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| Apparently, you can sit under the Mango tree but you can't pick the mangoes. |
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| We went to the local zoo specifically because they have a pair of the State of Hawaii bird, the Nene. This is a Canadian goose like bird. While we were leaving the horse back riding area we drove past what looked to us like a very rare Nene. |
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| A living, what looks to be very lonely, Nene. He makes the cutest little noise but he seemed so sad. Bob and I agreed that we can mark this one off as a confirmation. |
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| In the Lava Tree State Monument has about 40 molds of trees burned in a lava flow along a walking path. After the trees burned various plants and trees took root. |
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| After the zoo, we had rented a couple bikes for the short ride back into the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Short yes, if about 6 miles round trip is short, but it was over 85 degrees, just past high noon and very few clouds. And since it was our last full day in Hawaii, of course this is the day we forgot to use our sunscreen. Ouch, a little pink. |
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| Kilauea also has what is called a "fire hose" which is the outlet into the ocean. The steam rising and boulders flying was amazing. There was even an orange glow along the outcropping. Considering how awesome the lava lake looked at night, this would be just as cool after the sun goes down. |
If you look close you can see the faint orange glow of the fire hose.
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| There were multiple explosions like this. You might want to note the lower left hand side of this photo. That is a small boat which it seems is perfectly okay. Any idiot with a boat and clients willing to pay can get as close as they dare from the ocean side. However, if a guide is leading a group of hikers beyond the boundaries set by the National Park Service, there are going to be consequences. While we were taking pictures a park ranger walked up. Besides us there were about 8 other people. The ranger said this was the first time since the middle of November that he has arrived and nobody was breaching the boundaries. |
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| This picture shows debris being thrown out in this explosion. |
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| This explosion looks to be large enough to drive off the boat but as I turned around I noticed another boat arriving. Sigh. |
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| This lava looks just like rope. |
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| We are gathering our remaining strength for the ride back down. |
