Warning: Construction Zone. God at Work.

I've been itching to get down to volcano since March when a huge steam vent opened in Halemaumau Crater. I finally drove down there last Saturday to see the spectacular steam pouring out of the vent. I also drove to Kalapana to watch lava flow into the sea. It's pretty incredible, heat from the lava hitting the cool water causes explosions that was throwing lava at least 50 feet into the air. Occasionally, the heat would create a small waterspout that would twirl over the ocean for a minute or so before dispersing. Lava travels from Pu`u O`o vent through a lava tube down to the ocean, but some surface lava was visible up on the pali (cliff) after dark.

Earlier that day, I visited the Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo and watched a movie in the planetarium about black holes. I learned about a huge vacuum in the center of a galaxy that something like 15 billion suns could fit in. (I may be off a bit on that- the point is, it's big) I stood back, watching God build the island I call home and I was amazed at his power. He can simply pull a solar system out of his pocket and toss it out into the sky, yet he cares for each one of us.

Lava from Pu`u `O`o enters the ocean. Notice the red glow in the cloud.

Steam started pouring from Halemaumau Crater in March. We've had few blue sky days in Kona since.