Posts Tagged ‘Hawaii Route 200’

Saddle Road on Sunday Afternoon

It was windy and hot so it was not a great beach day on the coast last Sunday so Lissette and I decided to take a drive upcountry to the old Saddle Road and see what we could see! Wind on the coast usually signals clear, blue skies in the days to come and strangely the winds relent as you climb in elevation out of the resort areas. Once you reach the Mamalahoa Highway or “upper road” you can expect a change in weather, cooler, as well and typically with cloud cover. The clouds can bring rain or in our case this day, beautiful, perfect weather!! Saddle Road also known as Hawaii Route 200, traverses Hawaii Island for 52.7 miles from downtown Hilo to its junction with Highway 190 near Waimea. The “old” Saddle Road now breaks off the “new” Saddle Road or Daniel K. Inouye Highway just past the Pohakuloa Training Area and eventually intersects Highway 190 near Waimea town. It is also the direct route for access to Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa’s observatories at nearly 14,000’ of elevation. The windy and sometimes single...