Hawaii - Part 6.2
Our drive would take us down to the Southern tip of Hawaii, the Southernmost part of the US. We were racing against the fumes coming from Kilauea, hoping to see the petroglyphs left by native Hawaiians before we lost our chance to the venting of from the volcano.
The drive down to the coast revealed an overlook on the magma flows as they reached the sea level. You can see the black lines running towards the coast far below.
We exited at the petroglyph trail, hoping to make the two mile trek before the fumes caught up with us. Warning signs pushed us forward.
The wind was intense and we were walking against it. All the trees were bent in the direction of this wind, which must have been constant for the area. Moving forward became very difficult and we made slow progress.
After a mile hike we were rewarded with the petroglyphs. This one was of a human figure with several dots surrounding her. I assume it was a female because there is no line between the legs and because of the dots surrounding her. Whenever a baby was born, a hole was carved out in the lava rock and the baby's umbilical cord was placed into it.
There were many children born along this shore.
Other figures depicted here. I now next to nothing about Hawaiian culture or I'd have more to say about it. Because of this, there was an air of mystery around them.
On the way back we could see the fumes covering the mountain cliffs. We had to get back to the car. Luckily, the wind was on our back this time and we moved rapidly back to the car and cycled the air inside as we drove through the volcanic fumes on the way back.
Back at the summit, and away from the smog clouds, we took a short trail that showed the devastation caused by the pyroclastic material that long ago was ejected from Kilauea's summit. After that we returned to camp and called it a day. We had done a lot of hiking.
The following morning we headed back to Hilo and stopped by Rainbow Falls on the way to the airport. We got there too early and there was no rainbow. Sadly, we couldn't wait for it.
For the first time, we saw a downpour of rain as we left Hawaii's big island. Perhaps the island was sad to see us go. We were sad to leave. Perhaps we will return one day with some friends and hike up Mauna Loa, the largest mountain in the world. That would be something to dream about at least. For now, it was time to plan our trip back to Texas and recover from this long vacation.
The drive down to the coast revealed an overlook on the magma flows as they reached the sea level. You can see the black lines running towards the coast far below.
We exited at the petroglyph trail, hoping to make the two mile trek before the fumes caught up with us. Warning signs pushed us forward.
The wind was intense and we were walking against it. All the trees were bent in the direction of this wind, which must have been constant for the area. Moving forward became very difficult and we made slow progress.
After a mile hike we were rewarded with the petroglyphs. This one was of a human figure with several dots surrounding her. I assume it was a female because there is no line between the legs and because of the dots surrounding her. Whenever a baby was born, a hole was carved out in the lava rock and the baby's umbilical cord was placed into it.
There were many children born along this shore.
Other figures depicted here. I now next to nothing about Hawaiian culture or I'd have more to say about it. Because of this, there was an air of mystery around them.
On the way back we could see the fumes covering the mountain cliffs. We had to get back to the car. Luckily, the wind was on our back this time and we moved rapidly back to the car and cycled the air inside as we drove through the volcanic fumes on the way back.
Back at the summit, and away from the smog clouds, we took a short trail that showed the devastation caused by the pyroclastic material that long ago was ejected from Kilauea's summit. After that we returned to camp and called it a day. We had done a lot of hiking.
The following morning we headed back to Hilo and stopped by Rainbow Falls on the way to the airport. We got there too early and there was no rainbow. Sadly, we couldn't wait for it.
For the first time, we saw a downpour of rain as we left Hawaii's big island. Perhaps the island was sad to see us go. We were sad to leave. Perhaps we will return one day with some friends and hike up Mauna Loa, the largest mountain in the world. That would be something to dream about at least. For now, it was time to plan our trip back to Texas and recover from this long vacation.