Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Hawaii - Hardcover

Patti Wheeler; Keith Hemstreet

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1626343071 ISBN 13: 9781626343078

Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2016

Synopsis

A HIGH-ALTITUDE BLIZZARD, BUBBLING RIVERS OF LAVA, AND BEACHES WITH RAGING SURF; one thing's for sure: The Hawaiian Islands offer no shortage of adventure! Teaming up with fellow explorer, Alana Aukai, thrill-seeking twins Gannon and Wyatt begin an expedition to study rarely visited parts of this Pacific paradise. When an ancient map is found on a drowning archeologist, the explorers shift their attention to uncovering the map's secrets. To their astonishment, they discover that it might lead to one of Hawaii's most puzzling mysteries—the burial place of the islands' most-revered ruler, King Kamehameha the Great! Adding danger to an already perilous journey, someone else is after the map—someone who seems willing to do just about anything to get it.

In the tradition of the historic journals kept by explorers such as Lewis and Clark, Dr. David Livingstone, and Captain James Cook comes the adventure series Travels with Gannon & Wyatt. From Africa to the South Pacific, these twin brothers have traveled the world. You never know what they will encounter as they venture into the wild, but one thing is certain—wherever Gannon and Wyatt go, adventure is their constant companion.

About this title

About the Author

Patti Wheeler, producer of the web series Travels with Gannon & Wyatt: Off the Beaten Path, began traveling at a young age and has nurtured the spirit of adventure in her family ever since. For years it has been her goal to create children's books that instill the spirit of adventure in young people. The Youth Exploration Society and Travels with Gannon & Wyatt are the realization of her dream.
Keith Hemstreet is a writer, producer, and cofounder of the Youth Exploration Society. He attended Florida State University and completed his graduate studies at Appalachian State University.

Reviews

Gr 4–6—Gannon and Wyatt are a jet-setting pair of Hardy Boys-like brothers who solve mysteries while learning about different parts of the world. When not saving the day, the boys are homeschooled by their international flight attendant mother, though she and their painter father make only brief cameos in their adventures. In Hawaii, the boys meet a local guide, see some sights, and rescue a man from drowning. Before going into a coma, the man gives them a top secret map to the remains of King Kamehameha. The boys must find these remains before the evil developers take the land for a new hotel. Along the way, readers encounter characters who offer information about the natural sciences and the history of Hawaii. Material is so crammed into each of these scenes that characters often speak more like encyclopedias than real people. Unfortunately, some of the secondary characters fall into the stereotype of "magical Natives." The mystery plot makes a complete arc and includes plenty of detailed action scenes. The brothers take turns narrating, as though writing in a journal. This occasionally makes tense confusing, but overall the first-person narration is easy to read. Minor grammar errors ("less than fifty people") and lots of slang ("All righty, then. Time to get some zzz'z.") add to the casual adolescent tone. VERDICT This book will be useful for families who are studying Hawaii in their homeschool curriculum or for readers interested in learning new facts while taking in a breezy mystery.—Amelia Jenkins, Juneau Public Library, AK

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Travels with Gannon & Wyatt Hawaii

By PATTI WHEELER, KEITH HEMSTREET

Greenleaf Book Group Press

Copyright © 2016 Claim Stake Productions
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-62634-307-8

Contents

PART I THE LAND OF FIRE AND ICE, 
PART II A ROYAL MYSTERY, 
PART III PROTECTING THE KING'S MANA, 

CHAPTER 1

WYATT

FEBRUARY 3, 8:22 PM

MAUNA KEA, HAWAII 19° 07' N 155° 81' W 24° FAHRENHEIT, -5° CELSIUS

ELEVATION: 13,796 FT.

WIND: 20-30 MPH

It snows in Hawaii. Most people don't realize this, but it's true. There are a few places on these lush, tropical islands where it snows, sometimes heavily.

"We sure did pick a fine day to climb a volcano!" Gannon shouted, as heavy white flakes blew sideways in the wind.

I could hardly breathe, much less respond. Suffering the effects of high altitude, I trekked on as best I could. At an elevation of nearly fourteen thousand feet above sea level the oxygen is so thin just putting one foot in front of the other requires tremendous physical effort. The process goes like this: Inhale, take a short step, exhale, and repeat.

The driving snow kept getting stuck in my eyelashes, making it nearly impossible to see. My hands and feet were numb. A sharp pain shot through my chest with each gasping breath. It literally felt like I was dragging a bus behind me.

