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View From Here - Hawaii Travel Blog

Total Number of Entries - 368

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World Famous Kalaupapa Mule Tour

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Wed 2/1/2012

The sun had yet to crest Kamakou, Molokai’s highest mountain at 4,970 feet, when we pulled up to a stable--its paint long gone, its tin awning a pleasant rusty red--and an equally weathered sign that said, “World Famous Kalaupapa Rare Adventure. Kalaupapa Mule Tour.” A dozen, saddled mules tugged at the few sprigs of grass growing along the edges of the corral out front. My eyes immediately went to one—a male, laden with brown spots and sporting the longest white eyelashes I’d ever seen. I could have sworn he batted them at me.
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Foto Friday: Fisherman on a Rock

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Fri 1/27/2012

Destination: Kauai

The other evening, an hour before sunset, I went for a walk on an east side Kauai beach. Ostensibly, I was looking for a Hawaiian monk seal with a possible infection to his face, after a fishing hook had been removed (by a permitted team from NOAA) from his jaw a week or so ago. I didn't find the monk seal, but I did find great frigatebirds flying overhead. And nene. And red-footed boobies. Off-shore, several whales breached and tail-slapped as an outrigger canoe passed in the foreground. A couple of surfers had figured that the north/northwest swell was wrapping around the island in such a way that an unusual surfbreak would be just about the right size for them. And a fisherman cast his poll into breaking waves. There really are few better ways to end the day.
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The Cat in My Yard

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Wed 1/25/2012

Destination: Kauai

He started hanging around our yard about six months ago, appearing and reappearing every few weeks like a sailor on leave, cruising after dark, a white flash of fur slipping into the tall weeds at the edge of our property. The first time I saw him up close, I almost ran him over with the riding lawn mower.
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A Meditation on the Chickens of Kauai

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Sat 1/21/2012

Destination: Kauai

I have written extensively here on this blog about excursions in search of monitoring and counting and observing Hawaii’s native and, often, endangered species from Laysan albatross, black-footed albatross, short-tailed albatross and Newell’s shearwater. To Hawaiian monk seals, humpback whales, false killer whales. Green and hawk’s bill sea turtles. And hedyotis st. johnii. And yet, I have not once written about a species of great intrigue, especially to Kauai’s visitors. Perhaps because the species of which I allude is found in my backyard. Its numbers are rising unchecked. And it’s not included on any list except, perhaps, one of a nuisance to insomniacs. I refer, of course, to the chicken.
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Poi Dog Blog: A Cowboy, Vanilla Farmer, Photographer, Philosopher, Whale & Dolphin

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Wed 1/18/2012

Ask someone in Hawaii, “What kind of dog is that?” and they’re likely to say, “Oh, I don’t know. A poi dog.” Poi dog. Also known as “mixed breed.” Or, better yet, mutt. (I like how “mutt” doubles the “t” at the end of the word, a hint at the definition—a dog with an ancestry of more than one breed.) This column—Poi Dog Blog—as I’ve decided to call it, is simply a mash-up of articles I like from the Internet, all about Hawaii and written by a variety of authors. This edition shares stories on herding cattle, a Hawaii vanilla farm, whether Hawaii is "worth it," an amazing photographer and equally amazing tale of inter-species play between a whale and a dolphin.
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The Proper Way to Eat Chocolate

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Sat 1/14/2012

Destination: Kauai

The scientific name Theobroma cacao translates to “food of the gods” and “the chocolate tree.” In America, we refer to the plant and all its products before processing as “cacao.” After processing, the seeds, whether in liquid or solid form, become what some call the “food of the gods,” what others call a “super-food,” and what still others call a daily necessity, but in all cases, its most common name is “chocolate.” There is only one place in the United States where cacao is grown: Hawaii. And there are only two growers who see cacao to its final state in a “bean to bar” process. One is Garden Island Chocolate on Kauai. The other is The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory—with a slogan, Remember: Chocolate is Aloha—located on Hawaii (Big) Island.
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Eating Vegan in Hawaii. A Cinch?

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Tue 1/10/2012

I started my day with a smoothie, as I have been doing for 22 days now. Mango plus papaya plus banana plus strawberry plus a scoop of Hawaiian Spirulina. The fruit varies; the routine doesn’t. The 22-day smoothie routine got its start last December on Maui when I naively attended Mark Reinfeld’s holiday vegan cooking workshop. The streak didn’t spawn from a New Year’s resolution, but the timing couldn’t have been better.
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Bifurcated Tongues and Hawaiian Monk Seals

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Thu 1/5/2012

Destination: Kauai

I woke this morning dreaming that I was driving north from Kapa’a up the rise on the highway just past Kealia. Two days ago, a bunch of cars and trucks were parked along this stretch of Kauai’s coastal highway. Surfers. Yesterday, as I drove home from Lihue, I glanced makai (toward the ocean) at just the right moment and saw a whale breach. This is life in Hawaii in the winter.
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Free Calendar Wallpaper for Your Computer Desktop

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Wed 1/4/2012

Just in time for the new year: Downloadable desktop calendars. FREE.
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Best of 2011 in Pictures

Kim Steutermann Rogers on Fri 12/30/2011

Waimea Canyon. Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. Merrie Monarch. Laysan albatross. Green sea turtle. Piilanihale Heiau. Painted Church. Puuhonua O Honounou. Napali Coast. Makapuu Point. Pearl Harbor 70th Anniversary Commemoration. Hawaiian monk seal. Nene gosling. These and more made my "best of 2011 in pictures" slide show. I hope you enjoy. And happy new year to you.
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