Hawaii, February 2008

[Roanoker]

We're still walking on the Steaming Bluff Trail.

The caldera steams.


My two sons are ahead of me.


Grandson, too.


Still a sucker for grass.


I suppose this is a crater in a crater.


These patterns look like giant paw prints to me.


I called this one Pretty Pollution.


Roadside lava.


Son on top.


Pink lava? Okay. That's my shadow lower right.


Grandson climbing over lava.


You can see my family in the distance with son further back, on top again.

[Roanoker]

Say, the shadow I said was mine in one of the pictures above was really my son's. (Like it matters.)

Anyway, We are finishing up this lava field thing.






That's the ocean beyond the lava field.


We headed for something called "lava tubes" late in the day and walked through a veritable fern forest.


My son just ahead.










I couldn't get any good pictures of the lava tube. You had to be there. It was like a long cave shaped like a giant tube. This is a shot I took while walking out of the thing.


There were so many laughably long names of streets and other things, I thought this T-shirt was a joke. But that is the real name of the state fish.


Yada Yada Blah Blah, whatever.

[Roanoker]

We are moving to the next day, February 20, 2008. Three of us went back to the Volcanoes Park on the Big Island, early in the morning.

I believe this is Mauna Loa.


And this is Mauna Kea.


The caldera.


Another shot of the caldera. It almost looks like a moon shot.


Son shot.


This was an interesting place to have lunch. We had a great view through the window.


This is the Volcano House, where we had lunch.


You can see puffs of whatever escapes from the earth there.


Mauna Loa again.


And again.


Why am I trying to describe these pictures? I don't know anything.


I thought this was pretty.

[Roanoker]

We are still visiting Volcanoes National Park.

Flowers, whenever I see them. These are native.


I suppose you could see this scene in any state.


Nice path.


Isn't this bird pretty? I have no idea what kind it is.


We came across what, to me, was a most unusual garden of sorts.


My son is catching a shot while husband looks on in the background.


Designer tree with designer husband.


These really are flowers.


Beauty comes in all forms.


This is one of those pictures where I asked the "actor" to stand in a specific place.


This is the volcano Mauna Kea.


And this is the volcano Mauna Loa.

[Roanoker]

This is a rather interesting section of Volcanoes National Park.


Husband is walking ahead on the path. The volcano Mauna Loa looms on the horizon.


These plants are small but hardy.


I call this a designer tree.


The ubiquitous flower native to Hawaii.


Different kind of garden.


You can see Mauna Loa in the background.

[Roanoker]

If you like lava, this post is for you!


This is the same chunk of lava as the one above, viewed at a 45-degree angle and further away.


This may be a "sit, stay" situation.


Notice the road, both above and below.


It's almost like a giant, lava beach. That's the ocean beyond.


These people asked my son to take their picture with their camera.


Pretty coastline.


I call this one, "Designer bush." It is a natural centerpiece.


Here's another shot of the coastline. Notice the different layers.


This is one of the two vehicles our little group rented. The other one was a van.


Notice the subject of my son's picture.


I took the same shot with my camera. Here, I stroked the oval with four colors, each taken from the image. I had to do something different.

[Roanoker]

We are still in "Lava Land."

The famous flower (tree, actually) native to Hawaii.


The blue sky provides a perfect background.


One more view of the same.


Now for some serious lava (and a few hardy plants).


Another patch of lava.


Can you find the vanishing point?


Like black taffy.


This is about as close as my son could get to a volcanic eruption.


The Park Service people want you to be aware of potentially hazardous air quality.


Lava takes many forms.


Ditto.


Please notice the generous variety of flowers here, in a seemingly hostile environment.

[Roanoker]

I took these shots while walking a long time on a paved road. I wound up with a pretty good sunburn.


Flowers be everywhere.


This was the destination. Lava had taken over the road, never to be used by cars again.


More of same.


Natural ornamentation.


My fondness for grass is showing again.


This must be the shield volcano, Mauna Loa.


Isn't this striking? It's almost like an alien spacecraft masquerading as a cloud.


I take pictures of signs so I'll know where I've been. 


Beauty can be simple.


Where'd that forest come from?


I thought this was so unique and then noticed they were all over the place. That's the park's way of growing palm trees.


One more for this special week.


And Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

[Roanoker]

These are the last pictures of the day on 2/20/08. This is a path to a beach with black sand.






Finally made it to the black beach.




You can see a volcanic eruption in the distance.


Husband walking on black sand.


Son, his wife and their friends from Australia.


The sand really is black.


Other son is trying to find a better vantage point to see the volcanic eruptions.


I guess he found one.


This picture of a lunar eclipse wasn't worth the lacerations I received trying to prop my camera up on sharp-as-glass lava.


Don't forget to put your camera settings back on automatic if you get a wild urge to experiment. I had to throw away a bunch of people close-ups because I wasn't paying attention. Bummer.

[Roanoker]

It is February 21, and these are the last pictures from the trip to Hawaii that I will post. We are on our way home. Hawaii is now just a dream. Actually, I think my son took these pictures with my camera.









Aloha!

[Highlander]

Nice Photos.  I've got so much of America still to see after living the last 10 years in Europe.  Those black sand beaches look great but I bet they can get really hot underfoot in the summer. 

[Roanoker]

Nice Photos.  I've got so much of America still to see after living the last 10 years in Europe.  Those black sand beaches look great but I bet they can get really hot underfoot in the summer. 

I suppose the black sand can get hot then. We were there at the end of the day in February. The weather in Hawaii was probably the greatest aspect for me.

Welcome back to the States!