Another lava day

I took yesterday off from working on the lanai so Leslie and I could go out to see hot lava. There is virtually nothing better in the world in our view. It is just so awesome to see the movement, feel the heat, hear the sounds. Pictures are great but they don't do it justice. If you have never seen hot lava up close, please put it on your to do list.

But, before the lava, I want to mention our Friday evening. It was a beautiful, warm, rain-free day in which I worked happily on the lanai. After the work of the day, we went out to our favorite cocktail spot - Coconut Island - and were treated to wonderful views of the two dominant mountains on the Big Island - Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. They are both about 14,000 feet high (or about 4,250 meters). It is hard to really appreciate how massive they are from photos. In fact, Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on earth with Mauna Kea close behind. During the winter, there is sometimes snow on Mauna Kea, as there is in this photo. But, while snow falls on Mauna Loa, it rarely lasts long enough to see because....my brother Russ will have to explain that. Anyway, voici.


After this gorgeous, clear day - as we slept - we received about an inch of rain. By the morning, it was again clear and beautiful. I love Hilo. Ok...onto the lava.

So, to find the surface flows, it is best to go out before sunrise. The red glows show where there is an active flow. To aid our search, I climbed up this little outcropping. I am pointing out where the flows are to Leslie.

This is what I saw (sorry it is a bit blurry but you can get the idea).

Here is another shot taken from the other side of the outcropping showing the plume from the lava flowing into the sea (via a lava tube beneath the surface). FYI, it took us about an hour to get the ocean entry and about 1 1/2 hours to get to the surface flow.

When we arrived at the lava, I got to work. First, I laid out the kitchen utensils.

I taped on one of the utensils to a paint extension I brought for the job.
I dipped it into the lava.

We repeated these steps until all our utensils had a rock on them. Here are the utensils (and a few other rocks unconnected to metal...)

Here is a couple of videos of the process: one a failed attempt; one more successful.

For those not interested in our "work", here are just a few pictures from yesterday and a video of the lava.

After our trip to the lava, as usual, we went and watered our palms and grabbed a bunch of rocks for our garden.