On Thursday we set out to drive to South Point, which is the most southern point in the entire United States and to the Volcanoes National Park on Mauna Loa. While in Florida we drove to Key West which is the most southern point in the continental states. It took quite a while to reach there but it was worth the drive. The drive was unique as along the way we could see Mauna Loa and such beautiful sea shore vistas, oh you just can't imagine. The wind was blowing so hard, it was almost impossible to stand up. The cliffs were very high and the water was straight down, about 30 feet. There were platforms built along for people to sit and fish. The fishing lines were ropes instead of the thin lines; I wish I knew what they were fishing for. I am sure it was some kind of really big fish such as tuna or the like.
Some people has their own little spot picked out on the cliffs and were fishing and picnicking. However, there were but just a few people there, maybe a dozen in all, and it was a very isolated place, almost lonely with the wind howling constantly.
Side note: (I sure did have a time staying awake this morning due to the Mai Tais and the pain pill. Whew I could not keep my eyes open most of the morning.)
Molten rock pouring into the ocean is chilled so suddenly by seawater that the lava shatters, sometimes explosively, into small glassy particles of black sand. Ocean currents carry the sand down shore, where it may accumulate along the coast creating a black-sand beach, for which Hawaii is famous. We drove on around to the black sand beach and watched the Hawksbill turtles sunning themselves. They will set in the sun for hours and hours and never move. They are really neat.
Lunch time rolled around and we stopped in a small village that Richard and Victoria had discovered the last time they were here. There was a place there that served a unique dish called Loco Moco. It was a large bowl of steamed white rice topped with a very thick ground beef patty cooked in a rich, brown gravy, which was heaped on. On top of that you had a choice of an egg any way you wanted it fixed. They were very good and were very cheap and very filling. However, there was some seasoning in it that did not like me!!! I ate it all afternoon; the chances you take. Ha ha
In the Volcanoes National Park the land was so much different with all the old lava flows and the huge rocks, craters and steam vents. We took short walks out to the Kilauea Overlook to see this big crater. We walked out to see volcanic gases seeping from the ground, depositing sulfur crystals and other minerals on rocks. On the 10 minute walk to the Halema`uma`u Crater Overlook, there are warnings all over that visitors with heart or lung problems, pregnant women, young children and infants should avoid this area due to the volcanic fumes.
Thankfully none of were affected. Swordferns are among the first plants to grow in new lava flows. They are narrow, feather-shaped fronds growing where tiny spores, blown in by the wind, took root in shady, damp cracks on solid lava. Of course as time goes on many other species of plants as well as animals come back to the land, just like they do after a forest fire. Nature is always renewing itself.
Devastation trail is a paved path through an `ohi`a (myrtle tree) forest devastated by Kilauea Iki's 1959 eruption. The high canopy of the rain forest is dominated by this member of the myrtle family. These native trees are hard, dark red wood, and reach heights of 60 to 80 feet. Thurston Lave Tube is a walk through a lush rain forest to explore a 500 year old lava cave. This is really weird to walk through this solid rock where you can see how the lava cut through it and left this cave like tube.
There are 2 scenic drives to take and stop at overlooks and see thousands and thousands of acres of volcanic devastation around the Crater Rim Drive (11 mile loop drive) and the Chain of Craters Road (38 mile round trip). To see live lava at this time you have to drive to the end of the chain of craters road park, then hike out over cold, rough lava for a couple of miles AFTER DARK and then you can see the live lava from a distance. We decided that was just too dangerous and did not get to see any live lava, this trip. Needless to say we were disappointed at this, but se la vive. Richard and Victoria had been up close and personal with the live lava on their last trip and were looking forward to sharing that with the rest of us.
Kiluaea has been active for over 20 years now with the eruptions beginning in 1992 and continuous venting and lava flows ever since. In its march to the sea it has buried settlements, campgrounds, and picnic areas. Lava has poured into the ocean at the rate of about 90000 gallons per minute in recent years. Often these form rocky ledges which are unstable and frequently collapse and fall into the ocean. The lava has covered more than 40 square miles of public and private land, destroying more than 180 homes, a church, store, community center and several national park structures. Eight miles of highway, large tracts of forest and thousands of archaeological features were overrun by molten rock. Yet in this same time nearly 600 acres of new land were added to the island. Volcanoes not only destroy they create "a constant conflict to which all life on Hawaii must adapt."
