Volcano National Park

A few days into our trip we went to Volcano National Park, about an hour from where we are staying. It was SO AMAZING to see the lava flowing down into the ocean and feel like we were witnessing creation. We could hike right over to it and I especially loved watching the way the hot insides would crack through the blackened, hardening shell as it flowed. And the greatest part is that the best place for viewing the lava at night, when it is most spectacular, is just half an hour from where we are. Such an awesome way to end a day.

I'm just kidding. Actually, the flow which has been pretty much flowing continuously down to the ocean for the last 28 years stopped on March 5th, three months ago. So there actually is no lava flowing anywhere above ground on the island at the moment. BUMMER. Why is my life so hard and nothing good ever happens to me? Except spending five weeks in Hawaii with my family, I guess. So you don't actually have to feel sorry for me. But still, it is kind of too bad. We enjoyed the day nevertheless; there is a surprising amount of variety in the park. We started by checking out the Kilauea crater, which does have some smoke and steam coming out.

 

We walked around some steam vents and took a little hike through an amazingly lush and beautiful rain forest, then tempted fate by bringing the boys into the Volcano Arts Center. We figured the universe was in our debt by stopping the lava flow, and happily we got all the kids out before accidentally buying a broken $5000 glass sculpture. There was a lot of really beautiful art in there; I stayed a little longer while Nephi and the boys hiked back to the car and came to pick me up. Then we drove down the Chain of Craters road, which goes from the top of Kilauea down to the ocean. There were some terrific views, and much of the way you drive through previous flows. At the end there is a sea arch and dramatic ocean cliffs.

 

Towards the bottom there is also a hike to a huge grouping of petroglyphs. It was very cool to hike across the stark lava field.

 

And finally we stopped at a lava tube, big caves hollowed out by flowing lava. Half of the tube is lit, and half isn't. Being the bold adventurers that we are, we went through the unlit part too (with headlamps). But we got to do the "turn out your lights and experience complete darkness" thing at the end, which was cool.

 

 

And then, we didn't spend the evening captivated by the red glow. But that's okay.