I began on Molokai, which by its nature as one of the least-developed and least-populated islands makes it a throwback in time. I stayed at the Lodge at Molokai Ranch, an understated but luxurious property that sits on 65,000 acres of pastureland along the west coast. Though the lodge has been there only several years, it feels as though it been a home for generations. Indeed, for some of its workers it has.
Pilipo Solatorio, a native of Molokai who grew up in its remote Halawa Valley in the 1940s and '50s, is known as the storyteller of Molokai and is the cultural adviser at the lodge. He used to manage the African wildlife that previous ranch owners kept there, and now he teaches hula and ukulele, Hawaiian language and traditions.
Pilipo welcomed me with the traditional Hawaiian greeting: We pressed our foreheads and noses together, with eyes open, and he said, ''We are no longer strangers.''
''Hawaiian culture has a connection with every other culture,'' Pilipo said. ''There are so many similarities among our traditions with Indians, the Japanese, the Filipinos. We are all ohanas (families) to begin with.''
I wanted to go riding on Molokai Ranch, which offers trail-riding and even city-slicker rodeo and roping programs. But with a huge rodeo occurring just a few days later, the horses were busy.
I did get a chance to chat with Jimmy Duvauchelle, the ranch's livestock manager for 42 years, whose great-grandfather was one of the original cowboys on this ranch. He told me how cowboys began on Hawaii.
''Paniolo (the Hawaiian word for cowboy) is really a mispronunciation of 'espanol,' Duvauchelle said. ''The word stuck.'' He pointed out that cowboys became part of Hawaii's cultural fabric even before they were in Texas.
''Culturally there's no difference between the hula dancer and paniolo,'' he said. ''Both were created on the islands.''
The wide-open spaces that seem to attract cowboys anywhere are especially grand on Molokai, where just 6,000 people live.
''We have nothing but each other,'' Duvauchelle said. ''Life is easy in the sense that nobody is really competing. There is no stress — come and go as you please. We will all support you.''
I did ride on Molokai — on a mule named Tita down the Kalaupapa Trail, a ride that is not for the fainthearted. In just over three miles in about an hour and a half, my mule and several others stepped down a narrow trail on the very edge of a 1,600-foot-high cliff, navigating 26 switchbacks and proving again how sure-footed mules can be.
Kalaupapa is the site of the former leper colony, the isolated peninsula where victims of Hansen's Disease were banished in the 1850s. The mule ride includes a guided tour of Kalaupapa as well as a simple lunch near the church built by Father Damien, the Catholic priest who died here in 1889 after giving his life to care for the patients in the colony. It's a heartbreaking story set in breathtaking scenery.
That Friday night I went for happy hour at the Hotel Molokai in town, where Na Kupuna — elder locals — sang traditional songs and performed hula.
''This is a jewel,'' said Marilyn Irovando, a visitor from San Francisco. ''It really feels like Hawaii.''
At Mendes Ranch in western Maui, I rode Blondie, a spirited palomino, from Eki Crater to Shark Cove. Eki Crater is home to some of Maui's largest waterfalls, and it was here that the opening scene of Jurassic Park was filmed. On our way to Shark Cove on the ocean, we rode like the wind a couple of times. Kevin Cummings of Modesto, Calif., said he thought his horse, Polo, should be renamed Bullet.
I rode again on Maui at Pi'iholo Ranch, surely one of the most beautiful ranches in all of Hawaii. Very near my B&B in Makawao, Pi'iholo Ranch is home of the Baldwins, a generations-old family on Maui who have ranched here for ages. We rode through upcountry rainforest and across hundreds of acres of pasturelands, occasionally viewing the distant sea. Dharmo, our guide, told us Pi'iholo's horses are the best-kept guest horses on the island, and mine, Stick, was a wonder to ride — smooth gait, light touch, totally dependable.
I could have ridden at Pi'iholo for days, but I left for Lanai, the least developed of Hawaii's main islands with only about 3,000 people. The two accommodations on Lanai are now operated by The Four Seasons. The Lodge at Ko'ele, where I stayed, feels baronial and yet tropical, enormous and yet commodious, elegant and yet relaxed. The grounds, including an 18-hole golf course and an 18-hole putting course, are gorgeous.
The horseback-riding at the lodge itself is as surprising as the rows of Cook Island pine trees on the hills. Chris, the paniola (there is no such feminization of paniolo, but I think there should be), was from England but had lived on Lanai for nearly 20 years. She and I rode together through stands of ironwood trees, which were otherworldly in their dichotomy (much like the lodge): dense yet wispy, thick stands of thin needles.
The tiny Lanai Cultural Center in the equally tiny town of Lanai City is not to be missed. Artifacts and photographs ''talk story'' of this island, sharing its interesting history.
Getting there — I flew Hawaiian Airlines, which really does start your trip there sooner. Upon landing in Honolulu, I flew Island Air to Molokai, then Island Air to Maui, took a ferry from Lahaina to Lanai, then Island Air back to Honolulu for connection to the mainland.
Staying there — The Lodge at Molokai Ranch, 100 Maunaloa Highway, Maunaloa, Molokai, HI 96770; 808-0660-2824 or 888-627-8082; www.molokairanch.com; rates from $300.
Hale Ho'okipa B&B, 32 Pakani Place, Makawao, Maui, HI 96793; 808-572-6698; www.maui-bed-and-breakfast.com; rates $125-$185.
The Lodge at Ko'ele, 1 Keomoku Road, Lanai City, Lanai, HI 96763; 808-565-4000; www.fourseasons.com; rates from $295.
Riding there — Molokai Mule Ride, 808-567-6088 or 800-567-7550; www.muleride.com; $165, including tour and lunch.
Mendes Ranch, 3530 Kahekili Highway, Kahakuloa, Maui, HI 96793; 808-244-7320 or 808-871-5222; www.mendesranch.com; two-hour ride, $110.
Pi'iholo Ranch, P.O. Box 599, Makawao, Maui, Hawaii 96768; www.piiholo.com; $120 for a two-hour ride.
The Stables at the Lodge at Ko'ele, Lanai, HI; 808-565-4500; $85 for a two-hour ride.
Priscilla Lister is a freelance travel writer.
