Volcano National Park

On Thursday, we headed south of Hilo to Volcano National Park, arriving at the park about 9:20.  A school bus was already in the parking lot, which was fairly full of vehicles.  Inside, we viewed the film, then walked around the visitor center looking at the exhibits.  One was of Pele's Hair, a silicaceous thatch of filaments as fine as human hair.  I had never seen anything like it at any of the volcanic places I have visited.

We studied a map, trying to plot our best route for the day, when  ranger came over to help and suggested we first visit the Thurston lava tube, before the crowds and tour buses, as he said by late morning it would get very crowded.  Afterward, he suggested we go to the museum by the Kilauea Crater, then Crater Rim Road to the sea.

We followed his suggestions, and soon easily parked at the Thurston Lava tube, descending stairs and a steep paved path to the mouth of the Tube, and then into the relatively flat path of the tube itself.  Helen felt a bit claustrophobic.  We had the tube to ourselves, with no other people inside.  It is lit, so we did not need flashlights.

We came to a collapse in the tube, and the stairway out, then back a different route to the parking lot.  By the time we reached the parking lot,it had filled, and there was a steady stream of tourists heading toward the tube mouth.

We headed back up the mountain to Kilauwea Crater, which had  large plume of steam emitting from the large crater, and several small vents steaming across the flat lava flow leading to the ccrater.

Near the museum was a blooming shrub-tree that had flowers somewhat like a bottle brush, bursting out of a tight, white furled blossom looking like popcorn.  It grows into a tall tree, but I do not know its name.  All through the park was evidence of primary succession, or those plants that first move in after  a major disturbance like the barren lava flows  from the rift zones--surprisingly, some of the first plants moving in are ferns:

We stopped at the Volcano House on the way back, and both Helen and I agreed that we wanted to stay there if we visited again.  It is beautiful and has a great view of the crater.

We took the crater rim trail down to the sea, again passing the Thurston Lava Tube--there were four tour buses and nio parking available.  We followed the road down for 30 plus miles, coming to where the flow from 1983 to present eruption caused a massive lava flow down the mountain, across the road obliterating it and a subdivision, then cascaded into the sea. Much of the lava is glossy, polished looking ropy pahoehoe,some of it fractured and looking like turtle backs to me.

The shiny lava is smooth, almost silky smooth.  The cliff where the lava poured into the sea is impressive.

We returned to Hilo, dining out at the Seaside Restaurant in the east of Hilo along the bay.  The restaurant is an old family-owned place with an exquisite menu, sitting adjacent to an aquafarm pond owned by the same family, also with a big concrete koi pond.  A large egret rookery is located around the main pond, and as we dined on macadamia nut encrusted mahimahi, we say hundreds of the egrets return to the rookery for the night.

We returned to the hotel, parking in the underground area, and Helen tried to roll-up her window with the power button,  After several futile attempts, I finally said  "Helen, are you sure it is open?" and she said yes, and to prove it knocked on the closed window....We only need Lizzie to make the three Stooges complete.