To the Top

One of the most amazing things about the Big Island (there are so many it sounds almost silly to say "one of") is the two almost 14,000 foot mountains. This shot is of Mauna Kea, which means white mountain in Hawaiian. I've been the summit about a half dozen times, but it's quite a journey. This picture isn't the most impressive, but at 13,796 feet tall, Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain the Pacific Rim.



Here's a shot from the summit. Yes, that's snow. Thus the name white mountain. When storm systems pass over the island during the winter months, it's cold enough to snow from the summit down to about the 10,000 foot mark. It's quite a sight to see when you're at sea level, sitting on the beach surrounded by palm trees on an 80 degree day.

The summit is also the best place on the planet for astronomy because of no light pollution and low humidity. It's home to about 11 observatories including the legendary W.M. Keck Obseratory, the twin domes you see. Each houses a telescope, which work together. On the left is the Subaru telescope, the national observatory of Japan. I've been on tours of each for stories at my newspaper. We're talking about millions and millions of dollars on technology. Behind the Keck domes is the island of Maui.



Here's a close of the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope, shared jointly by, uh, Canada, France and the University of Hawaii. When they operate the telecope, the giant panel slides open.



Here's the cabin we stayed in at about 6,500 foot elevation in Mauna Kea State Recreation Area. It's about an hour from here to the summit of Mauna Kea. These cabins are located off Saddle Road, a road that transverses the island from Kona to Hilo. Nearby is Pohakuloa Training Area, an area where the military conducts live fire training exercises. No danger though.

To the Top

One of the most amazing things about the Big Island (there are so many it sounds almost silly to say "one of") is the two almost 14,000 foot mountains. This shot is of Mauna Kea, which means white mountain in Hawaiian. I've been the summit about a half dozen times, but it's quite a journey. This picture isn't the most impressive, but at 13,796 feet tall, Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain the Pacific Rim.



Here's a shot from the summit. Yes, that's snow. Thus the name white mountain. When storm systems pass over the island during the winter months, it's cold enough to snow from the summit down to about the 10,000 foot mark. It's quite a sight to see when you're at sea level, sitting on the beach surrounded by palm trees on an 80 degree day.

The summit is also the best place on the planet for astronomy because of no light pollution and low humidity. It's home to about 11 observatories including the legendary W.M. Keck Obseratory, the twin domes you see. Each houses a telescope, which work together. On the left is the Subaru telescope, the national observatory of Japan. I've been on tours of each for stories at my newspaper. We're talking about millions and millions of dollars on technology.



Here's a close of the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope, shared jointly by, uh, Canada, France and the University of Hawaii. When they operate the telecope, the giant panel slides open.



Here's the cabin we stayed in at about 6,500 foot elevation in Mauna Kea State Recreation Area. It's about an hour from here to the summit of Mauna Kea. These cabins are located off Saddle Road, a road that transverses the island from Kona to Hilo. Nearby is Pohakuloa Training Area, an area where the military conducts live fire training exercises. No danger though.

Stop...it's Hammock Time

Ahhhh....So here I am hanging out in my portable, comfortable hammock that Peggy got me for Christmas. We went camping last weekend and stayed at our favorite campsite in Volcano. That's the town by Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Anyway, this hammock is cool because it folds up and goes in a bag. You don't need trees or poles to tie to. It's usually set up on our lanai (porch). But we took it on the camping trip and it was the perfect place to relax.