4 Following Seas: Volcano. 29 miles

Yes!!! I have to admit to being a big fan of the volcano and I haven't been to the Big Island since New Years Eve 1999.

We had a fantastic trip - and took way too many photos of black lava but for now I'll just wow you with my highlights. Slide show to follow.

Since I booked a year in advance we got to stay in the Eisenhower House - the VIP cottage that is part of the Kilauea Military Camp. Apparently Eisenhower stayed here often and there were lots of cool photos of him throughout the cabin.

Luckily it came with a fireplace since it was "freezing" up there at 4000ft. Well, 60 degrees or so but that is cold for us island folks!

Perfect for roasting marshmallows!

Our first full day we were all about the lava. We started at the top of the crater and saw the steam vents. You would be amazed at the force of the air coming out of the cracks in the ground and how hot it is. We were standing in front of this waiting for Emily to get a shot of us (let's just say she takes her time with the composition of the photo) and I had to jump away for fear of being burned up!

We took the rest of our shots a little further away!

After a quick stop at the museum and to get the latest "flow" update, we headed out for a short hike to the lava tubes. You can't see much of the rain forest in this shot, just thought it was cute of Em!

Olivia got the best shot of the lava tube as we walked through. Not much to see but very cool. Thank goodness for Emily's new light up shoes!!

We then got in the car for a long drive down the "chain of craters road." On this nearly 30 mile stretch of road you will see various old lava flows and craters as it winds down the mountain to the sea. Last time I was here we parked the car at the end of the road (meaning where the lava flowed over it and therefore created the end of the road) and walked out on the newer, hardened flow to see the lava pour into the ocean.

No lava flowing into the ocean this time and the "active flow" was actually outside the park. Only a few miles from the end of this road but to get to the other side we had to drive all the way back up, out of the park, to the next town and back down to the other side. Might not be any active flow here but it was beautiful!!

They say that each year many acres are added onto the Big Island by the lava flowing into the sea.

Olivia and I decided this was a good spot for our house!

Or maybe not.

Then we did some lava walking. Lava for miles with no end to the shapes it can take. This rounded smooth lava is called lapahoehoe (la pa ho a ho a) and is formed when the lava flows are slow and cool slowly. The very rough jagged lava is called ahah (because you say ah, ah! when you try to walk on it) and it's formed when the lava flow is faster and cools very quickly. David said this field looked like a pan of brownies!!

Of course you can still get hurt on this kind. Like say if you step on a mound that is hollow and your foot breaks through it. Yes, that would scrape you up pretty bad.

Oh well, you can't very well follow lava if you are a woos.

Emily took this shot above when we got to the actual lava flow sight. She said it looked like Mary and Jesus. I wonder if I could get anything for it on EBay? Turn your head to the right...you know you want to. She's right, it does.

OK folks, the big reveal. Here is the lava flow. I must admit it was much more spectacular in person and I wish I knew how to put one of those little arrows on my photo but you are just going to have to work with me. Center of the photo, just to the right of the mound, smooth blob coming right at you with a slight red glow to it. Do you see it? Inside that mound was also a "river" of lava flowing red but that didn't show up on my photos. The USGS guy told us that all of the lava we were standing on was formed the night prior. It was mesmerizing to watch, it moved slowly, darkened and moved more. I could have watched for a long time but it was H.O.T out there in the Hawaiian sun standing on black lava!

Pele isn't good with boundaries I'm afraid and what was a cute little neighborhood a few weeks ago is no more except for a few houses that the lava went around.

I like to call this shot "Lucky SOB!" He is the only guy with a house or grass for many miles!

OK, back up to 4,000 + feet and another crater that is only spewing sulfuric gas at the moment. Apparently a few miles below is a molten lava lake.

Inside this museum we learned of a green sand beach on the southernmost tip of Hawaii (and the US). The green sand was formed by the lava picking up Olivine on the way to the ocean and then the lava rock breaking apart in the waves releasing the mineral on the beach.

No getting to that one without 4WD and some good hiking legs but I took this photo of the museum photo so you could see. Looks pretty good, I could've passed it off like we were there!

Although the weather didn't cooperate with us this day we did head to the black sand beach. I would imagine this would be hot too on a better day!

We drove around and went to the town of Hilo and saw "Rainbow Falls". The Big Island appropriately named. Things are very spread out and it takes a long time to get anywhere. Nothing to do sometimes but take goofy photos of yourself in the car...