Did you know there’s such a place as “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific?” 
It was so named by Mark Twain over a hundred years ago, 
but it sprang into glowing reality for me personally just recently 
while visiting Hawaii’s “Garden Island,” Kauai. 
Waimea Canyon (its official name) is about ten miles long 
and over 3,000 feet deep. 
The canyon was formed originally by the collapse of the volcano 
which is the bedrock of Hawaii’s Kauai Island, 
but Waimea has further eroded by the flow of the Waimea River.
Waimea Canyon a mesmerizing study in color! 
The stratified reds and browns come from layers of black volcanic basalt
that have oxidized over millennia into bright red, iron soil. 
Lush patterns of green lace weave in and out…gifts of foliage
flowing from Mount Wai’ale’ale, Kauai’s central peak, 
famed for catching clouds and being one of the wettest places on earth! 
One of the highlights of Waimea Canyon’s 1,866-acre state park is Waipao Falls, 
which cascades 800 feet down the canyon wall 
and can be seen at various lookouts along the 18-mile stretch 
of Highway 550 that takes you to the top of the canyon. 
There are many great hiking trails in the park, and if you have the time, 
it would be easy to spend your entire day exploring.
Although most tourists stop here, 
Highway 550 winds its way up past Kokee State Park (lovely rain forest) 
and ends at the Kalalau Lookout,
which has magnificent views of the Na Pali Coast. 
The concierge at our hotel showed us some photos on her i-phone 
and said that no matter what the forecast, go anyway, 
and don’t stop until you get to the end of the road! (Such great advice!!)
The prediction had been for rain the day she went, 
but rain is a common part of the forecast and usually doesn’t last long. 
Besides, it’s great for the flowers and often produces sparkling rainbows. 
The day we went, we didn’t get to see any rainbows, 
but the weather was much better than anticipated, 
and the clouds scuttling across the sky above the canyon formed beautiful 
patterns of light and dark that made the contrasts even richer. 
Persevering to the end of the road was well worth the time and twists, 
and being filled with the beauty of this wild, deep canyon 
brought to mind the words of Scripture:
“…so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19, ESV).
(I took all these photos on the day we went to Waimea Canyon in January, 2017. As you can see, the weather changes a lot over the course of one day, so never let the weather stop you from enjoying the incredible beauty of God’s creation!)
Summer Setting 