Retzler Nature Center

Its been a while since Jackie, Kathy and myself had an outside adventure.  We decided it was time to enjoy the 70 degree weather by hiking somewhere.  Retzler Nature Center is located in Waukesha and was the destination we settled on.  I checked the Retzler Nature Center website, and found only vague information.  It was mentioned that there are hiking paths at the center, but not much else was described.  There is also a planetarium at the center and it's a hot spot for elementary school field trips.  The center is very easy to find, and well marked.  We found a bench, ate our lunch then checked out the map at the site.

Quite a few paths were indicated, we decided to start with the Red Nature Trail and it turned into a path that worked its way around the whole area.  There were a few hills but nothing challenging.  The whole area was mostly prairie land but did have a nice overlook of the countryside.  In no time we were back where we started and decided to follow the Blue Prairie Pond Trail.  

We came upon a coral of snowshoes which means during the winter they must rent them out for hiking.  Sounds like fun, another idea for a future blog!

At the pond we found a lot of frogs, but I would hardly call them active.  Actually they seemed like they were still in a hibernating trance.

 The tadpoles were active though, swimming in pools along the shoreline.

Overall, I would rate this hike just average, a 5 out of 10.  The topography was pretty much the same everywhere.  Easy walking as its mainly a large prairie with some trees here and there.
I believe this Nature Center is more geared towards teaching school kids about prairie life and the environment as it had a large display on composting and compost bins.   The whole area was extremely clean, and there is no parking fee.  Entrance fee for the Planetarium for the general public is $4.00.  Retzler Nature Center is located off Hwy 18 (Summit) then south on Madison Street/Co Hwy T, watch for Retzler Nature Center sign.

Matthew and Gunnar's salute to Ricky Nelson

Kathy invited me to join her at Potawatomi's Northern Lights theater featuring Matthew and Gunnar Nelson's salute to Ricky Nelson.  Of course, besides just reviewing the show I wanted to share a few things I learned while enjoying the evening.

 I can honestly say I was never a fan of the Nelson brothers, but I do remember Ricky Nelson, first from the  Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, then of course when he became a "teen idol".  Now I am not quite old enough to be a groupie from his early days I have always enjoyed his songs and his charming persona.
If you don't know Matthew and Gunnar, they are Rick Nelson's twins, born in 1967, who grew up among singers and celebraties and when they were teenagers made their own band called Nelson.  When they introduced themselves to the audience, they said.. "maybe you remember when we looked like swedish girls."

 When entertainers can laugh at themselves you know they are enjoying what they are doing and they couldn't stress enough how much they loved and admired their father and grandparents.

This concert was full of film clips of the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet which aired from 1952 to 1966, with Ricky as a young boy on the show with his older brother, David.  Ozzie and Harriet were their real life parents.  When you look at it now, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet was similar to today's reality shows that follow the everyday life of a family.  Ozzie liked to take things from their real family life and add them to the shows story line  One day Ozzie saw Ricky singing and playing the guitar in his room, before long Ricky started singing regularly on the show and his teen star status took off.

 Here he is on the show impersonating Elvis.

 He also starred with John Wayne, and Dean Martin in Rio Bravo.

Matthew and Gunnar sang a lot of songs, starting with Ricky's earliest hits, Mary Lou, Its Late, Its Up To You, Here She Comes, and others... then did a few of the songs they did as Nelson, Can't Live Without Your Love and After the Rain.
When Nelson's song Can't Live Without Your Love, hit number 1 in September 1990, they became the only family to reach number one record status in three generations beginning with Ozzie (In 1935 Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra had a number one hit with "And Then Some") and are listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Matthew and Gunnar then did the songs Rick recorded in the late 70s, Traveling Man and one of my favorites Garden Party, which Rick wrote after a Madison Square Garden reunion show in 1972 where he was booed because he sang his newer country-tinged songs rather than his old hits.  Rick Nelson died in a plane crash December 31, 1985.

Matthew and Gunnar were very impressed with the Northern Lights Theater, they have performed here numerous times,  They are looking forward to their next concert here this fall which is away from the Salute to their father and will center on music that took place when they were Nelson, along with other performers from that time that they called "Big Hair"?

