Volcano National Park

When we were in Hawaii this time, we took a flight over to the big island of Hawaii.  We were interested in seeing the volcano and the destruction left behind from the eruption.  Wow!  I didn't know what to expect but I know I don't ever want to live in an area near a volcano!  For sure, we didn't pack correctly for this part of our trip!  It was cold!!  Luckily we each had a jacket but none of us brought long pants.  Even Sonny was cold and that says it all!  The wind was the worse and blew right through us.  About the day we were leaving, it had gotten a little better and when we drove over to Kona on the other side of the island, it was much better!!

We stayed at the Kilauea Military Camp inside the Volcano National Park.  It was great - pretty rustic but suited our needs!  It was built in 1916 as a training ground for the National Guard and an Army vacation and health recruiting station.  At one time, General Dwight D. Eisenhower stayed here and during WWII, it served as a prisoner-of-war camp!  There was a restaurant with a small bar attached where we watched hula dancers one night and a bowling alley where we bowled one night as well as a fitness center, general store, post office, gas station and a game room where we hung out one night.  It reminded me of my days at Girl Scout camp!

Most of the National Park was open and there were a few park rangers in the Visitor Center whom I'm guessing were working for free with the government shut-down.  We got maps from them and took a few hikes in the areas that were open.  There was no active lava flowing from the volcano when we were there.  We saw a lot of Steam Vents where the ground water has seeped down to the hot volcanic rocks and returns to the surface as steam.  It was really hard to comprehend how huge Kilauea (Volcano) is from our viewing area but the crater is a mile long, 3,000 feet across and the floor is 400 feet below the overlook.

You can see one of the Steam Vents behind us and the volcano.

This is a part of the road that the recent volcano activity tore up.

Looks like dreadlocks, doesn't it?

We hiked out to this beach - all volcanic rocks.  That ocean water is about 8 feet down from where we are!  At one time, it was level with the water.

This used to be a neighborhood.  The lava has poured across the street and past it the lava has build about a 10 foot wall where there used to be houses!  This is where they were evacuating everyone last fall.

Plants are growing in the cracks of the lava!