The excitement really started yesterday when Richard could not print his ticket in advance and had a pretty good argument with the airlines on the phone to find out why. Come to find out his name was on a list of possible terrorists! Imagine that. He had to wait till we got to the airport and go through the normal check-in (plus calls to Homeland Security) which took time. They finally let him on and told him there was probably another Richard Gilbert somewhere that they were watching, duh. Richard was really angry. He told them they could have at least compared addresses, work records, social security or SOMETHING!!! After that things went pretty smoothly, until, Rich thought he was having an allergic reaction to something on the plane from Denver to Kona , HI. But, alas, it was not the next day he could barely talk and was getting sicker. To top it all that (Sunday) was the day we planned to go up on the Mauna Kea to visit the observatories. Not being one to give up, Richard was a trouper; he kept going all week.
On Sunday morning Doyle was so excited that he could hardly wait to get outside and see the ocean. Now he has seen the ocean before but never like this. Our Condo unit overlooked a very pretty, rocky (lava rocks) coast and the waves were crashing like crazy. When they hit the rocks it was like thunder and the waves were (and this is just a guess) at least 10 to 12 feet high and as they hit the rocks they splashed so much higher and were just beautiful. After everyone got out we took pictures and Doyle, Richard and Yuri just (as boys will do) had to go outside the fence of the resort "yard" and climb down on the rocks and get up close and personal with the waves. It was fun and no one managed to get wet! Ha ha
After that we took off to go exploring. We first drove south of Kona where we observed the Monument to Captain Cook.
On our drive this morning (the ranger guided tour to the top of the mountain did not start until 1 p.m.) we discovered the Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National Park. This place used to be royal grounds and a place of refuge. I am borrowing from the brochure now because my memory is failing and I can not recall all these details.
This was the home of the ali`i of the Kona district of Hawaii. The district ran down the slopes of Mauna Loa and out into the ocean. The purpose of this division was to allow residents areas for farming, collecting drinking water and fishing. There was no one single large structure to serve as a palace; rather there were as many as 10 or more thatched buildings for the royal family.
A massive stone wall, built about 1550, separates the royal grounds from the pu`uhonua or place of refuge. This was a sacred place containing the bones of ancestors. The pu`uhonua was a sanctuary that provided the people with a second chance. No blood could be shed within its confines. But who sought new life and what had they done? There were laws that forbid women to eat foods reserved for the chiefs, ones that forbad some people's shadow from falling on the palace grounds; no one could touch the chief or any of his possessions, etc. If an offender could reach the place of refuge a ceremony of absolution was performed and he or she could return home. Weird huh?
Getting to the observatories is way more than just a drive up the mountain. We drove around on the island and in general were making our way to Mauna Kea to go to the observatories. The drive took us across the famous Parker Ranch which is 250,000 acres. The story is that the island was divided between 5 families, years and years ago, giving each family many thousands of acres. The Parker family is the only one who has kept their ranch in tact and in the family. It is amazing to see so many acres owned by one family.
The road to the mountain also took us across the military training installation where they train especially in tanks driving and firing the guns. There were postings for the live fire ranges among other things. Later in the day while on top of the mountain, we could hear the cannon-like firing of the big guns.
The road to the 9000 foot level is paved, but still steep and pretty crooked. It is a gorgeous drive none-the-less. At the Ranger Station at the 9000 foot level everyone must stop and spend at least an hour to help you become acclimated to the thin atmosphere. Being so near the equator, the air on the mountains there gets rarer so much sooner as you go up to altitude; you have to be very careful. Also our guide told us that helicopters can land on top but the air is so thin that they cannot take off! He did say that the Black Hawk is capable of it, but the military refused to do it because of the winds up there.
If you have any respiratory, heart problems or some other stuff, you are NOT supposed to go. You also have to be al least 16 years old to go; no children. They question each person too!! You can not go up the mountain unless you have a good 4 wheel drive vehicle. I am sure there are those who cheat on these rules, but I did not see any make it up there without 4 wheel drive. We did see some people who did not go up with the rangers, but they did not get to go in the observatories and see the inner workings of them. That was so awesome. The drive from the 9000 foot level was very, very steep and all gravel. We had to stay in line and the ranger led the way so as not to let anyone get going to fast. He came by and checked each vehicle and the folks in it. He also asked for anyone who had an extra seat to allow someone without 4 wheel drive to ride with them. With 6 of we could not help.
Now remember it is ALWAYS cold up on the mountain. I started out in shorts that morning because it was close to 80 degrees when we left the condo. As we went up the mountain I added layers as everyone else did. By the time I got to the top I had on my shorts, a pair of fleece pants and another pair of slacks, two coats, gloves and head covering. I had an extra jacket just in case!! The wind blew constantly up there making the 30 or so degrees feel like about 10 degrees or lower.
The two largest observatories are called the Twin Kecks. They are owned by the Keck Foundation and are really a beautiful pair. We got to go inside one of them, use the bathroom, (priorities first), learn how to do some pressure breathing to help with the extremely thin air here at 14000+ feet. We also got to go into the huge room where the telescope is far above you. The guide explained about so many things. The mirrors are made of about 3 inch thick aluminum which is highly polished and then the reflective side is covered in an extremely thin layer of silver. When all the pieces are placed together they make an enormous concave mirror as large as my house in surface area (approximately 33 feet in diameter). They keep this room at about 30 degrees all the time because the cold keeps the whole thing stable. The huge mechanism sits on a platform and actually floats on layer of special oil that is so thin it is at the molecular level. AWESOME; it is so big it is hard to believe. Then we got to go over and into one of the smaller observatories. Here we got to see the control room with all its computers and control mechanisms that are involved with taking the pictures that we sometimes see in papers, books and on TV. It was really fascinating.
Then we got to climb up about 3 flights of stairs, very, very, very slowly and practicing our breathing lessons. I made it and really was in good shape. It was hard to breath, but it was WORTH IT. The view from the platform was so spectacular there is just no way to describe it. It was too cloudy down below us to see much far below, but the rest was just plain spectacular. Were it not for the clouds we would have been able to see the next island up the chain, Maui. However that was not a disappointment because as we flew into Kona the day before we flew between the two and came into the airport from the north and got a great view of it from the air. As a matter of fact we could see the observatories from the air as well.
We planned to stay for sunset and after our tour was over, we had about an hour to wait. We all got in the vehicle to warm up. I came out of some of those clothes. We parked in a direction we could see the sunset anyway. Richard, Doyle and Yury got out close to time and set up the camera to capture the sight! It was really pretty. However, Gerelda was getting altitude sickness. It became harder and harder for her to breath and she was really getting sick. I spotted a Ranger behind us and Victoria hopped out and told him we needed help. He came immediately with an oxygen tank and gave Gerelda oxygen. In just a few minutes she was getting much better. The ranger advised that we get her back now right then. So Victoria had to go and disappoint the guys. We loaded up and headed down the mountain. By the time we had been 2 miles Gerelda was sitting up and talking and feeling much better. Of all the older ones of us that we were worried about she was the last on the list, because Yury and I have had stents and heart problems and Doyle has asthma.
Just before the sunset a bunch of private tour busses showed up. Those people paid $175 each just to be driven up the mountain at sunset. Now that is a crock. They did not even get see the spectacular views in day time nor have the tour. It did not cost us anything but to upgrade to a 4 wheel drive and it was useful all week and the gas!!! Now is Richard smart or what?
Some time during our trip we also learned that all the outdoor lights like street and parking lot lights are yellow to keep down the light pollution for the sake of the observatories. Very nice.
