After breakfast at our hotel (it is included in our ‘package’, try the poi pancakes topped with macadamia nuts and coconut syrup!…) we decide to ask the concierge at the resort about things to do, such as helicopter tours, travel plans to Volcano Park, etc. We received information about helicopter tours (we’ll think about it….) and we also receive maps and written directions to Volcano Park. We are told that without stopping, it would be about a 2 ½ to a 3 hour drive (one way). Eh? Because it’s on the other side of the island and there are no roads that cross the middle of the island silly. Light bulb goes on….Ah that’s why it takes so long to get there…. Highlights of places to see along the way are pointed out to us by the concierge as well. Just in case, we decide to bring jackets and jeans along for the trip. You never know with this group just how long we’ll be out today….
So we load everything into the car and head out. Our first stop is at a scenic overlook on route 19. Look! Blue water, clear skies and white gentle waves roling in. Click, click goes the cameras. Ok, everyone back in the van.
We travel down the road a bit. Dave notices on the map a note about water falls. We all agree to check it out. There is also a botanical garden to walk through. Pam and Linda are delighted, the guys, um, not so much. But we need a break anyway, too much coffee at breakfast. After using the port-a potties (we’ve used more of these on this entire trip then one wants to admit), we walk through the gardens. Click, click goes the cameras. Okay, enough time spent here. Time to load back into the SUV and head to the water falls. The name of the falls is “Umauma Falls”. In total, the height of the three falls is about 140 feet. Nice falls. Click click more pictures (hey, there are four cameras in this group of, um, four people….). Okay, back in the car so we can head to Volcano Park at a reasonable hour…..
Look! Signs for the Akaka Falls are ahead! Shall we take the small side trip and stop? We read the description from the map. These falls are over 400 feet tall….much more impressive then the last one we saw. Ok, let’s stop. [keep in mind we’re already 2+ hours into the drive and we’re only ½ way through the total trip…. Oh dear] Gorgeous falls! Click, click….pictures for all! !
The lava fields “open” at 2:00. We get there about 2:15 p.m., get a decent parking space and head to the back of the car for the water we picked up on the way, applied sunscreen and hats and with cameras in hand, head to the lava field. What we see is incredible. We heard that the day before the active lava flow was much more visible. But I think I captured a wee bit of it using the zoom lens. See what you think….
The ‘smoke’ y
ou see isn’t smoke but steam coming out of vents from the lava flow down below the earth’s crust. Amazing. And even more amazing is how ferns and small florals start to grow between the cracks of the black lava. When you think about it, it’s incredible how the earth can literally start over after having hot lava cover everthing….
We pile back into the SUV and get back to the main road to finally head to volcano park. With any luck, we’ll just barely get there before 5:00.
And we do. It’s 4:45 but we do get into the visitor’s center in time to learn that ½ of the roads in the park are closed due to the higher level of sulfur dioxide in the air. And brrrrrr, the air is chilly, no, it’s more like cold. The wind is really whipping! We are now over 3000 ft above sea level. Glad we brought the jeans and jackets along!
After we changed into our jeans and put on jackets (in Hawaii, who’d a thunk it?) , we again pile into the SUV and go back towards the entryway of the park. The map tells us there is a right turn just inside of the park that takes you on a path to see a glimpse of the volcano and a chance to explore an actual lava tube (inactive of course) that goes under a section of rain forest. Joy. I hate tunnels, how will I survive a lava tube?
We come upon another scenic spot, the defunct lava tube. It involves a short walk and yes, they did add lights inside of it but it’s still a tunnel. I’m the only one in the group who is really doesn’t like tunnels but it may be a photo op so with camera in hand, we all go through it. It’s a very tall tunnel, er, tube and everyone can stand up straight without any problems. Oh did I mention it was well lit? Good thing it was because none of us had flashlights.
The next stop takes us to huge steam vents that appear to go on for miles. With the steam rising, trade winds blowing and the sun low in the sky, the scene has an almost mystical feel to it, again something you’d see in a sci-fi flick. And yup, you guessed it … click, click…more pictures are taken. 
Although the sun is kind of low in the sky we decide there is still enough daylight to keep going (see a theme here….get as much in as possible!) We haven’t a clue what lies ahead but we noticed that the traffic is picking up and heading in the direction we have not yet explored. We decide to follow. On our left, we came upon a parking lot next to a museum we were told was closed. Up ahead, the road is closed, end of the line. Everyone is parking in the parking lot and the museum seems opened. How odd, we were told it too closed at 5:00. Hmmm, we wonder what’s going on.
