February 10 - Going to the YWCA

     We stayed at the motel in Lihue until checkout -blogging and looking for accommodations on the next island, Oahu.  Then we stopped for take-out lunch at a fish market; I got wok-seared mahi mahi in thai coconut curry sauce with rice and salad, Diana had basil and garlic ahi.  We looked for a place to eat our picnic, and found this:

 We supped at the base of the small lighthouse.  This is one of the greens on a Marriott resort golf course in Lihue.  They have to provide public access to the shore, and we found a faint trail down to the harbor.  Fortunately, no golfers overshot the green and brained us.

Kauai calls itself  "The Garden Island".

Who are we to argue?  But I'd like to propose another moniker:

How about ...

 ...

..."The Traffic Jam Island."  At least we can watch rainbows as we creep along at a rate that would not win a steak in the Marathoner's Club.

     Really, the traffic is terrible, especially from Kapa'a on the east coast to Hanapepe on the south. Here are some interesting facts that may explain this:

          Kauai Island -  552 Sq mi, 65,000 residents, 30,000 tourists (avg. daily)

          Knox County - 530 Sq mi. 61,000 residents,       23 tourists (don't really know, but it can't be very high)

     There is only one paved connector road, which nearly, but not quite, encircles the island.  Most islanders live in little suburbs outside the major towns, so there is the typical work rush hour patterns. But worse, the many resorts along the coast empty their bolus of tourists every morning, and they drive around visiting beaches, waterfalls, and jungle hikes on the two lane road, which currently has many areas under improvement.  

    My initial reaction while being stuck in traffic for almost an hour, just to travel eight miles was, this isn't worth it.  Maui and the Big Island both have areas of high traffic, the former much more than the latter.  But except for the road leaving Hilo towards Pahoa at rush hour, we never really got stuck.  Every time we've driven between Lihue and Kapa'a, a distance of eight miles, my right foot has spent way too much quality time with the brake pedal.

     However, as we've explored the attractions up routes into the middle of the island and at both ends of the road, I've decided that maybe it is worth the trouble.  Kauai is a beautiful place, and just because it's almost small as our home county and swarming with tourists, there are places where we've gotten away from the crowds and enjoyed a bit of solitude.

    The YWCA camp up in Koke'e State Park is one such spot.  At first we weren't too sure we could even stay there.  With only onsite camp registration and no-one to call, we hoped that we'd be able to find a space for our tent when we arrived. And it was late as we drove up along Waimea Canyon towards the camp.

Dusk settles over Waimea Canyon.  It's remarkable how much diversity Kauai has is in an area that at home I can traverse on my bike in an hour. 

       We didn't stop long at the overlooks - if we wouldn't be able to tent at the YWCA, we'd be heading back down the road to the coast to find somewhere else to stay for the night - meaning $250 for a motel room or free camping on a beach that is regularly patrolled by rangers.  We pulled off the main road onto a gravel road that was bumpy and had muddy puddles.  Another turn on a smaller, rougher road lead to the camp.  We wondered what we'd find there, and if it was even open - Diana even worried we might not be able to get our low-slung rental car back out up the road.

    It was nearly dark when we drove through the old wooden gate.  There was a hand-drawn sign that said, "Aloha, we're open".  I breathed a sigh of relief.  Then, as we pulled onto the property, we discovered we had the whole place to ourselves, except for a roly-poly black feral pig I thought at first was a small bear, who scampered off into the woods as soon as he saw us. The following photos were taken at various times over the next three days.

It reminded us of Camp Agape, or the Remington Club

 View from the porch.   In the evenings, we drank beer and watched clouds play with the stars, and in the mornings, while sipping coffee, we followed the antics of the resident wild chickens.

The bunk house with the white porch railing has the bathrooms, which were open and has copious hot water in the showers.  Normally we would have set our tent near one of the picnic tables, but since we had the entire place to ourselves, and it was a bit dewy and misty when we arrived ...

 

... we chose the play porch.  Dan and Mark would have loved the ping pong table.  We tried playing ourselves, but neither Diana nor I are that proficient - especially since the only ball that we could find that even came close to being the right size was a cracked whiffle ball about four inches in diameter.  There were a couple mosquitoes about, but it was a cool night, around 50 F, and along with the breeze they weren't a problem.  Still, it seemed a good idea to sleep in the tent.  

   We stayed three nights.  It wasn't until the third night that we were joined by other camper, three young couples with whom we enjoyed conversation around a smoky fire in the circular shelter in the center of the camp until the wee hours of the morning - which in camping terms means about midnight.  

     We didn't set up in the building that evening since we now had to "share" the camp, and it was a blustery rainy night that did it's best to give us a soaking.  But our Big Agnes tent was equal to the test, and we stayed cozy and dry inside.

      We are at an Airbnb now for a couple nights, but we plan to go back up to the camp for the last three nights before our last evening in a motel, which will be our prep spot for flying out of Kauai the next day.  We could go back to camping on the beaches, but the county campground aren't nearly as nice, and besides, we're not really beach people.  And, there are some more long trails we want to explore around the canyon - hopefully today's rain will end and the clouds will lift.