Yesterday, we drove Chain of Craters Road inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to its terminus at the Holei Sea Arch, the next seven-plus miles of the former road having been buried beneath lava. Today, we wanted to find the spot where the road emerges from the lava field at the other end, in what remains of the town of Kalapana, in the district of Puna.
Puna District lies on the eastern tip of the Big Island, where most of the volcanic destruction in Hawaii has occurred over the last 100 years. This has made homeowners' insurance impossible to obtain in the area, which has, in turn, made the land relatively cheap. Affordable land has brought in big housing developments, and Puna is now the fastest growing area on the Big Island – in spite of and because of the frequent volcanic eruptions and lava flows. What could possibly go wrong?
Star of the Sea Painted Church in Kalapana was moved one and a half miles east to its present location in 1990 to avoid certain destruction from Kilauea's advancing lava flows. The colorful, historic Catholic church has been decommissioned by the diocese, but volunteer priests still conduct mass on the first Friday of every month.
Star of the Sea Painted Church
Awesome interior
Caregivers to the lepers of Molokai
Tom finds a friend
Just past the church, we turned onto the section of Chain of Craters Road that is now disconnected from the national park by miles of lava. In the last several decades, lava flows from Kilauea have destroyed the Royal Gardens subdivision, the settlement of Kapa'ahu, most of the nearby towns of Kalapana and Kaimu, and reached the outskirts of Pahoa before turning south into the sea. Off-the-grid communities have now reestablished themselves atop the hardened lava.
Exploring a lava field
Deep fried car carcass
High-risk homesteaders
Kalapana-Kapohoe Road is a six-mile-long scenic stretch of road along the island's lush southeast coast. From Kalapana, we drove northwest on the narrow, winding road past rugged sea cliffs, black-sand beaches, tunnels of trees, and endless lava. It takes a certain kind of individual to live in ever-threatened lower Puna. Let's call them open-minded!
Path to the beach, Kalapana
Kaimu Black Sand Beach
Kehena Black Sand Beach (clothing optional)
Kalapana-Kapohoe Road
Pohoiki Black Sand Beach
Before reaching Hilo, we stopped in Keaau to visit Wailuku Brew Works – the southernmost brewery in the United States!!! The vibe was good, the beer was great, and it was a fantastic way to celebrate Tom's birthday!
Southernmost brewery in the United States!
Happy birthday to Tom!
Wailuku Brew Works on a Tuesday afternoon
Lodging: Hilo Downtown Retreat airbnb, Amauulu Road, Hilo. An incredibly cool little apartment in a couple's walk-out basement. Comfy bed, roomy kitchen, and private parking. Plus, we were able to do our laundry. Yay! We'll be here five nights.
Hilo Downtown Retreat airbnb
Making ourselves at home
Tom's cousin Kelly – astronomer and Acting Planetary Defense Manager for NASA – happened to be in Hawaii for a few days for meetings and observatory site visits. We met Kelly and three of her colleagues for dinner at Miyo's Restaurant in Hilo for some Japanese food. It was super fun visiting with everyone!
Jana, