Countdown begins....

So, yesterday, I passed off the ratty boys (thanks for watching them, Tasha!), I was driving home and found a feral piglet in the middle of the road.  Poor guy was thrashing around on the yellow line, so I stopped, snagged him, and tossed him into my passenger seat.  It had some head trauma since one eye was bloody, and a few little strawberries here and there, and after a tough night he is doing fine. 
This morning, I let him out in the little fenced in area and after realizing he could not escape, he sorta laid in the shade for a bit.  When I tried to catch him to put him back in the box, he screamed bloody murder and tried to charge me.  Feisty little guy.  After thinking about it, I have decided to keep him one more night, then let him go close to where I found him in hopes he will hook back up with his crew. 

In other news, I found a new love: William Elliott Whitmore.  He is simply amazing.  I bought tickets to his show in Washington D.C. on July 24th.  So excited.  (If you liked it, here is another.)  Speaking of music, I will also see Andrew Bird in Boulder, CO on August 11th.  I hope that this list grows, because the live music scene in Hawaii is a little...lacking. 

Not much else to say.  Radiology class is over, final grades entered...time to pack!


Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

Big Island Trip - June 2011

Sometime in March or April my friend, McNair Rivers, contacted me and said that she and her family were coming to Hawaii.  We met in tech school in 2006 and have been great friends since.  Her brother, Charles, was coming out to compete in a 70.3 mile Ironman triathalon.  Plans were made, reservations were booked, planes tickets were purchased....

Thursday, June 2 - I finished up with class, rushed home to pack up, Sarah brought me to the airport for my first inter-island flight.  After a whopping 34 minutes in the air, McNair picked me up at the Kona airport.  Following the advice of the Garmin, we decided to take Saddle Road.  We found out later how "adventurous" we were for taking that route at night.  There were some roller coaster hills, unpaved areas, and rain.  Towards the beginning of the trip, we were both starving and could see on the map that there was nothing along Saddle Road, so we decided on a quick detour to Waikoloa.  We made it to Subway right as they were putting everything up.  (8:57, I believe.)

The nice lady making my sandwich: "What kind of bread would you like?"

Me: "Whatever is easiest for you." *so you don't spit in our food when we look down to grab our money*

Three hours later, after tons of catching up, we pulled into a nice little B&B called At The End of the Road.  Crashed.

Friday, June 3 - Breakfast at 7:30 with a nice Korean couple and Lani, the owner of the B&B.  After some advice on places to see at the volcano, we were off.  We watched a short film at the visitor center, then drove up Crater Rim Drive to see Jaggar Museum and the crater.  Apparently, the sulfur smell is usually stronger, and a decreased sulfur smell means that pressure is building.  Pele is contemplating her next move... 

A couple views of the crater:

Once we walked through the museum, we decided to go all the way to the end of Chain of Craters Road.  If there is one thing that I have learned in National Parks it is that the good stuff is usually at the end.   If you go there first, you will pass all of the stops, so you can decide what you think is worthwhile, especially because you know the distance (and time) it will take to come back.  Otherwise, too much time may be spent on the less spectacular parts of the park.  Just my experience.

So, down to the end we went.  To the sea arch, which was probably the best part of the park.  Photos:

After being windblown and seasprayed, we decided to check out the Pu'u Loa petroglyphs.  Just a short 1.4 mile round trip to a boardwalk in the middle of a lava field to see these carvings.

 

This park reminded me of the Grand Canyon in one way: I had a pure awareness of the micro and macro.  You look all around and see vast lava flows.  The two contrasting types of lava, the smooth Pahoehoe and the A'a, which the park brochure accurately described as clinkery.  

The macro: 

The micro:  

While walking through the seemingly barren lava fields, you become aware that life does exist here.  It is amazing to think that the native Hawaiians were able to survive in this environment by planting sweet potatoes, catching fish, eating birds, and capturing water in gourds from the ceilings of lava tubes.  Challenging to say the least.