The conditions on the slopes of Mauna Kea had gone from decent to deadly in a matter of minutes. Making the situation worse, we didn't have the necessary gear to weather a blizzard. My brother and I had worn waterproof shells with fleece lining, but had forgotten to bring several other pieces of crucial equipment. Namely, goggles, thermal socks, and warmer gloves. The Big Island of Hawaii contains four of the earth's five major climate zones — from tropical to polar. I knew this, but before we set off on our hike, I had not fully considered just how severe the weather might be near the summit.

As the FIRST LAW OF EXPLORATION states, know your destination. Well, I know my destination, studied it for well over a month before we arrived. My mom had also given us several homeschool assignments related to the geography, ecosystem, and culture of Hawaii, yet I still managed to embark on this trek ill-equipped for a polar climate. I have to admit, it was a total amateur move.

Not to make excuses, but Hawaii, in all of its tropical beauty, can lull you into a state similar to a mild hypnosis, where you just go with the flow, assuming that everything will be all right. Hawaiians have a real "no worries" attitude and it's hard not to adopt it when you spend time here. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate it, but for an explorer that kind of attitude can spell disaster.

"I can't feel my hands," I slurred, my face numbed by the cold. "These thin gloves we brought aren't doing any good!"

"Sorry, I can't hear you!" Gannon yelled. "I think my ears just froze off!"

As my feet sunk into the fresh snow, it was hard to believe that we had started the day in flip flops and shorts, swimming in the turquoise bay in the town of Kailua-Kona. Even now, a mere thirty miles from where we stood, people were splashing around in the Pacific Ocean, enjoying the warmth on one of Hawaii's spectacular beaches.

It was at the Mauna Kea Visitor Center (9,200 feet) that Gannon and I decided to hike to the summit. The air was cool at the visitor center, 48°F, and the sky was blue. Air temperature drops approximately 3.5 degrees every thousand feet of elevation, so by my calculation, it was about 31°F atop Mauna Kea's 13,976-foot summit. Cold, for sure, but nothing to be overly concerned about.

Or so we thought.

Mauna Kea happens to be one of the best locations in the world to view the stars. Most nights are clear and there is almost no light pollution. The girl working at the visitor center was a native Hawaiian from the island of Kauai. Her name was Margaret. At our request, she put in a call to the renowned astronomer Dr. Peter Ward, who is stationed at the University of Hawaii observatory near the summit. On the flight from Los Angeles, we had read about the university's telescope, one of the most powerful in the world, so naturally we were ecstatic when Dr. Ward told Margaret he'd be happy to give us a tour. He did warn us of some approaching weather and dropping temps, but we thought nothing of it. When our family is not traveling, we live at eight thousand feet in the Rocky Mountains where it is cold and snowy all winter long. We have grown up skiing and snowshoeing, and have taken a number of winter expeditions into the backcountry. Gannon and I are comfortable in the mountains. It's our backyard. Hawaii couldn't throw anything at us that we hadn't seen before, could it?

Well, here's something to remember: At high altitude anything can happen.

"I can't go any further!" Gannon shouted into the blinding storm. "Hypothermia is setting in! I can feel it! We have to take shelter!"

Gannon was right. I was chilled to the bone. If we became hypothermic, our lives would be in real danger.

A small herd of mouflon, which look like big horned sheep, materialized in the white flakes then disappeared just as quickly. To our left I could make out Lake Waiau, a small, heart-shaped body of green water with a thin crust of ice along the shore. The summit of Mauna Kea has a smooth moonlike surface, so it didn't seem likely that we'd find a cave, but a few feet of snow had accumulated on a nearby north-facing slope. It was the perfect place to make a shelter.

"Only option is to dig a snow cave!" I called out.

"Whatever!" Gannon snapped. "Let's just be quick about it!"

Gannon and I knelt in the snow and began to dig. Scooping away piles at a time, a small cave began to form. The cold went right through my thin gloves. My hands ached. I shook them to relieve the pain. As soon as the cave was big enough for Gannon and I to huddle next to each other, we wedged ourselves inside. Can't say it was any warmer in the cave, but it did protect us from the wind.

"I c-c-can read the headline now," Gannon said, his jaw quivering. "Two b-b-boneheaded explorers freeze to death on Hawaii's s-s-sacred mountain."

"We'll be fine as long as the storm b-b-blows through!" I shouted.

"And what if it d-d-doesn't? We could be stuck here! We don't have enough gear to survive a night of s-s-sub-f-f-freezing temperatures."

"P-P-Panicking isn't going to help our situation, G-G-Gannon."

"Oh, jeez, you know what I bet's going on here?" Gannon blurted. "We've offended P-P-Poli'ahu!"

"Who?"

