Black Sand and Big Volcanoes

Today was a day of many sites, largely involving volcanoes, but others as well on the Big Island of Hawai'i.  We left Honolulu mid-morning for Hilo and upon landing noticed a military detail waiting on the tarmac. Pretty soon we saw the casket they were waiting for as a soldier was returning home. This was emotional and a sober start to the day, but I was honored to be on a plane that was transporting this brave soldier, whoever it was. We were then picked up by our tour guide, James, who spent the day taking us on a tour of different sites and sharing a vast encyclopedia of knowledge he apparently keeps in his head. Really good guide and full of very cool information. 

Our first stop was to a black sand beach, as apparently many of the beaches on the island are. That was a unique thing to see in person. The view was also amazing, as you can see here with Mauna Loa, a rather large volcano, off in the distance. The peak of that one (there are five on the island, four of which are active) has snow on it right now. Pretty incredible view.

We then worked our way to Rainbow Falls, which is in Hilo and on a river. Pretty unique site in that you can walk a trail that takes you above the falls, and then people just walk right out into the river there as there are many large rocky areas.

No railings or anything. They just do it. Didn't look terribly safe to me but we were content with the pics we got.











After that we headed to lunch at a buffet, where one of the office staff saw my Huskers shirt and told me Nebraska is his favorite college team. Why? Because, and I think I have this right, his former roommate's sister used to be engaged to Eric Crouch (apparently that's not who Eric married) and during that time he became a big Huskers fan and still is. That was unexpected.  :)

We left the buffet and headed to the Mauna Loa Macadamia nut factory. So to recap, this week we have visited the Dole Plantation and this place. Good stuff. Had a few samples, had an ice cream bar coated in macadamia nuts, grabbed some pics, walked around the grounds a bit and then headed off to the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.  

Interestingly, the park became a U.S. National Parks Service park in 1916, 43 years before Hawai'i even became a state. This is because it became a territory in the late 1890s and they were already working toward becoming a state. Our tour guide drove us on the Chain of Craters Drive all the way down to the ocean, which was 8 or 9 miles. Take a look at this pic below. What I thought was all sky turned out to be the outline of Mauna Loa. Wow.

We stopped at several spots along the way to see the lava and what it creates. It was especially interesting and beautiful walking along the lava close to the ocean and the scenery there was just breathtaking. This first pic is us against a protective wall (to protect the people) so you could look upon the ocean. There is a sheer cliff below this about 50 feet high, I guess. It is also VERY windy, as I think you can see from Katy's hair and my shorts.  Katy also had me take a pic of our feet on the lava so you can see just how dark it is. Seeing things like this on TV is interesting, but it doesn't match being there.  This stuff is really fascinating to see and experience, and I'd highly recommend it for anyone who can make the trip out here. Also, they regularly have to re-do the roads or even re-route them when lava flows take them out. I have a pic of that here covering an area down at the coast. Fascinating to see, really. The light grey? That's the original road we would have driven on before the lava flowed over it.

After the lava flow to the ocean we stopped at a few other spots along the way back up to see some unique things, like formations the lava created, which you see here to the left with Katy and Zac in an open cave, and a lava tube, off to the right. The lava apparently flows over a span of 26 miles, enabling it to help create more land, as it turns out.

We eventually worked our way back up to where we could see the steam vents from Kilauea and even feel how warm the ground was in spots. Our driver told us it was a good possibility that eventually the area we were standing on would become a crater just like the area to our south (I think south) in another 20 years or so. Just part of the intrigue of living around volcanoes, from what we heard. 




After the steam vents we went to the viewing area for Kilauea to see the active lava flow in the crater. I know the pic isn't the greatest, but it was hard to get in good spots to take a pic as so many seemed intent on camping out in front with their cameras and not moving. They do offer viewing telescopes of sorts, though, and they gave you a great view of the lava moving and "dancing", so to speak. Very powerful to see.

Our night ended with a flight back to Honolulu, which was delayed for almost an hour by mechanical issues with the plane that was supposed to be headed our way. This has made for a very long, very late day, and as I am very tired, this is the end of this post for Wednesday. Thursday promises to be very relaxing for me, not so sure about everyone else, but an update will be provided. Take care everyone!  :)