nice

The water was amazing!

Kilauea

Kilauea Point is a National Wildlife Refuge with a lighthouse on it.

stairs light

Originally built in 1912, it was recently restored.

albatross

There were sea birds like this Laysan Albatross nesting in the surrounding cliffs.

farm

We hiked through a farm with 40,000 mahogany trees on it.

market

And we loved the local farmers market on Saturday.

taro

We saw how taro plants growing in Hanalei Valley provide critical waterfowl habitat.

Hanalei

Perfect waves at Hanalei were visible from an overlook a mile away.

bridge

The single lane, double bridge going over the Wainiha River would eventually take us where we needed to go.

one lane

to be continued….

Wettest Place on Earth

At times I’ve thought I live in one of the wettest places on the planet. That’s when we have flooding from storm surges, and not so much from rainfall.

With over 450 inches of measured annual rainfall, a place I visited recently is arguably the wettest place on earth. There was a good reason to be there and that’s another story.

On this trip Denise and I flew in a helicopter around the stunningly scenic island of Kauai. Ben, our pilot took us into the huge three sided crater of Mount Wai’ale’ale’. Billed locally as the wettest spot on earth, there were clouds hovering all around, and we could feel the cool moisture inside the cockpit.

Entering the crater was dramatic.

going in waterfall

Vertical walls were streaming with water.

wall

waterfalls

On the side where multiple waterfalls drop thousands of feet, is The Wall of Tears.

wall of tears

Mahalo.

New Inlet

One of the first places I explored on Hatteras Island was New Inlet on Pea Island. The old remnant bridge that’s still there, was built after the storm of ’33 cut an inlet from sound to sea. As a result, traffic was interrupted on the sand road, so the state began construction of a bridge to span the troubled spot. The new inlet filled back in on it’s own, and the state halted construction before it was completed.

I used to walk out precariously on that deteriorating, unfinished bridge to catch hard crabs on baited strings. It wasn’t uncommon to come home with a few dozen nice ones. Since then, New Inlet has always brought me a feeling of wonder and tranquility.

I wasn’t the first one to get enjoyment there. Long before, there were fish camps where locals could hunt and fish for sustenance. It must have been a beautiful, bountiful outpost.

skiffOne of the first photographs that I made at New Inlet was taken in 1979 as I was testing a brand new 400mm Novoflex lens for the first time. I parked my truck on the shoulder of highway 12, stood in the bed and made 4 handheld, identical exposures to see how the lens worked. The shot later became a somewhat iconic image as the cover of Hatteras Journal, written by Jan DeBlieu.

bridgeI took a similar shot in 1982. John Herbert’s sail skiff, once again, served as a crucial element in the composition.

St. ClairBy January of 1985, the fish camp once owned by St. Clair Midgett had dropped from it’s foundation into the water. Later that same year, when Hurricane Gloria blasted through, it took what was left, completely away.

fish campIn May of 1985, I shot this smaller camp just northwest of St. Clair’s. It too was taken out by Gloria.

 

Winters Too

The cold weather has been particularly persistent this winter. Even the water temperature around us has dropped more than normal. Behind my house the icy sound was below 32° at times. Three days ago, we had our first snowfall. It lasted a good part of the day and was of a wet variety. It accumulated a couple inches and was pretty. It stuck to the trees in my yard, and I reflected how nice the live oak looked that I transplanted years ago from the old Coast Guard station at Chicamacomico.

live oak

Winters

Years ago, the thing that impressed me about Hatteras Island was how temperate the winters could be. The first few years after I moved here, I don’t think it ever went below freezing. I learned that the water surrounding the island acts as a heat sink and tends to keep temperatures more moderate, compared to those to the north and inland.

This year has not been one of those winters. The cold fronts have been colder, stormier and more frequent.

north pierA series of storms took its toll on the Rodanthe Pier. Last week I could see that the end of the pier would soon collapse into the sea.

viewersAn hour after I made this shot, the pier became 75 feet shorter. The next day, the owners retrieved some of the timbers washed in on the beach and are resolved to rebuild it.

marshIn the meantime, temperatures have plummeted and the Pamlico Sound froze overnight. The ice sculpted on the shoreline was a sight to behold. There were icicles on the marsh of all different shapes and sizes.

ice flowsThe sound was solid ice for hundreds of yards off shore.

ringneckWhen the waters freeze, the ducks come in wherever they can find open water. At a pond near my house, I found a variety including this Ring-Necked Duck.

grebeA Pie-Billed Grebe was among the group.

ruddyThere were about 50 Ruddy Ducks.

canvasbackI was excited to see this Canvasback. It’s a sure sign that winter is far from over, and that it’ll only get colder.