Power Line & Party

Thursday, April 14, Jean had to register for her veterinary conference and spend the day with her continuing education.  So, I had the whole day to myself.

I decided that I was going to hike on the island for awhile, but I didn’t want to go crazy.  I know that the 11-mile trail to the Na Pali region is “It,” but I wasn’t that adventurous this time.  I kinda drove around until I found something I liked.

I saw Opaekaa Falls on my way to my final destination.

Opaekaa Falls

I started on the south end of the Powerline trail which starts near the Keahua Arboretum.  The trail is well-established and follows a power line that crosses the island, for the most part.  Although I could easily see the trail, I couldn’t get off of the trail because I was literally surrounded by jungle.  Besides, if I went too far off trail I would just fall down the mountain.  These mountains are very steep, and caution has to be taken.  I’m glad I wore my hiking shoes because the trail was fairly muddy.  By the way—the red dirt out here will never come out of any clothes, so hiking in Kauai basically requires clothes that you don’t mind destroying.  The trail went up the ridge of a mountain which I followed for about 2.75 miles.  Once I got to about the top of one mountain and was about to get on top of another mountain, I decided that I should get back to hotel because Jean and I had other things planned. ;p  In all, I ended up hiking about five miles round-trip.

My hike along Powerline Trail.  Source:  "Powerline Trail."  22.071526° N and 159.417915° W.  Google Earth.  April 26, 2011.  January 5, 2004.

After my hike I went to Wailua Falls.  It's pretty close to a road, so there's little hiking to see it:

Wailua Falls

Jean finished her classes for the day and she and I got ready for the event that night.  We met her friends Jay and Jane at one of the ballrooms at the Marriott where we had a luau.  This was Jean’s and my first time at a real luau.  “Dinner and a show” explains what we got pretty well; hula and fire dancing hallmarked the evening.  Jean thought the almost naked dancing guy was cute.  The food was exotic and wonderful.  I don’t think I’ve eaten a purple sweet potato before, or ate rolls made with taro.  Jean and I had basil and coconuts with dinner.

After we waddled back to our room, we simply fell asleep, awaiting the adventures of the next day.

Arriving in Lihue, Hawaii

Jean and I were in Hawaii for eight days.  Our flight left Bozeman on Tuesday, April 12 at 7:42 am, but we didn’t get to Lihue until 6 or 7 pm.  There is a four-hour time change between Montana and Hawaii, so we were traveling for a really long time.  Our second and third flights were late, but on the other hand, all our luggage made it to Lihue at the same time we arrived.  It’s been a recurring problem lately in my family, and I was prepared for them to tell us that our luggage was delayed.  I’m glad the cycle’s over!  That evening we ate at Duke’s, a restaurant at our hotel.  We both had the opah, a kind of white fish.

Wednesday, April 13 Jean and I had a play day.  She didn’t have to register for her continuing education until Thursday, so we just decided to enjoy ourselves.  I woke up to the sound of roosters crowing.  Since I just woke up I was a bit confused.  After all, I had left Montana (and even where I live we don’t hear roosters).  A few moments later I realized that Kauai had free-roaming chickens.  We began the day watching the koi get fed at the Marriott, where we’re staying.  We ate breakfast at Kukui’s first and then went on with our day.

Jean wanted to see Kilohana Plantation, so that was our first stop.  We looked at the Koloa Rum Company and tasted their products.  It’s a pretty new company.  It’s so new that this company won an international blind contest, but the judges were like, “who they?” when they found out whose product they tasted.  The rum isn’t aged since it’s so new, and this batch that they currently have uses the last sugar cane that was harvested on the island.  Sugar cane is so water-hungry and produces so little sugar that the island isn’t going to grow it in the future.  After tasting the rum fudge, Jean and I were convinced that it needed to be put on ice cream when we get back to Montana.

We took the train ride that the plantation offers.  The ride has a tour guide who very quickly explains the vegetation at the farm.  Kauai has both domestic and wild goats and boars, and they had both animals at this plantation.  It was funny watching the goats running toward the train for a snack.  We stopped briefly to see the boars.

