Hawaii 2019 (page 5 of 11)

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Day 5

After a quick breakfast of toast & eggs, we set of for Volcano National Park. While the lava flow has ceased, we still wanted to see the general area. It’s a long drive – 90-some miles, but drive time was 2-2.5 hours. The further up in elevation we got, parts of the drive reminded us both of northern MN.

After arriving, we first walked an hour or so along the caldera rim & saw the steam vents. There were some up on the rim where we were and many more down in the caldera. It sounds like sometimes you can walk down on the caldera itself in a special tour, but most of the time, including today, the air is too toxic for people. A lot of areas were close in the park due to damage from the lava flows & earthquakes last year. The sky was clear there and Mike happened to notice we could see the summit Mauna Kea clearly above another mountain – we could see snow up on top as well as a couple of the observatories. That was a lucky picture – 30 minutes later, it was clouded over again.

Because the full Caldera Rim loop had road closures around it, we turned the car around and headed to the southern side. Most of the route there was through wooded areas although we could see the craters at times. We arrived at “Devastation Road” where you could park your car at one of the closed locations, and then walk the 0.8 miles along part of the previous road (where you used to be able to drive) . The road there was closed due to a few massive cracks in the road once you were out near the craters again. A few of the lookouts were still open and it was interesting to see the massive caldera from the opposite side from which we started.

We then headed back to the area near the Visitor Center to see the sulfur baths. Here, there was a boardwalk that meandered across a grassy, desolate area. The sulfur gas from deep within the earth vents out in this area, and there many written warning to avoid this area if you were pregnant or had issues with breathing or heart problems. There were also reminders to STAY ON THE BOARDWALK and two examples were given of people who’d wandered off the boardwalk, and consequently broken through the crust and gotten badly burned. The sulfur gas crystallizes in certain areas here in an iridescent yellow. We didn’t walk the whole length of the walk here because it had started to sprinkle rain, and based on some of the rain we’d experienced yesterday, we didn’t want to get caught in it.

On the way back, we stopped in the Volcano Art building to look around a bit. There was pottery, photographs, jewelry and various other things. It was a nice end to walk around and look at some of the things there.

We then consulted the map & weather forecasts and decided to head North through Hilo, and take the saddle road back, instead of re-tracing our steps along the SW coast. The saddle road links the East side of the island with the West coast, and draws a line between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. We hadn’t eaten since breakfast, other than a couple mini Kind bars, so we stopped in Hilo to eat. Google found Liko Lehua, which was near the coast. Very few people were there due to the time of day (4 pm) so we got good service. Mike ordered the “Bottom Basket” special – it consisted of fried mahi-mahi, crab cakes, chicken katsu, all atop a bed of fries. He REALLY liked it and the crab cakes were very good. Greta ordered the ahi (catch of the day) with rice and steamed veggies; that also was very good. They had an eclectic drink menu, which can be fun. Mike got two of the Schnozzcumbers (lemon lime bitter soda, gin & cucumbers). Greta got a Rum Punch and Liliko’i (passion fruit) margarita. Everything was WONDERFUL and a good end to a long day of walking.

From Hilo, we headed across the saddle road back towards Kona. Apparently the Saddle Road had originally been built by the military during WWII, as a way to get between the east & west sides of the island. It was built quickly and for military vehicles and not well maintained. Up until 2013, when they rebuilt the road, apparently you were forbidden to drive that road if you had a rental car, doing so would void your insurance and any damage to the car was your own responsibility. Now, though, it was a very smooth, easy-going trip. About halfway across, we started to see familiar sights based on our trip up to Mauna Kea. As a side note, due to bad weather, the road up Mauna Kea past the visitor center has been closed since Saturday, so we were lucky to have scheduled our trip on Friday.

Once we arrived in Kona, we got gas for the rental car at Costco. Gas is not cheap here. Gas prices in/around Kona were in the $3.59/gallon range UNLESS you went to Costco. Then it was $2.79/gallon! In MN we are used to a $0.15 – $0.20 difference between the average stations and Costco, but an $0.80 difference is AMAZING. Luckily for us, it’s also on the way to the airport on the sad day we have to return the car.

After getting gas, it was getting close to the time that the sun set. We were on the highway looking for a spot to pull off. We first pulled off at a gate for a National Park, but thinking we had more time, left that spot. Then we realized the sun was setting very quickly and pulled into the Honokohau Harbor (where we’d met for diving on Saturday). The main parking lot did not provide a good view as trees were blocking the sunset, so we just guessed and took another road that SEEMED to head towards the water’s edge. We followed another car that was doing the same thing and got lucky – we were down by the water, and nothing would block our view. The sun had already started to set when we got out, but we saw the last half go down. AND THEN WE SAW THE GREEN FLASH! We’d always assumed it was a myth, but we both watched the sun drop and as it disappeared, the last 2 seconds of light left a green glow where the sun had been. It was very impressive and a GREAT way to end our day.

It was dark by the time we got back to the condo. Neither of us was hungry enough for another meal, so for the rest of the evening, we just relaxed.

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