So much fruit! I wanted to try ALL THE THINGS! We got some fresh fruit for our travels and headed over the mountain. Star fruit, mangoteen, star apple, butter avocado, and my favorite, apple bananas were in the bag.
It was a foggy rainy drive, but once we got to a higher elevation, things started to clear.
The road to Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa is called the Saddle Road because it runs between the two mountains. It is steep and windy. After about 20 miles, you begin to see old cinder cones from dormant volcanos.
Like this one.
We also saw old lava flows along the way. Several within this century. The newer the lava flow, the fewer the plants.
Lava flows like this can run for miles.
At 9000 ft above sea level (and we started at 0 that morning), we reached the Mauna Kea Vistors Information Station. At this point, you can't go up any further on the mountain without a serious 4x4. Today, the road was completely closed due to the tropical storm that blew threw the night before.
9000 ft was fine with us.
Mauna Kea Visitors Information Station.
We ate a nice lunch of all the lovely things we bought at the farmers market and a few things at a local grocery store on the way.
Then we headed up a trail for a better view.
Yes - this is as steep as it looks. We are heading up an old cinder cone.
Almost to the top
9500 ft above sea level. Mauna Kea and the observatory is another 5000 ft up!
Kimmie was excited to see the series of cinder cones that dotted the area. See the mountain she's pointing at that looks like a collapsed mountain? Cinder cone.
On our way back down the mountain towards Hilo on the eastern coast, we stopped at an older lava field from the 1800s.
The plants have begun to fill in the cracks and the forest is taking it back over.
Ferns growing out of the rocks.
When we got to Hilo, the rain was still coming down so we checked in to our accommodations and settled in. Hilo is a VERY different place than Kona and the tourist-y side of the island. It's got a kind of Asheville vibe, But from 20 years ago. Lots of storefronts still closed or boarded up. It has some nice parks, and good restaurants, but the downtown needs some attention.
I did stop for some Hawaiian shaved ice. Never had it before, and it was awesome. The best part was the Li Hing powder and the azuki beans at the bottom. There was a line out the door when we go there.
Our AIr B and B is right downtown (and I mean RIGHT downtown). It a very sweet place. A little noisy with the street noise, airplanes overhead, and the constant chirp of the coqui frogs. It has an outdoor shower (and that IS the shower), in a beautiful little garden courtyard.
I think we will sleep just fine tonight regardless of the noise. Tomorrow we go exploring the rainforests on this side of the island - waterfalls, gardens, and a tea plantation.
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