The Big Island

Neal had been in a helicopter, but I hadn't. So awesome. We flew over the hot spots flowing down from the fissure in Kilauea. The flow isn't on the surface right now, but just below it, so we see hot steam coming up from those areas.

Amazing to see land being formed at the coastline. It hardens and then breaks off into the sea, leaving lava cliffs. This is the most active place for volcanoes on Earth. Coastline from way above.
Here the flow divided a town. The flow is very slow, so they lose homes, but not the contents of them, and no loss of life from this kind of volcanic activity. Below you see a home on a bit of green. It is completely surrounded by flows, but this guy doesn't want to leave. He has no electricity, no roads. Used to hike out about 5 miles to go to his truck and ride into town for supplies. A recent flow covered his road out there, so now he has further to go. Has turned his home into a Bed and Breakfast and has guests and supplies coptered in.

Hilo bay. We stayed in one of the hotels on that green peninsula.
Here is the jeep making its way across very rugged lava terrain. Neal was in jeep heaven. This area had flows going right into the ocean.

These homes used to be almost beachfront properties. The lava came around the side then across the front of their places. It is a wild place!
This is the road just north of those homes. It is this beautiful, green jungle stuff that the flow replaced. The plants I keep alive in my house grow wild here.

The hot area we saw from the helicopter is in the background. People have started building houses on this barren wasteland. No available amenities.
Looking down into the flow we were amazed to see determined ferns finding enough nourishing soil to grow.
This is the Kilauea Caldera with Halema'uma'u Crater within it spewing gases. They are very toxic. There is a road going all around this rim, but it is closed because of the poisonous gas.
Neal at an exposed vent in the area.
Halema'uma'u Crater spewing in the background. This crater, Kilauea Iki, bacame active in 1959. It took 36 years for the lake of lava in the bottom of it to cool. You can see people hiking down in it. We joined them!
About 3/4 of a mile in the lava lake bed. The opening behind Neal is where it flowed out and down the valley.
There is a lot of rainfall here, so anywhere the lava hasn't been, it is very pretty. This is the hike coming up out of the crater.
Going into the Thurston Lava Tube. Interesting to see this huge tunnel carved out by ancient lava flows.
Painted Church done in the late 1800s by a Catholic Priest. The walls are done in beautiful murals, some having lasted better than others. Also the Mother Mary statue with numerous shell leis draped around her.
Wood carving at "The Place of Refuge". The early Hawaiians hard a strict code of behaviors. If a person violated any law, they were subject to death. If they could make it to the place of refuge, a priest would cleanse them and they could return home as if it didn't ever happen. This is the best example and most intact of any refuge on the islands. The walls are of stacked lava rocks using no mortar. It is the "Pu'uhonua o Honaunau" National Historic Park.
Entrance showing the thickness of the 8 foot high walls. In the background you see a high podium of rocks, also in the next picture. It is solid.
Probably a temple was on top of this at one time.
Kona Temple at night. Neal and I after our session that night. Such a thrill to be here. It is small, much like the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.
We were glad to get together in Kona with an old family friend, Colleen Harris. She gave each of us a shell lei and some fresh fruit and other goodies. She lives here now.
I noticed this woman at checkout in Walmart in Kona. I couldn't believe her skin! Way too many hours in the sun for this woman. Unbelievable!
The beautiful Kona Hawaii Temple in the daytime.