Volcano, HI - Day 1
Tuesday, April 13
This morning we said good-bye to the Hilo house, moving on to our next adventure in the town of Volcano, Hawaii. Between Andi, Janie and I, we have packing our bags & clearing out the fridge down to a science! It doesn’t take us long at all.
Before we left this morning, Janie took one last walk in the jungle countryside while I did my weighted workout inside the covered garage. The sun was shining and the air temperature warm already at 7:00am. We really lucked out with weather while we visited the east side of the Big Island. Hilo is the rainiest city in America, typically receiving 130 inches of rain per year, but we had sunny skies during our visit.
The next place we’re staying is in Volcano, Hawaii which is a few minutes outside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We were able to get an early check-in time for our rented airbnb, so we headed there around 10:00am. The new airbnb was a gorgeous house and kept very clean! It included a spacious kitchen, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a private garden jungle surrounding the property. The only strange part was that the house has a water catchment system — a huge black tank in the backyard — that catches rainwater to be used for water inside the house. There must not have been a filtration system for the rainwater because signs inside the airbnb said tap water wasn’t safe to drink or use for cooking. The airbnb provided plenty of bottled water jugs to use so it wasn’t really an issue, but a bit strange nonetheless.
Andi grilled chicken breasts for lunch while I roasted some Brussels sprouts and zucchini in the oven. The five of us ate an early lunch, then drove to nearby Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to spend the rest of the afternoon hiking and exploring.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is #1 on my Big Island bucket list, so I was excited we were finally here to see it. Our first stop was the visitor’s center to collect Junior Ranger packets and to get a listing of the hikes of the park. There was a long line already formed outside the gift shop as only 5 people were allowed inside the building at one time. We waited for about 15 minutes before Andi and Tory gained admittance & went inside to purchase a park sticker for our travel book.
The air temperature dropped drastically since we left Hilo this morning. Volcano, Hawaii is at 3,750 elevation as it sits on the slopes of Kilauea Volcano. The average temperature in April is around 68 degrees which can be a refreshing change compared to other parts of the island. Or, it can be a chilly surprise if you’re not prepare for it. Brrr!
From the visitor’s center, the five of us hopped back in the car and started out along Crater Rim Drive toward the Steam Vents and Sulphur Banks. We listened to the Shaka Guide audio tour in the car so we could learn facts and information about the park as we drove.
Andi parked our vehicle in the parking area and then the five of us walked along the short path to the Ha'akulamanu Crater viewpoint. Ha'akulamanu is the summit crater on the very-much-active Kilauea Volcano. The latest eruption here was just this past December! Lava continues to fill in the Ha'akulamanu Crater creating a lava lake and its glow can be seen at night.
After viewing the crater, the five of us walked across the street to the Sulpher Banks trail. This area was so peaceful and we had it all to ourselves. Here, rainwater that seeps into the ground is heated up by the volcano. Volcanic gases rich in carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide mix with rainwater creating steam which then escapes through cracks in the earth’s surface. Sulfur gases change the coloring of the ground and also emit a smelly rotten egg odor adding to the uniqueness of this area of the park. It reminded us a lot of Yellowstone National Park.
Having never visited Yellowstone, Janie was particularly wow’d by this experience. It really is other-worldly! We walked along the flat 1.2 mile trail which eventually led us back to the parking lot where we left our car.
Next, we continued along Crater Rim Drive to the Thurston Lava Tube. This area is one of the most popular hikes in the park and the parking area was packed, so we decided to continue on to come back to it. Devastation Trail was another easy family hike on a paved walking path through the 1959 Kīlauea Iki eruption. It was interesting to see the vast and total ruin caused by lava flow intertwined with new plant and forest life. Mother Earth is, if nothing else, resilient!
We continued along Crater Rim Drive viewing several craters from the roadway. At one point, we got out and walked to a viewpoint to get a closer view of one. Except for the Thurston Lava Tube area, it felt like we had Hawaii Volcanoes National Park all to ourselves — it was awesome! There wasn’t anyone else but the five of us to share this spectacular view.
Andi and I decided to save the remainder of the Crater Rim Drive for tomorrow and return to the airbnb for dinner. The five of us couldn’t stop talking about the things we’d just seen at the national park and all of us wanted to learn more about Kilauea. It’s unfortunate the visitor’s center is closed and park programs cancelled due of COVID because it really takes away from the learning experience national parks provide. To fill the void, we came back to the airbnb and watched You Tube video after You Tube video about Kilauea and its history of eruptions. It was really interesting and helped us better appreciate what we’d just seen.
Tory, Aden and I worked on their Junior Ranger packets together while I pulled together some leftovers for dinner. We all cozied up together in the living room by the fireplace — yes, a fireplace in Hawaii! — and watched an episode of Heartland together before bed.
Tomorrow, we’re excited to explore more of the southeastern side of Hawaii’s Big Island.