"Poli'ahu, the Goddess of M-M-Mauna Kea. Don't you know anything about Hawaiian c-c-culture? We never asked her permission to climb to the summit."

"This storm isn't the work of a Goddess, Gannon! It was created by an atmospheric c-c-condition in which moisture and warm air from the Pacific Ocean collides with c-c-colder air at high altitude and ..."

"Please, b-b-bro! Poli'ahu isn't in the m-m-mood to listen to your nerdy scientific explanation, and neither am I!"

Gannon hopped up and ran back into the storm. At the edge of the lake, he knelt down and opened his arms to the sky.

"Oh, Poli'ahu, Goddess of Mauna Kea!" Gannon hollered. "We have come to honor you! Please grant us safe passage to the summit! I promise, if we make it off this volcano alive, we will spread word of Hawaii's rich culture and beautiful environment to young people around the world!"

When Gannon crawled back into the snow cave, I rolled my eyes.

"Nice, Gannon," I said. "I bet it will stop snowing any minute now."

Oddly enough, it did.

What had quickly become a terrible storm had just as quickly diminished to a light flurry. The wind died down and patches of blue sky appeared. Gannon stared at me, a smirk on his face. I knew he was waiting for some kind of acknowledgement, so I ignored him.

"You're welcome," he finally said.

"Seriously, you're going to try to take credit?" I asked, almost laughing.

"If you respect indigenous cultures and their beliefs, your travels will be rewarded. You know who said that?"

"Who?"

"I did."

"Sorry, but the fact that this storm suddenly let up has nothing to do with all the babbling you just did."

"Hey, everything I said was true. If the Youth Exploration Society publishes our field notes, kids all over the world will be able to read about these incredible islands. So, let's make sure our notes are good enough for publication. After all, I have to keep my word to Poli'ahu. Now let's get to the summit before we're walloped by another storm."

Continuing our strenuous hike, we moved along the ridge of the summit cone, one slow step at a time. Above us the sky cleared. Below us was the Pacific, vast and blue and sparkling under the late afternoon sun. Over our shoulder was Mauna Kea's snowcapped sister, Mauna Loa, which rises to 13,678 feet and is still "active."

My brother was a good ten feet ahead of me when he took his place atop the mountain's highest point. Interesting fact: If you measure Mauna Kea from the bottom of the ocean it is 32,696 feet high, making it the tallest mountain in the world, even taller than Mt. Everest, which stands at 29,035 feet!

When I met Gannon at the summit, he held up his hand for a high-five. My thin fleece gloves were doing little to protect my hands, which were swollen and stinging from the extreme altitude and cold. Giving Gannon five sent a pain through my hand so severe it almost brought tears to my eyes. But the pain quickly faded. The excitement was just too great.

"We did it, bro!" Gannon said, gasping for breath. "We summited Mauna Kea! Wow, this is pretty amazing!"

Knowing that these moments never last, I took some time to appreciate where I stood — atop the highest point in Hawaii, on the most geographically remote landmass on earth. For me, to be in this most unexpected of climates — the polar zone of Hawaii — was reason enough to embark on this journey.

The lowest temperature ever recorded on Mauna Kea was 12°F back in 1978, and we weren't too far from that record. My thermometer read 24°F. On the far horizon, orange sky was mixed with streaks of pink and purple. Higher up the sky was an indigo shade of blue. It would be dark soon.

"We better get to the observatory," I said. "Dr. Ward is probably wondering what happened to us."

"Hold on," Gannon said and knelt in the snow. "I need to thank Poli'ahu. You know, for not freezing us solid in that blizzard and all."

Gannon started to gather snow with his hands, groaning in pain as he packed up a set of snowballs.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"You'll see," he said.

On top of a rock at the summit of Mauna Kea, Gannon built a small snowman. From his pocket he removed the frond of a palm tree and used it to make a small scarf that he wrapped around the snowman's neck.

"There," he said, stepping back to admire his work. "The palm scarf makes this snowman uniquely Hawaiian, don't you think?"

"It's a nice touch."

"Poli'ahu," Gannon said, looking to the sky. "This snowman is for you. His name is ... Morty 'Little Kahuna' Mauna Kea."

I shook my head.

"Why Morty?" I asked.

"He just looks like a Morty, doesn't he?"

After staring at him for a minute, I have to admit, he did kind of look like a Morty.

The darkness was settling fast and we didn't have our headlamps with us, so we hiked down from the summit with shaky legs to the University of Hawaii's observatory. It's a shame that I am too tired to write more, as I'm just getting to the best part of today's experience, the spectacular galaxy gazing, and would love to document it in detail. But Dr. Ward gave me a map of our solar system and a book on the history of astronomy, so I'm leaving with lots of valuable information. In brief, it was an experience so fascinating it has made me consider a future in astronomy. After all, I am an aspiring scientist, as well as an explorer, and space is the final frontier. Given the technological advances in space travel predicted in our lifetime, it's not unrealistic to think that I might one day have the chance to travel to a distant planet.