 

After the petroglyphs, we decided to go back up to the top, see the lava flow, then get lunch.  The lava tube is an ascent of about 3,700 feet from the sea arch, and although much cooler, it is in the rainforest.  One thing that blew McNair away, was the fact that we can drive less that 20 miles and feel like you are in a different world.  Welcome to the islands.  :)

Comparison of lava fields area to lava tube area:

The entrance to and inside the lava tube:

After exploring the park, we ate some tasty Thai food at a cute little restaurant in Volcano.  We finished up about 1:30, gassed up the Mazda, and drove up to the beach house via Hilo, Waimea, to Puako.  After a wonderful salmon dinner, a few glasses of wine, catching up with Charles, and getting to know the rest of the fam, it was bedtime.  I am pretty sure we were all out by about 9:30.

Saturday, June 4 - 5:00 wake-up to be at the race site at 5:30.  When we first pulled up, and walked by the bike transition area the energy was thick.  Everyone trying to snap photos of their triathletes, getting numbers painted on, warming up, and applying lots of sunscreen.  We decided to sit up on some rocks a little further away from the action.  It turned out to be a pretty cool place to watch the start of the swim.  Watching 1,800 people get into the water at 7:00 and take off is quite a spectacle.

Sunscreen and stretching, both important.  :)

A proud mom and Grace.

After a 1.2 mile swim, Charles ran up to his bike and rode 56 miles.  We were there for his transition from the bike and got some photos at the beginning of the run, he even had the energy for a smile:

After the 13.1 mile run, he ended up with a time of 4:32:16, which put him at 32nd overall, and 4th in his age group!  This got him up on the podium.  Go Charles!!

After the race, McNair and I were sunburned and hot.  We jumped (more accurate: kneeled because it was shallow and rocky) in the ocean, her first time the water in Hawaii. Bummer you lost your shades, dude.  Dinner was steak, courtesy of grillmaster Ed, and we hung out on the lanai for a few beers that night.  

Sunday, June 5 - We were greeted with a few honus on the rocks and one on the beach in the morning.  Then everyone went to the beach, and the water was so nice.  Everyone was very careful to apply sunscreen to their burned parts.  After a quick lunch we all split up and did our own things.  McNair and Charles napped/talked, MJ and Grace went to the Heiau, Ed napped, and Louanne and I went to see petroglyphs and for a quick walk by the ocean. 

After a quick stop at the store for poke, beer, and coffee, we went back to the house.  Everyone enjoyed the poke (raw yellowfin tuna "ahi").  

Dinner that night was at a nice little Mexican restaurant.  We had reservations at 5:30, EARLY because I had a plane to catch.  When they finally brought out our food at 6:40 I inhaled some of it, threw the rest in a to go box and woofed it down in the car on the way to the airport.  I am sure it was delicious.

As an end note, I just want to say thank you to McNair, Charles, and the rest of the family for allowing me to share such a wonderful weekend.  It was the best reason I could think of for my first outer-island excursion, and I am so glad we could enjoy the wonderful island of Hawai'i together.  

To MJ: mahalo nui loa  :)

A few bonus pics...photo credit:  McNair Rivers

 Can you see me?  :)

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

Recap of 2009 trip

In the summer of 2009, I was off again.  This time with my dog, my tent, and 10 weeks off work.  We covered about 8,200 miles in this time, and here are a few highlights from the national parks we visited...

Theodoore Roosevelt, ND
The roaming bison were spectacular.  There were many other wild creatures to observe including prairie dogs, deer, and wild horses.  The weather could have been a little nicer.  It was a low of 37, drizzly, and I was getting sick.  I am not sure what I had, but it included bronchitis, chills, dizziness, and coughing to the point I wanted to die.  Not a great start, but it sure was beautiful.

