Thursday, December 27, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
Lava Flows, Hawaii Grows
So this guy at work asked me if I wanted to make $100. "Sure," I said. "What are we doing?" He told me we needed to Sherpa a filmmakers camera equipment out to the lava flow before sunrise. "That sounds awesome." I would have done it for free, but don't tell my boss that.
We drove as far as we could until the road we were on literally turned into hardened lava rocks. Joel and I took the heavy packs and the filmmaker and his friend took their fanny packs.
It was 3:00 a.m. when we started to hike. Pitch black. The only lights were our headlamps and the glow of lava pools at the top of pu'uou. Our goal was to reach the lava flow as it entered the water about 2 miles southwest of where we stood. Thanks to the stars, we could dead reckon our way in the general SE direction. We started to hear waves crashing on the cliffs and could see the glow of what we assumed was another lava flow so we knew we were getting close but we were also getting close to sunrise. As my eyes started to adjust I realized we had been hiking along the cliffs, I just couldn't see the difference between the big dark sea and the dark lava rocks. You could feel the heat radiating off the ground before you could see it. Just as we climbed the last ridge we saw what it was we came for. Steady lava flows were pouring into the sea and the waves would cool it almost instantly but the lava persisted. I watched in awe as Hawaii grew in front of my eyes. This is how it all went down millions of years ago. Molten lava shot up through the Pacific ocean to make the Hawaiian islands and the process will continue for a million more.
We drove as far as we could until the road we were on literally turned into hardened lava rocks. Joel and I took the heavy packs and the filmmaker and his friend took their fanny packs.
It was 3:00 a.m. when we started to hike. Pitch black. The only lights were our headlamps and the glow of lava pools at the top of pu'uou. Our goal was to reach the lava flow as it entered the water about 2 miles southwest of where we stood. Thanks to the stars, we could dead reckon our way in the general SE direction. We started to hear waves crashing on the cliffs and could see the glow of what we assumed was another lava flow so we knew we were getting close but we were also getting close to sunrise. As my eyes started to adjust I realized we had been hiking along the cliffs, I just couldn't see the difference between the big dark sea and the dark lava rocks. You could feel the heat radiating off the ground before you could see it. Just as we climbed the last ridge we saw what it was we came for. Steady lava flows were pouring into the sea and the waves would cool it almost instantly but the lava persisted. I watched in awe as Hawaii grew in front of my eyes. This is how it all went down millions of years ago. Molten lava shot up through the Pacific ocean to make the Hawaiian islands and the process will continue for a million more.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
Homegrown
Only a weathered wall of wooden planks separate me from the great outdoors. The plantation house that I live in was built in the 1940's and let's just say there are a few holes that need filling.
A few weeks ago I started to notice the tip of a plant running alongside my bed. I thought a big weed had made it into my room and fallen behind the bed. When I went to grab it I realized that the stem was rooted. The tall grass found a hole in the baseboard and started growing inside my room! I opened the blinds to give it some sunlight and now it towers above my bedside. Now that is some strong weed.
A few weeks ago I started to notice the tip of a plant running alongside my bed. I thought a big weed had made it into my room and fallen behind the bed. When I went to grab it I realized that the stem was rooted. The tall grass found a hole in the baseboard and started growing inside my room! I opened the blinds to give it some sunlight and now it towers above my bedside. Now that is some strong weed.
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