Big Island Adventures

9 days flew by and we packed a lot into that time frame.  What a great island!

Volcanoes National Park - Incredible place to visit to see where the flow went into the ocean and to view the fumes and glow from the active lava lake.

The fumes are coming from the lava lake in this deep crater

The glow from the lava lake.
After dark is the only time to see this glow as the lake is too far down to see from the park except via a helicopter ride

the small crater - not active

a hike in the crater

Tom's glasses are all fogged from the steam vents throughout the park

where the lava flowed into the ocean - last time was 2 years ago

Beaches - even though the Big Island isn't known for the biggest white sand beaches, it sure does have some unique beaches right up our alley!

Black Sands Beach - a popular spot for swimmers and sea turtles

they planted palm trees on this black sands beach after the last lava flow wiped everything out

Green Sands Beach - the only way to get here is on a local's 4WD vehicle (these roads beat up the vehicles and it's a maze to find your way through) or a 6 mile round trip hike.  We opted for the hike along the beautiful coast.

Snorkeling - we found a hidden little treasure of a cove to snorkel in.  While the mass of people were all crowded about a mile down the road we had this little gem almost to ourselves.

The TRUE southern most point of the US - it's not in Key West!

Waterfalls!  The east side of the island is full of beautiful waterfalls due to all of the rain.

Boiling pools

Rainbow Falls

Akaka Falls

 While we are enjoying island time, Ed and Sandy Smith are enjoying doggie time.  They are taking great care of our little Moxie and send us daily updates and pictures.  Here is one of my favorites - Ed taking Moxie for a run.  She's having so much fun at the Smith's Summer Camp!  Thanks!

Til next time...Happy Trails!

Mauna Kea - our high point #37!

Standing on the summit, 13,796ft, with the telescopes in the background

It's no joke that on April 1, 2016 we summited Mauna Kea, the highest point in Hawai'i and #37 of 49 on our list!  It is a dormant volcano which last erupted around 4,500 years ago.

We started at 6:30am at the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station at 9,200ft and 5 hours and 6 miles later were standing on top at 13,796ft.   Although you can drive to the top that would be cheating on our endeavor of bagging the state high points.  It was a long day but a very beautiful hike.  On top of Mauna Kea is a little observatory "town" with many telescopes run by different facilities.

our 6:30am start

Mauna Loa in the background - almost as tall as Mauna Kea

Lake Wai'au - a sacred lake near the top.
They used to take their newborn umbilical cords here and place them in the lake to give them "the strength of the mountain"

looking down over the trail around one of the cinder cones

our first view of the telescopes - only another mile to go!

listing of all the telescopes on top

panoramic view from the top

I just love hiking above the clouds!

Tom's a happy boy - we're on our way down with another high point checked off!

The hike down took only 3 hours as we quickly descended back into the clouds.  Successful day!

Til next time...Happy Trails!

Aloha!

Aloha from the Big Island, Hawai'i!  We arrived on Wednesday the 30th and will be here until April 8th.  Then we head to Maui for 5 days and finally Kauai for 7 days.  We've taken this trip as an early 10 year anniversary present.

Our first "home" is off the grid and it's a gem!  It's the perfect little spot for us.  We've got an outdoor rain shower and everything is run from solar and rain water.  Loving it!

my new "office" in our tiny home

This is what sold me on the place!  Tom LOVES outdoor showers and I have to say, it's fabulous!

The property managers of our Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO), Ingrid and Amon, are fabulous and shared lots of incredible island fruit from their yard.

Jabuticaba grapes - they grow directly on the trunks and branches of the tree.  Yummy!

flower of the passion fruit

Amon cutting down some fresh coconuts!

It doesn't get any fresher than that!

After we settled in we spent the next day exploring and acclimatizing at the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station (VIS) so we will be ready for our climb to the top!  This VIS is at 9,200ft elevation and has nightly star-gazing programs which we will be sure to attend.  Loving time above the clouds!

our first geocache in Hawai'i

the sun through the telescope

 Mauna Kea Silversword - highly endangered

Til next time...Happy Trails!