Our 50th Anniversary trip to Hawaii continued by flying from Oahu to the big island of Hawaii, which is called….Hawaii. We stayed in the small town of Kailua-Kona, which is on the western side of the island.
The volcanic origins of the island were visible from the air. The airport and the roads are built right on top of old lava flows.
Our Air BnB had this beautiful African tulip tree growing in the front yard.
We drove over the middle of the island called the “Saddle Road” to get to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park entrance. It was a 3 hour drive. We stopped at this historic hotel called “The Volcano House” to get some information about where to get my Park Passport book stamped since it was during the government shut down.
It was a rainy and cool day when we started, but thankfully, it cleared up. The fireplace in the lounge looked very inviting.
The best part of the Volcano House was the view out over the crater of the volcano. Just five days previously, the volcano had erupted. And, just five days after we left, it erupted again. Again it erupted in December of 2025 and was so powerful that it took out one of the cameras. This is the most active volcano on the island.
The view from outside the Volcano House was one of the best.
We had a delicious Margarita pizza in the Volcano House restaurant. From our table we could look out at the volcano.
I got my Passport book stamped, and bought a couple of stickers. After that, we drove to the end of Crater Rim Drive to get a closer look at the steam vents.
The lava flows onto the crater floor. In 2018, the magma drained from beneath, causing the floor to collapse hundreds of feet. At the crater’s edge, we could see cracks along the crater’s edge where this happened.
From this view point, we could look out over the crater floor and see many steam vents.
The man-made walls around the viewpoint were made of lava stones. This one shows gas bubbles of all sizes formed in the rock as it was cooling.
After lunch, we drove the Chain of Craters Road all the way to the ocean where it ended. At this overlook we could see the new land formed by the lava flows. It is unstable because the ocean waves erode and undermine the surface. No one is allowed out there.
Driving along the road, we could see the black areas where lava flowed down the hills toward the sea.
Looking closer, we could see wrinkles in the rock where lava once flowed and then cooled.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was a fascinating place. I’ve always had an interest in geology since a field trip I took with my class in 6th grade. We had a long drive home, so we headed back to our Air BnB for some supper and some rest. The next day, we would fly to our last island–Maui.
“The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen His glory.” Psalm 97:5-6