The last thing they told the audience was more about their extended family.  That their brother Sam looks exactly like their dad, that their sis Tracey is an actress (she was in Square Pegs in 1982, A League of Their Own, and played a nun in the Father Downling Mysteries series.)  Their mother's brother/their uncle is Mark Harmon.

There were around 200+ people in the theater which was the 2nd of a two night concert. They offered to meet everyone after the show and the line was pretty long for those that were excited to meet them and take a picture.  Overall, a very entertaining night, great songs and great performers.

Hawaiian Restaurants, Beaches and Wildlife

We had some wonderful meals in Hawaii.  There are so many restaurants to chose from, and we were lucky to make some good choices.
Happy Hour.  We absolutely loved Huggos on the Rocks in Kailua-Kona.  Sitting with sand at your feet, watching the sunset, listening to some really good music with a Mai Tai...doesn't get much better.
They have Mai Tai's for $4.00 and other drink specials, their appetizers were (we had a quesadilla) good size, but we did not ever eat a full meal here.  Music starts around 5:15.

 

Restaurants:
Bite Me   Honokohau Harbor Marina.  Casual setting, outside picnic tables, great seafood.

Island Hopper Steak and Seafood.  Across from Kailua pier.  Open air.  Scott felt this place had the best shrimp cocktail of all the places we ate.  There was a Hawaiian singer (singing Hawaiian classics).

Bubba Gumps  Kailua Kona, on Alii drive, on the water.  Very nice atmosphere, with average food and it's family friendly.

Kona Canoe Club  in the Kona Inn shopping village.  Average food, open air seating along ocean.  They also have a happy hour from 2-5 pm.

Kona Inn Restaurant  in the Kona Inn shopping village.  Outdoor tables, good food, view of ocean.

Pancho & Lefty's Cantina.  Mexican restaurant.  We were here early so I had Macadamia pancakes which were very good and Scott had a variety platter.  A nice view of all the activity along Alii drive.

Jolenes  In Honoka'a, corner restaurant on main street that we stopped at after viewing Waipi'a valley.  There aren't many restaurants to choose from, but this one turned out to be quite good.  I had a teriyake burger, and Scott had a Okazu Platter as we watched locals walk by.  This restaurant advertised that Honoka'a was the site of an episode of Hawaii 5-0.

 Sam Choys           By the name I was thinking Chinese, but this was mainly a seafood restaurant.  Open air, some outdoor seating.  All meals between $20 and $30.  Fresh bread was placed on the table, which was very good but what was really interesting was everyone got a small salad and a cup of soup as we waited for our orders.  Everything was very good!

Courtyard King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel Restaurant.  They advertised a seafood buffet on Fridays so Scott and I checked it out.  A large selection of food, the king crab legs were excellent, but overall a good but not superior seafood buffet.  

BEACHES in Kailua-Kona

(my underwater camera got sand in the lens so the pictures are grainy)

Magic Sands Beach Park:  Really nice sand beach.  Reef along one side with snorkeling good when the waves are overpowering.  

I saw a Trumpet fish along with some colorful pools of fish

Kahalu'u Beach Park   further south on Alii Drive.  The beach has an offshore reef and has better snorkeling since its in a protected bay, but the beach is somewhat rocky.  Here I saw a Helmut Gurnard fish.  (the Helmut Gurnard fish actually grunts when it feels threatened and the name Gurnard is french for grunt).  Also a large turtle swam by me so fast that I only could capture part of it, but it was so cool!

Helmut Gurnard

Turtle swims by

The best area for snorkeling is about 22 miles south of Kailua-Kona.  It is across from the Pu'u Honua O Honaunau (City of Refuge) National Historical Park which we didn't visit.  It was a place of sanctuary in the early 15th century either for those who broke the law against the gods or for women and children and defeated warriors.  Visitor center open daily.

