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The silversword is a remarkable plant that grows only in the soil of the Haleakala Crater on the island of Maui. The sword-shaped leaves are covered with silvery hairs that reflect light and heat and insulate the plants from the strong solar rays and dryness in the area.

They live several years and then bloom at the end of their lifespan. This one had bloomed a year before, leaving skeleton-like remains.

The road to the top of Haleakala climbs 10,000 ft in a 35 mile stretch. It is very interesting to see the change in plant life on the way up. Here at 7000 ft, there are still quite a few plants.

Passing above 8000 ft, there is very little plant life.

Miss one of these turns, and you'll come down the mountain a lot faster than you may like.

Near the visitor center at the top, there was a field biologist researching the plant life at the volcano summit.

It was amazing to me how much the high altitude affects you. I felt very light headed.

I know what you are thinking, "But Scott, you said the volcano was 10,000ft above sea level."

Well, the bus only takes you so far. Then you have to climb the rest yourself. Sue and I got about 1/4 of the way up before a combination of the altitude and the 55ºF temperature with 25mph winds made us think better.

The top of the volcano is also a perfect spot for an observatory. Unfortunately, this one is under the control of the USAF, and they do not allow visitors.

Here is a picture of Sue and I on the summit, in front of the big crater. A whole side of the mountain top was blown of during an eruption.

Here are our friends Curt and Marion.

And here is another look down into the crater. The cloud cover was moving in, but considering the mountain top is covered most of the time, visibility was very good.

And another shot of the crater.

Hard to believe that at one point this was all filled with molten lava.

And one final shot of the crater. These pictures don't even really do it justice.

A tour was getting ready to ride down into the crater on horseback. Good luck with that.