Kids and Dad can cook!

The food options in Volcano are very limited. Especially on a Sunday night. They opted for frozen pizza (the supreme with meet and veggies) and made it themselves! 

One last crater

This one was big, but the view point was in a place where we could not see the bottom. It did have some steam coming through the side.

The greater crater

We called this the greater crater because it was much bigger and more impressive than the others on the Chain of Craters road.

Maunalulu walk

We really enjoyed exploring here. The story of the eruption and the lava spewing from the mile long fissure helped the scenery make sense. We followed the fissure and explore the lava mountain the eruption created.

Maunaulu

This landscape is the result of a violent eruption in the late 1960s. Hiking around is fascinating, because it is easy to see the vent that spewed the lava and the mile long fissure that opened up along the ground.

They climbed down into the vent.

The amazing colors were created by minerals in the lava.

Looking out from the hole.

Looking into the fissure.

Another vent.

New Lava

We learned that new lava is darker than old the lava because it has not been as oxidized. It makes it easier to tell where the layers of flows have come down the mountain. 

Palm Grove

The 2018 lava flow eliminated several towns from the map. It destroyed hundreds of homes, businesses, miles of road, and a string of beaches. The residents who were displaced have planted groves of palm trees along the lava flow as a way to rebuild what was lost.

Sparkly Rocks

Sam has always liked rocks, especially ones that sparkle. This was her happy place. New lava has an iridescent glassy surface and depending on how fast it cools, it can create spots of different colors. It’s called pahoehoe and is quite beautiful. As it is exposed to the elements, it loses the color and turns black or red like most of the lava we have seen.

Since this is so fresh, 2018, there was a lot to look at.

Lava Holes

The lava flows create all kinds of crazy caves and holes.

Sam had to save Jim from this one.

They called this one the hot tub and were waiting for the warm water and jets. Interestingly, there is only one spot with warm water pools on the island. With all the Geothermal activity, we would think there would be more.

The end of the road

Sort of… this is the place where the lava over took the road in 2018. There is a road that has been cut beyond this point as an evacuation route. They are called escape roads and have been built throughout the park. It makes sense because if lava covers the only way in an out evacuation could be a problem.

A lot of this is new land that was created in 2018. The island gets a little bigger with every flow that reaches the ocean.

More Interesting Plants

There is a whole different crop of interesting plants down here. Along this trail, they were nice enough to put in signs, identifying many of them. According to the signs, many of them are poisonous.

These flowers bloom, yellow, and as they mature, they turn pink.

This is a strange looking inedible fruit.

Holei Sea Arch

Lava rock is actually quite light and porous. The pounding of the ocean erodes it fairly quickly. That’s how this arch was formed.

Seaside Picnic

We made it to the end of the road and decided it was the perfect place for a picnic.

The rocks were warm, and the view was incredible. The cliffs are steep, but the waves are so intense that some of them shoot water over the top creating quite a show.

The girls have discovered a brand of juice drink with local flavors that they enjoy. They’ve tried a whole variety of them.

Still as goofy as ever!

A lot of lava

There are flows everywhere. Some are smooth and glassy, while others are very rough and look like piles of crazy rocks. Then there are other sections that are green because the vegetation has had years to regrow. It’s a wild landscape!

That’s our rental car. Nicknamed “The Little Red Hen”.

Another ocean view

It’s nice that there are a lot of turnouts. But it is a lot of in and out of the car!

Ocean View

As we wound down the hill, we got some amazing views of the lava flows and ocean. It was crazy windy, as there is nothing to interrupt the airflow.

Sam the sloth. Usually when it is chilly, we find warm rocks to lay on. We call it lizarding. Sam found a warm railing to do a bit of slothing.

Hold on to the hat! It was almost too windy to keep it on my head.

Chain of Craters Road- Crater #3

We started this journey by stopping at every overlook so we didn’t miss anything. By the end of the 40 mile loop we would pull over but not necessarily get out to go in search of craters. Some are definitely more impressive than others.

A nice photo of Sam and Jim.

But she insisted on repositioning, so she was on the high side, and didn’t look so short!

Chain of Craters Road- Crater #2

Another old crater. These are clearly older as they have a lot of agitation regrown. We think that’s why many of them are impossible to find.

Chain of Craters Road- Crater #1

Our next adventure took us on the Chain of Craters Road toward the shoreline. There are dozens of craters on both sides. It’s hard to keep them straight, and while we know they all have names, the signage was quite poor. Some turnouts had signs and dates and an easily identifiable crater, while others had signs and no crater that we could find. Then there were the ones with a crater and no signs at all. Some of them were more impressive than others. 

Back to Kīlauea Iki

The devastation trail took us to the rim of a smaller crater. We were here last night, but view was not nearly as clear.