We stopped there to get maps and information. They, of course, had a gift shop where we got some post cards. We waited for the informational movie about Hawaiian volcanoes to start and eventually watched it.It didn't hit me that we were standing on an active volcano (duh, the whole island is part of an active volcano) until we drove 2.5 miles to the Jaggar Museum and stood on the overlook looking into the mammoth Kilauea Crater. This thing could blow at any second and we would even know what hit us. Fortunately for us, Kilauea, although active, has not been an explosive volcano in the past. That is not entirely true because just a week after we were there a vent exploded, throwing some good sized pieces of material into the air. That would have been awesome to see although it would have been about as scary as encountering a herd of velociraptors (frightenly common on Hawaii) coming down a trail towards us elsewhere on the Big Island.
While we were there we could see only a bunch of vents spewing out gases, enough gases to cause the park service to close Crater Rim Drive which circles the crater. Because of the danger from toxic gases crossing the road we could not go beyond the Jaggar Museum. There are National Park websites, like this one, dedicated to the dangers in Volcanoes National Park and it would be wise to visit them to be aware of what you might, but probably won't, encounter. The Visitor's Center, of course, has notices up about potentially dangerous situations. The rangers in the center were very friendly and helpful as they are throughout the National Park system.Kilauea has been peacefully and continuously erupting since 1983 actually. Deep down Pele, the Goddess of Fire, is probably jealous of the Goddess-in-Charge of Mount St Helens in Oregon, which put on a big show in 1980. Be careful about picking up volcanic rocks while in Hawaii and taking them home. You do not want to take a chance on angering Pele, lots of people have. Having a scientific bent I picked up a nice volcanic rock from a beach on Oahu to test the theory.
We didn't go to the Volcano House. Instead we went down the road to the Jaggar Museum,
bypassing some steam vents. Since we have seen plenty, too many actually, of steam vents in Yellowstone we didn't feel the need to see another one. The Jaggar Museum is great. The overlook is its main attraction. If you aren't impressed by the sight of Kilauea Crater you need to go back to the mainland and load up on Leave It to Beaver videos. It is a jaw-dropping awesome sight. To me, it was much like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. For some reason I told myself I needed to zoom in on a particular vent and snap a picture of it. It turns out to be the one that exploded a week after we were there. The Jaggar museum is worth visiting. The seismographs are there, churning out, minute by minute, how the mountain is feeling at the 
moment. Something was going on seismically according to one instrument which was covered in solid blue ink. Little did we really know. To me it was ominous in a way, looking at all that activity being recorded in blue ink on that drum.After touring the museum we went back down Crater Rim Drive and stopped at an overlook for a different view. At the overlook was what I thought was an offering to Pele. The crater's floor was a sea of molten lava at one time. We could see a couple of beautiful white Koa'e kea flying way below us.
We went past the Visitor's Center and turned right down the road to the Thurston Lava Tubes.
There is another interesting overlook and trailhead at the Kilauea Iki crater. We stopped there and could see hikers way below us, crossing the crater. The Thurston Lava Tubes is accessible two ways so don't let the sight of all those stairs intimidate you if you can't get around very well. 
Just turn left inside of right and follow the path to the rear entrance. There are lava tubes throughout Hawaii. Going through Thurston Lava Tube is a good way to become familiar with them. A side benefit of stopping here is seeing a good example of a Hawaiian rain forest up close when you take the trail out of the tube.From here we went back down Route 11, with the top down of course.
No comments:
Post a Comment