Then, we had a great breakfast consisting of different kinds of yogurt, a full basket of fruit (pineapple, mango, star fruit), and whole wheat toast along with passion fruit juice. Overall, very pleasant start to the day.
We got into our rental and headed out for our first full day on the Big Island. We used the GPS to figure out how to get to our destination for the day, Volcano National Park. But before we even left Hilo, I had to stop and check out the local convenience store!
The drive to the park began ominously as we ran into the morning commute traffic. Traffic was backed up 3 or even 4 cars at the lights! Terrible! Seriously, Hilo's morning rush hour traffic pales compared to Houston's 3 a.m. traffic! I run into more traffic going to my local grocery store!
The journey continued along Highway 11 where we passed many homes with amazing front yards filled with tropical plants. Along the way, we also enjoyed reading the elevation signs (1000 feet, 1500 feet, etc.) and wondering how high we would actually get!
As we entered the park, Sharon began planning our route through the park. We got our park map and decided to drive the long way first and save the visit to the Jagger Museum for later. As we started driving, Sharon noticed a pull-over so ... we pulled over.
Here, an overlook of one of the lava fields afforded us the view of a massive caldera, filled with steam vents and walking paths. Excitedly, Sharon wanted to make the trip down and walk on the solidified lava but once we discovered there was a 400 foot climb back out, I was hesitant to make the journey. Eventually, Sharon agreed and we moved on.
Our next stop took us to lava tubes. We followed the path down into the steaming jungle, bypassing a group of geophysical students who were placing geophones in some sort of order. We didn't stop to ask what they were doing but Sharon was sure they were doing some sort of seismic data collection. Anyway, the lava tubes were pretty cool (both metaphorically and weather wise) and we imagined what it as like when the lava flowed through them.
We climbed back out of the lava tubes and the jungle in order to continue our trip. Driving further along the road (I'd say about 1/2 mile), we saw a sign informing us that this lava flow occurred during such and such year. So, we stopped. Sharon got out. Touched the lava. Took pictures. Got back in car. Drove to next lava flow. Repeat.
I felt kind of foolish asking Sharon if she wanted to stop and look at the flows. Boy, how long have we been married? Since she is both a geophysicist AND a geologist, I should have known better than to even ASK if she wanted to stop. Of course, she did! So, we stopped at every lava flow.
I have to say that Sharon was in a completely different world here. Her smile exploded over her face every time she saw another rock. She kept telling me, "Did you know that this is baby rock? It was made in (year)!" I was very happy with her being so happy.
More in next post!
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