Go East, Young Man

Today we took a day trip east, to Mauna Kea, Rainbow Falls in Hilo, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Volcanoes was wild.  One moment we'd be on a moonscape, and then, seemingly without warning, we'd be in a tropical rain forest.  The weather up on Kilauea changed on a dime, too, going from cloudy to sunny to drizzly to some combination of all three!

click to enlarge

 Your intrepid blogger overlooking "The Saddle" between Mauna Kea and the volcano Mauna Loa (in the background)

Rainbow Falls, Hilo

Steam and volcanic gases vent from Kilauea's caldera during the day...

...and glow from the lava deep below at night.

Petroglyphs

Lava tube

Sea arch