Microblog
The night sky on Kilauea is crystal clear, with very little light pollution. I saw more stars there than I have anywhere else, except perhaps the back country of New Mexico. It’s easy to see why they put the telescope on Mauna Kea nearby. (Volcano, HI)
Finally, we headed back to the Uēkahuna overlook to see the glow of the lava lake at night. Kilauea was impressive by day, but it was stunning by night. I just can’t fathom the power of a volcano. It’s no wonder they were worshiped as gods by some people. (Volcano, HI)
After visiting the caldera of Kilauea, we went to the Thurston Lava Tubes, where we were able to walk through giant tubes of rock formed when lava flows crusted over like a freezing river in the winter. (Volcano, HI)
Kīlauea was really impressive. The caldera billowed up clouds of steam and sulphur which stains the rock. From the Uēkahuna overlook, we could see the lava lake at the bottom of the caldera which skimmed over with silvery cooled lava. (Volcano, HI)
Next off to see volcanoes! To get there, we drove the “Saddle Road” which goes over the pass between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. There’s nothing on that road but a military base and scrub. But the view of Mauna Loa is nice. (Waiki‘i, HI)
For second lunch (yes second lunch—don’t judge me) we headed down the road to Shaka Tacoz which got rave reviews from locals. They are technically a food truck, but they rent a building without a kitchen so they can offer indoor seating. Delicious! (Captain Cook, HI)
Catching up from yesterday… In my ongoing quest to try all the world’s regional delicacies, we had lunch at Super J’s so we could try Lau Lau. Lau Lau is a HawIian specialty that is basically pork and fish steamed in taro leaves. Not half bad! (Honaunau-Napoopoo, HI)
