kona

Dried Fern

Daily Photo

Along the crater rim in Hawaii.

Spider web

Daily Photo

"Oh, look at that spider web!"

"That's cool."

"Going to take a picture of it?"

"No. I'd need to get close to take a good picture of it, and I'm not sure I want to lean down that far. I don't know where the spider is, I don't want to disturb it or break it or ..."

"Okay."

"..."

"..."

"Stand here, I'll use you as my counter."

Fern curl

Daily Photo

Kalij Pheasant

Daily Photo

While hanging out near the volcano on Hawaii, Mom and I went to the Art Center near the park's Visitor's Center. While walking from the Art Center to the parking lot, we went through a picnic area, where we ran into a male Kalij pheasant courting a female Kalij pheasant. It was interesting to watch, the movements of the birds, how they reacted to us, and when they decided to avoid us.

Fern out of focus

Daily Photo

Grass blades and dew

Daily Photo

Along the crater rim, middle of the day, there was still dew!

View down into the extinct part.

Blog

Turns out, when you're at the top of the crater looking out towards the active caldera, you can see the trail that exists at the bottom of the extinct caldera. And there's a path. That you can walk.

That's right, there are people at the bottom of that hill.

We had parked at the Lava Tubes overflow parking, so saw this view on the hike over to the Lava Tubes entrance and main parking lot. The path down to the bottom of the crater was near that entrance, we think, across from the Lava Tubes entrance sign. Unsure about that.

What we are sure about is that the hike down, across, and back up was not the journey we wanted to make so underprepared. Or maybe not at all, given the hike back up for Mom.

So, we just looked at it. Maybe next time.

Lava Tubes

Blog

Right, the Lava Tubes from yesterday. Whee!

So, after Mom and I hiked from the overflow parking lot for the Lava Tubes, parking there in error, to the main parking lot and the Lava Tube entrance (an easy 1km hike), we walked up a short distance, then down the paved switchbacks to the tube entrance. Which, by the way, totally looks like a cave you'd see in an Indiana Jones movie if said movies had handrails surrounding said caves. Oh, and signs pointing you where to go for the treasure:

There was a nice bit of stairs waiting for someone to wait at them, maybe hear a lecture on the lava tube formation (which, incidentally, was from a flow of lava having a slower flow cool on top of it and harden, as the now-buried flow kept moving), or record jungle bird sounds (which is what Mom and I did).

Pave the paths

Blog

Okay, here's something I don't understand:

If everyone is going to go around the gates, why not put the barrier where people are actually going?

Yes, yes, I completely understand that it is more likely the view was developed AFTER the barrier went in, and know that. It was, however, an opportunity to tell my mom about the "pave the paths" story, though I told it pretty-much tech-universe centered. Something like the stories collected on this page:

Momma at Volcano

Blog

I really want to put a "the" in that title....

Pages