Back at the plantation building Jean and I ate lunch at their restaurant which uses the fruits and vegetables that they grow there.  I had their fish and chips, and Jean had the grilled fish.  It was our first time trying mahi mahi, and we both liked it.

A family of boars rest at Kilohana Plantation.

Jean pets the donkeys at Kilohana plantation.

Our next stop was at Kauai Coffee Company.  Getting there was kind of funny because the speed limits on these roads sometimes seem random.  At one point I was driving 50 mph and had to slow down to 30 mph.  I told Jean it looked like a great place for a speed trap.  No sooner had I said that then I saw a cop car just past the 30 mph sign past a small hill.  It’s a good thing I pay attention to the road signs because all the tourists rent cars—new cars.  Locals generally don’t have new cars.  We would have been picked out so quickly!

At the Kauai Coffee Company, we toured the facility and sampled their coffee.  We learned how they make coffee from the seed in a greenhouse to the package on the store shelf.  Jean and I treated ourselves to iced lattes afterward and took pictures of the plantation.

The coffee cherries are the green berries on this bush.

This is a harvester for coffee.

A macadamia flower at Kauai Coffee Plantation

We drove along the south shore and then went back to Lihue, where we had dinner at Kauai Pasta.  We were just starting to have fun!

The Kitty Cat

Friday, April 1 was quite an unusual day for me.  Jean woke me up about 10:30 a.m. to tell me that there was a bobcat eating a dead deer in our backyard.  Of course I asked her if she was serious because that sort of thing doesn't happen very often.  When I got upstairs, sure enough there was a bobcat eating a mule deer near our greenhouse.

We believe that the bobcat killed the deer directly or indirectly because behind the carcass was a green metal pole that was bent down to the ground.  We think that when the bobcat was attacking the deer, the deer hit the pole with its full body weight.

For the rest of the day I watched the bobcat as it bathed, slept, ate, and tried to bury the carcass.  There was even a point when it went inside our greenhouse.  Other mule deer came by and grazed nearby.  A couple bison even came within 10 feet of the cat and its dinner.  At dusk, I watched the bobcat chase a cottontail rabbit in the yard.  I haven't seen the bobcat since then.

I had to promise my friends and other people I spoke with that this wasn't an April Fool's joke.  Of course something so unusual would happen on April Fool's Day!  To see a bobcat during the day is unusual, but to see it near deer and bison also is almost unheard of in this area.  I felt really privileged to be able to see this in my backyard.

Saturday my uncle Tim brought a friend of his and a trained dog to track down the bobcat and give it the fear of God.  We honestly don't want it to be near habitations and get used to people.  That could be dangerous for the people that live in the area--then the bobcat would have to be put down.  Though the dog never got to see the bobcat, it got excited near Little Trail Creek, which is only a quarter mile away from my house.  We think it's living over there.  In the general area are 14 carcasses: 13 deer and 1 elk.  That's right--there's an elk that bobcat has been chewing on.  We think that it killed some of the deer.  Highway 89 is near the creek and we believe that the elk and some of the deer were hit on the road and died in the trees near the bobcat's lair.  That bobcat has been eating well this winter!

Enjoy the photos and videos!

The bobcat rests next to a mule deer carcass.

The bobcat rests next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat rests next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat rests next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat rests next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat sits next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat rests next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat rests next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat bathes next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat bathes next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat bathes next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat sleeps next to the mule deer carcass.

Peek-a-boo!  I see you!

The bobcat hangs out in our greenhouse.

The bobcat hangs out in our greenhouse.

The bobcat eats the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat protracts its claws as it bathes.

The bobcat yawns next to the deer carcass.

The bobcat sleeps next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat bathes next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat sits next to the mule deer carcass.

Mule deer graze about 20 feet from the bobcat.

Bison graze about 10 feet from the bobcat.

One bison got less than 10 feet from the bobcat.

The bobcat eats the mule deer.

The bobcat eats the mule deer.