Kilauea - ing Me Softly

A long day with lots of driving.  We set out from Waikoloa Village at 8 this morning and drove the Saddle Road to Hilo.  From there we drove up to Rainbow Falls, the Boiling Pots and Pee'Pee Falls.  It has been quite dry so the falls weren't spectacular but they were still good to see.

After this we headed out for Volcanoes National Park.  On the way we detoured to 2400 Fahrenheit Glass Works and Mary found a piece of art that she really liked.

When we got to the park we did a quick stop at Volcano House Hotel to take a look at the caldera of Kilauea.  From there we visited some steam vents and the sulphur banks.  Lots of heat coming off the steam.  Next we drove along Chain of Craters road to a petroglyph site.  More heat as we walked across an old lava flow to the ancient site.  A bit farther down the road at the coast we had a look at Lava Arch.  Back we went along Chain of Craters Road until we got to the lava tube where we had it pretty much to ourselves.

We drove back to Volcano Village for dinner at the Kilauea Lodge.  We had a great seafood noodle dish with ahi, prawns and scallops.  Excellent.  A really beautiful dining area, too.

From there we went back to the park to the Jaggar Lookout to get a look at the core of the caldera at night.  It was quite a sight with the glow and the steam.  It was also a very clear night so there were a lot of stars and a delicate crescent moon.

It gets very dark in Hawaii and we had about a 35 mile drive back to our place in Pahoa.  We were able to find the Coconut Cottage in it's tucked away location with only one wrong turn.  Not bad.

Now off to bed while being serenaded by the very vocal coqui frogs.  A noisy little frog endemic to Puerto Rico but they have somehow found theirway to the east side of the island and have become abundant in their new location.  Earplugs tonight.

Rainbow Falls

Pee'Pee Falls

Steam Vent

Petroglyph

Lava Tube

Jaggar Lookout

Kilauea at night