Blogs from Volcano, Hawaii, United States, North America

Day 6 We were up early (for us) to check out and get to a tour of the local brewery where we had gone out to dinner a few nights before. Seeing how they make the beer followed by a tasting of a flight of 4 of their brews, including the banana beer Kym had the other day.. breakfast beer!! Leaving Kona behind we set on our roadtrip. It was not even 2 and a half hours to where we were staying and we made a couple of stops to check out the scenery along the way. Hawai'i has such vast changing landscapes within a 20 minute drive. We saw coastal towns, black lava rocks making up lots of the landscape to looking up at lava mountains followed by lush green fields and rainforests. One of ... read more

Geo: 19.4308, -155.238Most of the day was spent preppring for BioBlitz. We did drive down to the end of the Chain of Craters Road, to see the sea arch. Also walked the petroglyphs trail. ... read more

Monday October 14th, 2014 began very early. We're talking 2:30am early (or maybe it's better to look at that as late with a longish nap beforehand, who knows). I set my alarm because we were going to drive up the dormant Volcano of Haleakala for the sunrise, which many people have told me is a spiritual experience. We groggily had coffee and threw clothes on and headed for the van. We (Andrew, Lori, Jeremy, Rachel and I) took warm clothes, as we were told it is cold at the top, since the summit is at 10023 feet elevation (interesting to note that the elevation from the sea floor is 17000 feet, taller than Mount Everest). We set the gps and headed south to get on the crater road for the long climb. It was a twisty ... read more

Geo: 19.4308, -155.238So today was a mishmash of various things which took me north, south and west of Hilo. First stop was the Homelani Memorial Park to track down the headstone of some distant relative on my dad's side. The ladies in the office were very helpful and one walked me over to the section and helped me find him. Apparently he was located in the prominent people section so he must have had something to do with the settling of Hilo or something like that. So, dead people taken care of, it was time to do some sightseeing. First stop was Rainbow Falls State Park. The park is located a little farther inland from the cemetery and has no entrance fee. All the park consists of is an overlook platform for the falls. But it ... read more

Geo: 19.4308, -155.238Today was a day of lots of firsts for me: first time standing on lava, first time walking through a lava tube and the first time seeing a road covered in lava. The destruction and birth of land are both on display at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. The park is located about 30 minutes from Hilo and just outside the tiny town of Volcano. There is an entrance fee of $10 and your pass is good for 7 days. You will get your moneys worth even if you only spend one day. The whole day was a mix of mist and sun, with more mist than sun, and plenty of wind. The weather did nothing to stop my visit or the visit of lots of other people, most of whom seemed to be Japanese. ... read more