So we park and walk around. There are people all lined up around the fence of the active volcano tube. Ah ha! We finally made it. But why are there cameras everywhere, ranging from pocket size to ones with huge lenses on top of tripods? What have we stumbled upon? What is so special ab
out this scene that there is a ranger with a telescope and folks with cameras waiting to take pictures? As we over hear the ranger say ‘it’ll be about 15-20 minutes”, the mystery continues…. It’ll be dark by then…. And colder ... As the sun starts to sink lower in the sky, we noticed the lighting of volcano’s lava tube start to change. It begins to “glow”. As the sky becomes darker, the lava becomes more visible. Suddenly it’s not a mystery any longer. The darker the sky, the brighter the lava flows. We 
tried to capture the spectacular scene on our digital ‘film’ but without a tripod, it becomes difficult to capture the vividly glowing lava with having blurry pictures. This is the best we could do….. It just doesn’t do the scene justice though….
So we load everything into the car and head out. Our first stop is at a scenic overlook on route 19. Look! Blue water, clear skies and white gentle waves roling in. Click, click goes the cameras. Ok, everyone back in the van.
We travel down the road a bit. Dave notices on the map a note about water falls. We all agree to check it out. There is also a botanical garden to walk through. Pam and Linda are delighted, the guys, um, not so much. But we need a break anyway, too much coffee at breakfast. After using the port-a potties (we’ve used more of these on this entire trip then one wants to admit), we walk through the gardens. Click, click goes the cameras. Okay, enough time spent here. Time to load back into the SUV and head to the water falls. The name of the falls is “Umauma Falls”. In total, the height of the three falls is about 140 feet. Nice falls. Click click more pictures (hey, there are four cameras in this group of, um, four people….). Okay, back in the car so we can head to Volcano Park at a reasonable hour…..
Look! Signs for the Akaka Falls are ahead! Shall we take the small side trip and stop? We read the description from the map. These falls are over 400 feet tall….much more impressive then the last one we saw. Ok, let’s stop. [keep in mind we’re already 2+ hours into the drive and we’re only ½ way through the total trip…. Oh dear] Gorgeous falls! Click, click….pictures for all! ! 
We meander back to the main road to once again head to our original destination….the Volcano Park. We travel down the road and realize that we’re hungry and thirsty.
So we stop at Hilo for lunch. After all, this is the spot where we get off of highway 19 and go to highway 11 to climb the elevation to Volcano Park. And we were told by our hotel concierge that we could purchase box lunches here for our day at Volcano Park. Forget the box lunch idea. Everyone agrees to stop here for a bite to eat. But where? With no recommendations from anyone, we trust our instinct and come across a little corner bar called “Cronies”.
Hmmm, somehow it sounds fitting for this group. Most of us had Hawaiian brewed red ale beer and one of us had a tropical drink and we all agreed the food was great! Even the pork and pineapple personal pizza is delicious. And yes, the sound of click, click of a few of the cameras could be heard. Hey,we needed pixs of this great place! :o)
So much for our original time line, we are now over 3 ½ hours into our trip and only inching our way to the original goal….Volcano Park. Keep in mind that it’s now 1:30 p.m. and the visitor center at the park closes at 5:00 p.m. Ah but another question comes up… Do we stop at the lava fields first and chance getting to visitor center after 5 p.m.? Sure, there seems to be plenty of time to make it before 5:00 Or is there? Stay tuned….
The lava fields “open” at 2:00. We get there about 2:15 p.m., get a decent parking space and head to the back of the car for the water we picked up on the way, applied sunscreen and hats and with cameras in hand, head to the lava field. What we see is incredible. We heard that the day before the active lava flow was much more visible. But I think I captured a wee bit of it using the zoom lens. See what you think….
The ‘smoke’ y
ou see isn’t smoke but steam coming out of vents from the lava flow down below the earth’s crust. Amazing. And even more amazing is how ferns and small florals start to grow between the cracks of the black lava. When you think about it, it’s incredible how the earth can literally start over after having hot lava cover everthing….
