Wednesday, April 12, 2017: Day Six

We woke up to a cool, drizzly day in Hawaii.  That's to be expected on the Hilo side. They get about 200" of rain per year.  We weren't going to let the weather stop us. We prepared for the day with layers of clothing and rain gear, then headed back to the Volcano National Park to explore some more.  Keith and Jeff started their day by hiking the Kilauea Iki Trail.  This trail goes down into and across the Kilauea Iki Crater.

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, the rest of us went to Volcano House for hot chocolate, then drove down Chain of Craters Road.  We saw many Craters and lava flows. 

 

 

We drove back to the trailhead and picked up Keith and Jeff. We had a nice lunch of hamburgers and Hawaiian pizza at Volcano House, then continued our tour of Chain of Craters Road.

 

The Chain of Craters Road goes through the lava fields, all the way down to the ocean. You can see the past flow of lava on the cliffs.

 

We kept following the road until it abruptly stopped.  It used to go farther, but lava crossed the road so they had to close it.  You can get out of the car and walk about 5 miles to see active lava flow but we decided not to since down at sea level, it was clear, sunny and quite warm.  The smoke/steam you see on the left is from active lava dumping into the sea.

 

What we really came to see is the Holei Sea Arch.  This Arch is about 90 feet high. The creation of the arch was within the last 100 years. Unfortunately, this formation has a limited life span. It will eventually crumble, but another will replace it as the cliff slowly migrates inland. It is a magnificent sight to behold.

 

After taking many photos of the Arch, we headed back up the Chain of Craters Road towards Devastation Trail. 

This short hike shows what lava can do to the landscape.  One minute we were walking through a lush jungle and then the next... well, you'll see.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was quite a contrast.  Our last stop at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was the Thurston Lava Tube.  We were ready to walk where lava had flowed.  The approaching darkness added to the mysterious atmosphere. We took a short hike, had our picture taken, then entered the Tube.

 

 

 

 

We emerged on the other side and headed back to our car.  

 

Our time at Volcano Park had come to an end, but our day was far from over.  We stopped at a local cafe for a quick bite to eat and to change clothes. It was time to bundle up because we were headed to the Mauna Kea Observatory Visitor's Center.  The Mauna Kea Observatories are a number of independent research facilities that are located at the summit of Mauna Kea.  The location is ideal because of its dark skies, low humidity, clean air, good weather, and almost equatorial location. The summit of Mauna Kea is 13,796 feet above sea level.  We went to the Visitor's Center at about 9400 feet above sea level.  Now you know why we had to bundle up! The temperature at sea level was 84 - at Mauna Kea, it was 44!  It was cold but very clear up above the clouds. And the stars!  I've never seen so many stars in one sky!  We watched and listened as the park ranger used his laser pointer to show and tell us interesting things about the constellations.  I wish I had a photo to show you but it's hard to shoot the night sky without a very good camera and a tripod. I had neither.  You will just have to imagine.  Finally, we took the long, dark road back down the mountain and headed to our rental house for the night.

Good night, Moon!