A Live Valcano

This was the longest of all our days.  We decided to drive to the other side of the island to see the live volcano.  But of course there are beautiful places to stop along the way.

One such stop was the black sands beach.  And we were lucky enough to see a turtle on the shore warming in the sun.

The sand was very course but beautiful.

My boys exploring the coast.

We finally made it to the valcano national park.  This is a steam vent and boy was it warm

In the distance behind us is the crater of the volcano.  The lava is flowing but it was about a 7 hour hike across hot lava fields that we were not willing to take.  LOL

Getting a little bit closer.

What an amazing experience.

There were so many little hikes and different landscapes to explore in this one park.  This is an old lava tube in a very tropical part of the park that we walked through.

Tropical and lush.

To baren and desolate.  I couldn't believe the difference.  It was totally something out of Land  of the Apes.  LOL

A petrified tree stump.

Everyone except Stefan and I decided to go on a longer hike across the lava field. It was very hot.

Again they went through a very tropical part.

Poor Rylan forgot his had so his neck got a little bit red.

It ended up being quit the hike, so Stefan and I were glad we didn't go.  LOL

The landscape was amazing with how the lava just cooled in ripples like this.

Jamie and his mom.

On our way home we went through Hilo.  This was the tropical side of the island so we were happy to find some amazing waterfalls to look at.

We soon discovered why it was so tropical as it started to poor down.  LOL

Enjoying the view.

Ray rented a motor bike for his time on the island, so each of the boys too turns riding on the back.

Finally they had to leave Ray by himself as the road just got too bad and the visibility was not great.  But we managed to all make it home safely.  Another great day!!!