This beach is located in Honaunau Bay and has a small shallow section that allows easy access into the water but you have to swim deeper out or around the rocks to get to the coral reef.  You can also enter the water from the rocks since the water is pretty deep but I suggest wearing water shoes because of the slippery rock surface and the coral reef.  Also the water current can be strong so if you are not a good swimmer wearing a life jacket or vest is recommended.

Shallow beach area

Rocky area overlooking bay

The best snorkeling is at the northeastern section of the bay, Ka awaloa Cove.  This is where the water ranges from 5 to 120 feet deep with a huge diversity of technicolor fish and coral.  This is also the area the spinner dolphins frequent mid afternoons.  I have never snorkeled in such deep water before and it was exceptional.  When the dolphins made their appearance, I was too far away but just knowing they were in the same cove made it really cool.  

Cornet Fish

Kekaha Kai State Park Beach   Manini Owali section.  North of Kona International airport.  Nice sand beach but you must climb down about 4 feet of lava rock to get to the beach.  Nice waves made body surfing very popular here.

Then off in the ocean I noticed people pointing, and there was a water spout, a few minutes later another another spout.  A whale was making its way north.  I climbed up the side to where people were taking pictures, unfortunately I took pictures of the same area but could not capture the whale spouting water.

Lava Tube in Mike and Lynn's backyard.

Mike's Banana Trees

a smaller lava tube

 Makalei Golf Club

Breakfast view

In the Wild:

Feral Cats at the Old Kona Airport State Recreational Center

Wild Goats

Wild Kalij Pheasants

Mongoose found all over Hawaii.

I hope these blogs were informative but mostly entertaining.  There is so much to see and do in Hawaii where the weather is always wonderful.  We want to thank Mike and Lynn for allowing us to crash at their wonderful home, and also to do a little lava rock landscaping.   Volcano National Park and Mauna Kea Summit are a must for visitors.  Waipio'o Valley is breathtaking and exhausting if you choose to walk down into the valley.  The beaches were great!  This is a land of diverse topography, from desert to tropical rainforest and everything in between, Hawaii is truly paradise!

Let's end with a sister/brother picture!

Waipi'o Valley Overlook

Time for another breathtaking valley.   Waipi'o Valley was our next destination plus it's listed that there is the highest waterfall on the island visible only in the valley.  The Waipi'o Valley is located on the northeast side of the island and we took Hawaii Belt Road, then went east at Waimea until we got to the small town of Honoka'a, went north on Route 240 until it ends. Wow, what an amazing view!  Waipi'o Valley is a mile wide at the coast and six miles deep.  The other side of the cliff below is the Pololu Valley.

 Scenic view of cliffs dropping 2,000 feet into lush vegetation and black sand beach.  This beach was the dry land in the last scene of the movie Waterworld.

Tour companies offer horseback riding or ATV rides along the rim and down into Waipi'o Valley.  Only cars with 4WD are allowed on the road that decends 1,000 feet to the valley floor.  Another option:  Walk.

Some reviews about Waipi'o Valley:  To venture into the valley 4WD is required and nerves of steel.........  

 Anyone who feels the urge to hike down this bad boy is flippin Nuts!  

We went to our car's trunk to get our backpack but it wasn't there.  Luckily I had a couple sodas and a candy bar in a cooler, so we were set.

So after reading the signs we started the descent.  

There were only a few cars at the lookout when we left.  As we rounded the first curve, a young guy ran upward past us.  Scott asked, "How bad is it". (thinking that this guy was just on his way up) and the guy replied, "I'm going to get the car."  Oh.
We continued, and in a few minutes, he drove by us in his jeep and picked up his girlfriend just ahead of us.  At this point we are still thinking, this isn't that bad.  But, as we continued, and Scott's toes kept hitting the front of his hiking shoes, we realized why not everyone could do this.  It is a 27 degree grade, at many places its gravel, and pretty much just wide enough for one car. When you see a car coming up or hear one coming from behind, you have to stand off to the side...which isn't always easy when one side of the road is mountain and the other side is cliff straight down.

The road ahead

The road behind.

About 45 minutes after starting our journey we were at the bottom crossroads.  Left leads to the waterfall, along a stream, and past some interesting houses.

Here is the valley diagram

road runs along this river

Right leads to the beach.
We decided to go left first and almost immediately we came upon a woman.  She has a house in the valley and was out for an afternoon walk.  We asked her if this road lead to the waterfall.  She said, "Yes, you can see it just around the bend, but to get to it you will have to cross over a little river runoff, and then over a little deeper stream, and then swim over the river."  Hmmm I pondered.. probably not going to get too close to that water fall today.   She continued, "Any other waterfalls are deeper into the valley."  She didn't explain how to get to the any of the other waterfalls, but she did mention we may see some of the wild horses if we go towards the beach.

In a couple minutes we could see a waterfall in the distance.  At this time a van with some tourist stopped and got out.  The tour guide said that this is Hillawe Falls, 1,250 foot drop.  The camera did not pick it up very well.

 We were able to jump over the first stream runoff without any problem, but when we got to the next water spot we realized it would require us to removed our shoes and socks (this was actually deeper than it looked and the water was running quite rapidly...about 8 inches deep and about 4 feet wide.  Knowing that the next obstacle required us to swim across the river we turned around here.

(I did see the advertisement for horseback riding into the valley, and they showed the horses in water up to their bodies and alerted riders, that your legs will get wet on the ride.)

So we headed for the beach.  Along the way we did see a couple mongooses darting across the road.  Then as we got closer to the beach, jackpot, we viewed the first horse in the marsh.  I called to him and without much hesitation, he came out.  Then a few yards further up the road, mama horse was also off to the side and with a little coaxing she came over to say hello.  Another 20 yards and a colt was on the road, we enjoyed the whole family.
 In a couple descriptions of this area it warns people to not touch the horses because they will bite, but anyone who knows me knows I love horses and I couldn't just walk by these wonderful creatures.  I was cautious at first but once I saw that they weren't afraid of us I wasn't afraid of them.

The colt

In the old days (early 1900s) horses were used to carry taro and poi up out of the valley.  There was a large population of Hawaiians living in this area at that time.  Eventually life became modernized and farmers started using motor vehicles.  The horses were released to run wild in the valley and they been here now for generations.  Its rumored that some years ago a quarterhorse was released into the valley creating new bloodlines.  As cool as the idea of wild horses are, the farmers that still grow their crops in the valley are not happy when horses destroy their produce.  There is talk that the Hawaiian government would like to protect these horses from any harm but no law has been constructed yet.

A little further down the road we came to the beach.  The black sand, the waves, the surfers, all were amazing.

Watched some experienced surfers.

The scenic overlook is at the top of this cliff

 We sat on a stone, watched the surfers and other people walking on the beach.  We drank our sodas, split our candy bar and saved a small piece and gave it to the only horse we saw on the way back to the crossroads.  Once we got to the bottom of the hill, we knew that Scott's toes could not make the walk up that steep grade, and we also knew we did not want to huff and puff what would probably take us well over an hour to drag ourselves up that incline.  So we decided to hitch a ride  and asked the first SUV that came from the beach and turned to head up the hill.  It was a couple from Virginia and their adult son was driving.  They were happy to give us a ride which turned into a less than 10 minute drive up (since vehicles on the way up have right of way).
The whole parking lot was now full.  The overlook was really crowded with people.  Even if you don't have a 4WD vehicle, and you don't think you could walk down the steep grade, just coming to take in this view is worth the trip here!

Thanks for the ride up!

We stopped for something to eat, and then made our way home.

When I got home I investigated the Waipi'o valley.  I found very little specifics on what is actually located deeper into the valley.  I read that when you go deeper into the valley, after swimming across the stream, you can walk on a bridal path for a ways, but then its mostly just a path created by the last people who walked it or by the horses.  One article said it could take 9 hours to walk in, but it didn't say what you would find once you got that deep into the valley.  Except for the road we walked on, everything in the valley is actually private property, no manicured trails for people to hike, no maps, but rather raw nature at it's best.  I would imagine this is probably a challenge for even the most experienced hiker.

Waipi'o Valley a must see, even from the overlook it's worth the drive!