Christmas Eve Eve, December 23, 2008 -

How to spend the holidays when you live in Hawaii....We reside on both Oahu and the Big Island, and decided to spend the day at Volcanoes National Park. We drove down the scenic and historic Chain of Craters Road, which has lava flow year markers on it, and also, towards the end, lava flow blocking it. You have to park your car over a mile back from there, and walk/hike in the rest of the way. The vog (volcanic smog) got pretty bad at times, but with the tradewinds blowing, it was tolerable in some areas. The sulphur dioxide levels can become so dangerously high, that the park has to be closed, and housing areas within the vicinity, evacuated.

Photos:

1. Kilauea Volcano

2. Road closed from lava flow

3. Health warning at Volcanoes Park entrance, about dangerous sulphur dioxide levels

4. Lava flow blocks road (with my husband, the volcano adventurer, walking on the lava, lol)

5. Road blocked by lava flow

6. Chain of Craters road, lava fields for miles, Mauna Loa Volcano in the background - last eruption in 1984

7. Volcanoes National Park entrance

8. A lone tree grows in the middle of a lava field

9. View of the vast Big Island coastline with lava flow into the ocean