We pile back into the SUV and get back to the main road to finally head to volcano park. With any luck, we’ll just barely get there before 5:00.
And we do. It’s 4:45 but we do get into the visitor’s center in time to learn that ½ of the roads in the park are closed due to the higher level of sulfur dioxide in the air. And brrrrrr, the air is chilly, no, it’s more like cold. The wind is really whipping! We are now over 3000 ft above sea level. Glad we brought the jeans and jackets along!
After we changed into our jeans and put on jackets (in Hawaii, who’d a thunk it?) , we again pile into the SUV and go back towards the entryway of the park. The map tells us there is a right turn just inside of the park that takes you on a path to see a glimpse of the volcano and a chance to explore an actual lava tube (inactive of course) that goes under a section of rain forest. Joy. I hate tunnels, how will I survive a lava tube?
But we all decided it would be best to do this first while it is still daylight. Remember, there is no such thing as daylight savings here in Hawaii. At our first stop we get a glimpse of the barren area that actually has an active lave tube with steam rising out of it. Looking at this area feels like a scene of a sci-fi movie. Huge lush ferns (about 5-6 ft tall) surround the barren area. It makes one feel like a Lilliputian, everything is huge! Click, 
click—cameras capture the scenes. Ok, back in the SUV to our next stop, before we loose daylight…..
click—cameras capture the scenes. Ok, back in the SUV to our next stop, before we loose daylight…..
We come upon another scenic spot, the defunct lava tube. It involves a short walk and yes, they did add lights inside of it but it’s still a tunnel. I’m the only one in the group who is really doesn’t like tunnels but it may be a photo op so with camera in hand, we all go through it. It’s a very tall tunnel, er, tube and everyone can stand up straight without any problems. Oh did I mention it was well lit? Good thing it was because none of us had flashlights.
It’s a short tube and the end of it brings you deeper to the rain forest. At the entrance of the tube, there are no signs telling you which way to head so we stay on the path and take, hopefully, the correct turns to get out. When we reached the end, we discovered it was a big loop. Click. Click. Click. Click. Each of us takes pictures before heading back to the car. As we walk to our car, we discuss if we should stay on this road as far as we can or turn around now and see what is on the other side. Remember a portion of the loop was closed off due to fumes.
Since there is still some day light, we decide to turn around now and see what is on the other side. As we pass the now closed visitor center, we start exploring the other direction around this rim of Volcano Park.
The next stop takes us to huge steam vents that appear to go on for miles. With the steam rising, trade winds blowing and the sun low in the sky, the scene has an almost mystical feel to it, again something you’d see in a sci-fi flick. And yup, you guessed it … click, click…more pictures are taken. 
Although the sun is kind of low in the sky we decide there is still enough daylight to keep going (see a theme here….get as much in as possible!) We haven’t a clue what lies ahead but we noticed that the traffic is picking up and heading in the direction we have not yet explored. We decide to follow. On our left, we came upon a parking lot next to a museum we were told was closed. Up ahead, the road is closed, end of the line. Everyone is parking in the parking lot and the museum seems opened. How odd, we were told it too closed at 5:00. Hmmm, we wonder what’s going on.
So we park and walk around. There are people all lined up around the fence of the active volcano tube. Ah ha! We finally made it. But why are there cameras everywhere, ranging from pocket size to ones with huge lenses on top of tripods? What have we stumbled upon? What is so special ab
out this scene that there is a ranger with a telescope and folks with cameras waiting to take pictures? As we over hear the ranger say ‘it’ll be about 15-20 minutes”, the mystery continues…. It’ll be dark by then…. And colder ... As the sun starts to sink lower in the sky, we noticed the lighting of volcano’s lava tube start to change. It begins to “glow”. As the sky becomes darker, the lava becomes more visible. Suddenly it’s not a mystery any longer. The darker the sky, the brighter the lava flows. We 
tried to capture the spectacular scene on our digital ‘film’ but without a tripod, it becomes difficult to capture the vividly glowing lava with having blurry pictures. This is the best we could do….. It just doesn’t do the scene justice though….
Before leaving Volcano Park, in the cold and dark, for our 2 ½ to 3 hour drive back to our hotel, we stop at Volcano House to warm up and have dinner. We were glad we came!
1 comment:
Don't leave us hanging!!! I wanna know mooooore! (Of course, I can't wait 'til there are pictures, too!!)
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