In the past, the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park "Chain of Craters" Road used to pass thru Kalapana and connect with the Puna District. With Kilauea's relentless lava flows, the Goddess Pele reclaimed a huge swath of land that included many homes in the Kalapana region. Thus, Kalapana Village is pretty much at the end of the road these days and relatively secluded from the rest of the Big Island.
Lawn ParkingAnother unique concept in Hawaii is parking... specifically, lawn parking. It's quite strange: cars park on their respective lawns! As the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", so we lawn park and snap a photo of it!
Instead of the main highway back to Hilo, we opt for the slower coastal road that winds through parts of the Big Island off the radar for many tourists. Unique features include signs warning if you were entering/ leaving the tsunami evacuation area and one lane roads.
Wild tropical fruits: mangos (above) and breadfruit (below)
Other pleasant surprises include our accidental discovery of wild tropical plants bearing fruit along the side of the road. It was interesting to see an abundance of fruit left untouched by the local populace.
Tree Canopies
During our long drives, Locke commented on how much he loved roads that were covered with tree canopies. On our last trip back in Kauai, there was a road near Koloa that reminded him of his youth as he journeyed about Hawaii. So, this time around I stop the car for a photo of this extensive tree canopy tunnel that captures our drives in the Puna District.
Lava Tree State Park
In this state park, lava stumps signify trees molds that were covered by lava, but not completely incinerated by it. The lush park has a plethora of plants and wildlife, and besides Kauai, this was our only sighting of wild roosters on the loose!
On the last trip, I took Locke to an organic Macadamia farm on Moloka'i. On the other side of the spectrum, the mother-of-all macadamia farms is Mauna Loa. During the helicopter ride, we saw its huge presence and so we make a quick pit stop for the most commercialized of all macadamia farms.
In dowtown Hilo, The Hawaii Belt Road makes a sharp left (Route 19 ends and Route 11 begins). This is where Ken's Pancake House is located at. A local joint we found thru serendipity, this place serves up wonderful breakfasts (and other meals too) with a definite Hawaiian & Asian flair.
With our bellies full, it was time to head up the mountain and scale Mauna Kea's peak for a third time (for me). The other times I was up here, thick clouds and rain socked in the summit, so all you could see was about a 1/4 mile in visibility. But the third time proves to be the charm as we were greeted with nothing but beautiful blue skies, sunshine and the Mauna Kea Observatories!
At the top of Hawaii: Cinder cones along Mauna Kea's summit (above) and two of the Mauna Kea Observatories (below)
After enjoying the incredible view atop Mauna Kea, we descend down into Kamuela/ Waimea and the South Kohala District. In this region, the Parker Ranch was established in the mid-nineteenth century with paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys) rounding up the cattle herds. Yup, you've seen the stereotype breakers: snow on Mauna Kea and Hawaiian cowboys in Kamuela – what's next?!?
>> Al
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