Hawaii adventure – four

We spent some time exploring Hilo and had lunch there. It has a military base nearby and we observed several planes landing. It also has a huge park along the waterfront that was very popular. Just on the outskirts of town we observed a very interesting old cemetery. The huge Banyan tree (I think)really was impressive and we learned that during the war they would hide planes under the trees that had massive canopies. We also were impressed by the many different types of palm trees. We moved on into the Volcano National Park in the afternoon and walked a trail known for bird life. We heard a lot, but most were elusive and we only caught glimpses of them. A couple of local pheasants seemed to have little or no fear of people. They came quite close to us, feeding on native materials they found in the trail. We returned to the Volcano center that evening to hear a talk by a world reknowned expert. After the very interesting and informative presentation complete with slides of volcanoes around the world we drove out to the lava dome that is best viewed after dark. During the day it looks like hard lava but at night it glows and changes colors. It was hard to capture as it had been raining and there was a lot of mist and fog that drifted in and out. We wish the lava flow was more visible, but much of the active flow has moved off of the National Park and is not easily accessible. I guess nature does not understand where the boundaries are!