Saddle Road to Mauna Kea

After departing from Volcanoes National Park, I made my way through Hilo, stopped off to see Rainbow Falls (below) and made my way up the Saddle Road to Mauna Kea.

The drive really wasn't too difficult, and before I knew it I had ascended 9,000 feet from sea level in Hilo to the visitors center at Mauna Kea. I stopped in for a few minutes to use the facilities and check to see if my two wheel drive rental car could climb the dirt road up the the 13,796 foot peak. When I asked a group of four people in a 4-wheel drive Jeep, they assured me it would be not problem, so I proceeded.

The road was paved for another mile or two, then turned to dirt. There was little evidence of vegetation, and before I knew it I was above the clouds. As I approached the peak, I could see the observatories and marveled at the view. When I stopped the car to take a photo, I felt very lightheaded and got a headrush.

"Oh, the altitude," I remembered. I decided I better take it easy if I were to operate my vehicle without passing out due to the thin air.

There weren't a lot of people of the mountain, but there were some. I even passed a man walking down the dirt road with skis fastened to his backpack. No ski lifts here, but there definitely was some snow.

When I got to the summit, I was amazed. I felt like I was on top of the world. I stopped and gazed, but still felt light-headed. After about 15 minutes, I thought I better make it down before the altitude took control of me.

On my way down, I saw the man with skis, so I stopped and offered him a ride.

The skier, Matt, introduced himself and told me he was a ranger on the mountain, taking in some skiing on his off time. He commented on my two-wheel drive car, which he said he usually discourages from making the climb to the summit. But he said the car wasn't usually the issue, usually inexperienced drivers were the problem. I dropped Matt off at the "VIS" as he called it (Visitor and Information Services), and he said he'd hitchike back to Hilo since I was going the other way to Kona.

Another 90 minutes later, and I was back in the familiar confines of the Kona Tiki.

Hawaiian Lap

I made the short flight from Honolulu to Kona yesterday, and checked into the friendly surroundings of the Kona Tiki hotel. Not a bad place for less than $100 a night.

I got up early this morning to make my way down to Volcanoes National Park, about a two hour drive from Kona. On the way, I decided to stop off at South Point (a.k.a. Ka Lae), the southernmost point of the entire United States, even further south than Key West. This place has been a great fishing spot over the years, and there are old boat moors on the cliffs as evidence. The wind blows just a tad here, too, as can be witnessed by the windmills and lopsided trees.

After soaking up the sights of South Point, I made the rest of my journeyed to Volcanoes National Park, home of Kilauea Volcano. As I approached the park entrance, I learned from the local radio broadcast that part of Crate Rim Drive that circles the Kilauea Crater was closed due to a high presence of noxious sulfur dioxide gas escaping from the vents inside Halema'uma'u Crater. I still explored, and saw some amazing sights.

After getting my fill of the crater, I made my way down the Chain of Craters Road to see where the lava meets the sea. The road ends where a lava flowed across the road a few years ago, and off in the distance I could see steam from where the current lava flow meets the ocean. After hiking along the coast, I headed back up the volcano, grabbed lunch and went to my next destination.

The Shell

I arrived in Honolulu with some with friends last Thursday, but the main event of our trip was the 2008 Kokua Festival held at the Waikiki Shell.

Jack Johnson, a native and resident of Oahu, founded the Kokua Festival several years ago to raise funds for environmental education in the schools and communities of Hawaii, so this is his show and he's the headliner. That was made a little harder this year due to the participation of Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, who drew hoards of people and made the tough ticket even tougher.

Due to an online ticket purchase snafu, all of my friends had tickets but I didn't, so I had to resort to a grass roots plan to get a ticket. I went down to the venue early while my friends were enjoying pre-show cocktails at Tiki's. I circled the place looking for extra tickets, but there were no sellers except for a fat sweaty slob of a scalper who wanted too much. Frustrated, I then made a sign hoping to find a seller. I stood around with my sign, but of course everyone thought I was a scalper, so I eventually gave up on the idea.

Dejected, I returned to Tiki's and proceeded to drink with the gang and drown my ticket miseries. Then, the light bulb went off. One of the girls in the party had a VIP pass to get her backstage after the show, but she also had a ticket to ensure she had a place to sit during the show. She figured she could get in the gate with her VIP pass and I could use the ticket, and then once I got in I could give her the ticket and just head to the General Admission area. Sure enough, the plan worked.

After consuming a few beers and checking out the Eco Village, it was show time. And what a show it was. Dave Matthews was good, especially playing with Tim Reynolds. Jack Johnson was quite good as well. But it was the amazing view (complete with Diamond Head) at the Waikiki Shell that mesmerized me.