Right now, though, I can hardly keep my eyes open. As I write my final words of the day, we're still awaiting a call that the snowplows have finished clearing the roads. Once they give the "all clear," we're hitching a ride down the mountain in Dr. Ward's four-wheel drive.

More tomorrow, but for now, from high above the Pacific Ocean, I am fading fast and must say, "Goodnight!"

GANNON

NIGHTTIME, FEBRUARY 3 UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII OBSERVATORY

Okay, let's see. Where should I begin my Hawaii journal?

Hmmm.

Well, since I can't seem to make a decision, I should probably just put pen to paper and start writing whatever comes to mind, which is what I'm doing now, I guess. Right, so ... doodling ... chewing on pen cap ... ah-ha, I got it!

A great place to start would be to transcribe the letter we got from Alana, which basically sums up our mission while in Hawaii. I have her letter right here, folded in my journal.

Alana is a member of the Youth Exploration Society (Y.E.S.) and will guide us on an expedition beginning tomorrow. About a month ago, we wrote to the Y.E.S. office in Kailua-Kona requesting a guide and information on the cultural and environmental issues facing the Hawaiian Islands. A couple weeks later, we received the following letter:

Dear Gannon & Wyatt,

My name is Alana Aukai, and I am a certified Hawaiian guide with the Youth Exploration Society. It will be my pleasure to show you the many cultural and environmental treasures on the Big Island. I would suggest a visit to Volcanoes National Park, a trek to an active lava flow, a hike through a tropical rainforest, and maybe a snorkeling excursion that will give you the chance to view dolphins, sea turtles, and sharks. If it suits you, I would be happy to schedule a day of surfing and arrange a hula lesson.

I should also mention a recent development that may be of interest to you. There is a group of scientists currently searching for the bones of King Kamehameha the Great. At the time of the King's death in 1819, the location of his burial site was kept secret in order to protect his spiritual "mana," or power. Today, many Hawaiians are worried that if found, the King's remains will be removed from the island. It is very important to the people of the islands that our Royal heritage be respected and preserved. As I said, a search is underway, and we will be sure to stay on top of the progress as we tour the island.

I look very forward to your visit and promise you a wonderful adventure.

Mahalo, Alana

Um, how about yes to all of the above! Except maybe the whole snorkeling with sharks thing. I'm not too keen on that, but it did just give me an idea for a joke.

–What does a shark call a snorkeler?

–His chum.

Ha, get it? I know, I know, pretty lame joke. And I know sharks don't actually like to eat humans (I guess we don't taste very good), but they've still been known to take a bite out of us on occasion, so I'd rather not take my chances. As for the rest of Alana's itinerary, I'm totally up for it.

Okay, some quick math ... let's see, if we arrived last night that would mean we've been here a total of twenty-four hours, give or take, so I think I'll go ahead and put down on paper my first impression of Hawaii, which is that it's one of the most adventure-seeking, good-vibe-feeling, soul-healing places on the face of the planet. I mean, really, there's so much to it — mountains, snow, volcanoes, rainforests, deserts, waterfalls, rivers, ranchlands, rainbows, beaches, reefs, a fascinating culture, cool people, exotic birds, colorful fish, fragrant flowers — in a word, Hawaii has everything!

As much as I would have enjoyed soaking up some rays on the beach with my parents today, Wyatt and I were itching to begin our explorations. And since we're not meeting Alana until tomorrow we set off alone, catching a ride to the visitor center high on the slopes of Hawaii's sacred mountain, where we wound up biting off a little more adventure than we could chew. I'd go into detail, but just before Wyatt slumped over in his chair and started snoring like a mule, he told me he wrote all about our climb in his journal, so I won't get into all that again, other than to say that between the trek to the top of the Mauna Kea (which means "White Mountain" in Hawaiian), battling frostbite and hypothermia, my plea to Poli'ahu to please, please, please spare us our lives, and having the chance to build a snowman (in Hawaii of all places!), I didn't think it was possible to pack another ounce of awesomeness into this delirious frenzy of a day.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Travels with Gannon & Wyatt Hawaii by PATTI WHEELER, KEITH HEMSTREET. Copyright © 2016 Claim Stake Productions. Excerpted by permission of Greenleaf Book Group Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1626343071
• ISBN 13: 9781626343078
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 200