 

 Yellowstone, WY

The sulfury steam rising out of the ground is an instant reminder of this "super volcano."  The lake was wonderful, it was so still and I got some great photos while having lunch on the shore.  I spent two days in Yellowstone, getting sicker, but enjoying every minute of it.  Wildlife: many birds, including the mountain blue bird, antelope, coyote, grizzly.  And, of course, more prairie dogs.

  

Grand Tetons, WY

The Grand Tetons are...well.  I don't really know, I wasn't there for very long.  I was pretty sick at this point, and it was really all I could do just to be upright.  I did stop and pick up two young girls that needed a ride to Jackson Hole.  For soap. They were from Louisiana and were working in a pizza place in the park for room and board on their summer break from college.  I did take this pic before I picked them up.

This was also the day that I took the picture of Hula girl that in the background at Craters of the Moon National Monument in southern Idaho.  Interesting place.  I must admit, I did stay in a hotel that night in Boise, Idaho.  I needed a warm bed and a bath.  I felt awful.  :(

Crater Lake, OR

I was debating on whether I should go or not, because of how I was feeling.  But I had been looking forward to seeing the lake.  Even though much of the park was still closed due to snow (in June!), it was very worthwhile.  The lake is blue.  Not just blue, the bluest blue.  Bluer than any blue I ever saw while traveling the seas in the Navy.  That blue.  You should go.

Lassen Volcano, CA
This National Park isn't one of the better known ones.  It seems for a reason.  Although it was obviously beautiful and uncrowded, I didn't go to the visitor center to see what it was really about.  Dad, Jean, the dogs, and I just meandered through.  But we did discover some pretty amazing red flowers called snow plants.

 

Yosemite, CA

Quite opposite of Lassen, Yosemite is well known park, for it's beauty, and it's crowds.  I would love to come back here and camp instead of a quick tour through the main loop, stuck in a slow moving caravan of fellow sightseers.  Worth the trip, worth going back. 

 

Sequoia, CA

The same day we ventured down to see the largest tree in the world, General Sherman.  This picture is of my dad looking up at it, with a few sequoias in the background.  This is a forest to frolic through. Again, worth another trip. 

 

Death Valley, CA and NV
After staying about a month with my dad, getting much better but still a little weak, I hit the open road again.  Death Valley was my first stop.
This is a once in a lifetime place in the world for me.  Just because once was enough for me.  This place is HUGE.  And dry.  And hot.  Especially in the middle of July.  Well, I might try it again, in January.  

Grand Canyon, AZ
The first day I was on the more crowded south rim.  It was chilly, windy, and rained a little bit.  I headed around to the north rim and set up camp.  The next morning was beautiful.  It was clear and breezy, and the north rim is very...isolated.  I only saw 2 or 3 other people up there.  If you want to see the Grand Canyon, and would prefer to rough it a little bit, I suggest the north rim.

Zion, UT
I didn't get to truly experience Zion.  There is a tram that goes through the main portion of the park, and I had Abby, so I didn't get to go.  I did get some cool shots though. Can you spot the kid in the photo?  I will go back one day, without a dog, and ride that tram.

Bryce Canyon, UT
I was very fortunate to experience Bryce Canyon at daybreak.  If you ever get the chance, it is breathtaking.  The reds of the stone glow against the greens of the trees and the blue sky.  It is also the cleanest air in the lower 48.  (Not dog friendly)

Capitol Reef, UT
 I had never heard of it either.  I wouldn't say to make a special trip of it if unless you are in the area, or you REALLY like red rocks.  That is all that is there, but they are pretty red rocks.  And some of them have petroglyphs.  (See pic.)

Great Smokies, NC
I drove through Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee, camping, taking photos, and overall enjoying myself.  I also found a little pup on the side of the road in Tennessee, which I later found a home for.
But the next national park is the most visited of them all.  It is wonderful, and I have been in the area a lot, but this was my first visit.  The mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina are truly special, they will always have a place in my heart.  I am sure I will return again.

 

This is a very quick synopsis of that trip, with just one or two photos from each park.  This summer is what I will be focusing on.  Many more pics to come....

You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.