Our Travel Journal: Volcano, Big Island (Hawai'i Island), February 16, 2022

As I write this entry to our travel journal, I am sitting in an easy chair looking into the back yard (the rainforest) and listening to the rain pound on to our metal roof, as it does almost everyday from 2 to 4 in the afternoon. I am realizing that I like Hawai'i, all the islands, much more than I expected that I would. The fact is that these islands are so much more than sunny weather and fabulous resorts that I had come to define Hawai'i by. Of course, the sun and the resorts are always there and easy to find and I do so enjoy them, but also the unique geology, geography, climates, and cultures make it feel very much like I am visiting a foreign country, in fact a bunch of different foreign countries. I sometimes get so immersed in the foreignness of it that I am surprised by how well everyone speaks English. It is here on the Big Island that those thoughts have crystalized for me, and I have begun appreciating this spot in the middle of the Pacific more each day.

Today's adventure was to take another "doors off" helicopter tour of the volcanos on this side of the island. Big thrill on these tours is to see red lava. My friend, Dave Landefeld, took a helicopter tour earlier this week and that is exactly what he saw. Today, we did not. The Kīlauea Volcano is active but in a period of "inflation" and "deflation". It is almost like the volcano is breathing, during inflation the magma is pushing up and often red lava escapes like we saw from the rim the other day and Dave saw from the air. During deflation the magma is "relaxing" back down below the surface and no lava is flowing out. Right now Kīlauea is inflating and deflating on almost an every other day basis. This said, the flight gave us views of the caldera and of the crater along with several other craters that we would not have otherwise seen. I also got a clearer picture of the extent of the lava field which I could not have comprehended from the ground.