Over the weekend I published three additional smaller galleries to the site; Seals and Lizards, Trees, and Sunrises from Kauai in February 2015.  

The monk seals are endemic to the island, and endangered - I had the great luck of seeing three on our trip (one was at night and it was too dark to photograph) There is a federal law prohibiting getting too close and/or harassing these seals, who need to come on land and sleep without being disturbed throughout the day and night in order to recover energy from their hunting efforts. There is an island-wide team of volunteers who track these seals. They set up barriers to protect the animals, track their sleep and travel habits, and answer questions about the seals and their conservation program. One volunteer saw me taking photos of a nearby tide pool and invited me over to see the seal sleeping on the rocks (from a safe distance of course) and she gave my daughter a packet of information about the seals.  

I spotted one lizard on a display of ginger root at a fruit stand in Hanalei, the others were all scurrying around alongside the ridge trail we hiked on towards the end of our trip.  

I was very enamored with the exposed roots of the ironwood trees on Ke'e Beach, towards the north end of the island of Kauai.  Over time the wind and water have exposed the roots, unveiling their intricate and abstract details.

Our condo sits on the eastern shores of the island of Kauai, just steps from the beach.  Most mornings I woke before sunrise, made a pot of coffee, and wandered down to the beach with my camera gear to watch the sunrise.