Kilauea Iki

Our resident gecko.  When I hung out on my deck it would come up and snatch flies off my bare feet.  I'm pretty sure this gecko is female because it was apparent once that she has a boyfriend...a larger and amorous gecko.

Looking straight up at the palms on the Puna coast.

Tree canopy on highway 137...one of my favorite roads anywhere.

The reddish hole in the center of the pic was the main lava vent during the 1959 eruption of Kilauea Iki.  Lava fountains soared as high as 1900 feet here, the highest on record.  The eruption continued off and on for over a month, filling the crater with over 400 feet of new lava.  The hill surrounding the vent, called pu'u puai, was created during the eruption and consists of cinders and lava spatter thrown out of the vent.  Blow up these pix for better views.

The lava filled the crater of Kilauea Iki, making it a huge lava lake, and then subsided about 50 feet, leaving this "bathtub ring" around the perimeter.  The lush forest above the ring filled the entire crater before 1959.

The crater floor is a fascinating hike...I've done it four or five times in the past 30 years.  When I first hiked here, in 1984, there was still molten lava several hundred feet below the surface.  That has solidified since then, but the lava at the bottom of the old crater is still warm, and produces steam through numerous vents that can be seen on cloudy, humid days.

Crack study.

A solitary ohia tree colonizes the lava.  Ohias are now scattered throughout the crater...30 years ago they grew only around the edges.  Eventually, perhaps by the end of this century, the crater will be well forested again as it was before 1959.  It had previously been quiet since 1868.

Towering cumulus build beyond the crater.

Ohia lehua blooms.

The crater from above, under a glowering sky.

Resident gecko stalking a fly near my foot.

Laupahoepahoe Point.  There's a pleasant park here now.  In 1946 there was a school, with housing for the teachers.   The big tsunami hit on April 1 of that year, and carried away 24 students and teachers.  Three others were rescued after drifting in the ocean for an entire day, clinging to debris.  The school has since been moved waaay higher.

Sunset at the Hilton Waikoloa.  From a cozy house on the eastern tip of the island, I have moved to a plush, vast resort on the west side.  More pix later.