(This is my contribution to the Back to Nature contest that Christina Williams came up with.  I don't expect it to be an entry that will compete with the others, but wanted to participate for the points!  Good luck to all the other entries!)

Twin Falls Maui

One Sunday my 86 year old dad said to me..."I want to go up to that Twin Falls place and go for a walk, how far is it up to the falls?"  I thought about it for a minute and imagined him up there slipping in some mud and falling, with nobody around to help him or call, and said "I don't know, but why don't I go with you and we'll find out?"  So we got in the car and drove there, all of about a mile away if that.  It was a beautiful sunny day in Haiku, the only one we had had in a couple of weeks.  The ground was starting to dry out, so the trail was OK. 

I have to admit that even though Twin Falls is so close, I haven't been up their trail in probably 12 or 15 years.  My memories of it was a narrow slippery hiking trail that didn't impress me much back then.  Well, things have changed for the better.  The new owners of the property have been busy improving the trails into nicely graded and crowned roads.  The trail might have been about a half mile, and then it narrowed out and got muddy.  Most of the way was a gradual incline, and easy traveling for me and my old dad.  He was keeping up alright.  We stopped to admire the lush tropical foliage like the kukui trees, the coffee beans, and bananas.  Saw a bright green anole lizard scamper across a brilliant red ti leaf... too fast to snap a picture.

We had to cross over a weir which is part of the East Maui Irrigation canal system that carries rainwater to the central valley to irrigate the sugar cane fields.  I helped my dad over it, and he was very gung ho to see the waterfall on the other side.  We met some people from Alabama, and some others from various places around the world.  They were all enthralled with the trail and abundance of greenery and water.  I tend to take this all for granted, having lived here so long.  It was refreshing to get another perspective and see it as a tourist for a change.

It was a really great day out for us and I want to go there again.  Maybe take my bike next time.  Now I can see why the tourists flock to Twin Falls!

I forgot to mention that they have a fruit stand in the parking lot along the Hana Highway.  Be sure to get something yummy if you stop here on your way to Hana.

Here's a picture of the waterfalls at the top of the trail.  Since it was so muddy and the streams were running high that day we didn't venture all the way over to it.  You do have to be aware of flash flooding here, as it's dangerous to cross streams when there is a lot of rainfall.  People can die by being careless, so proceed with caution.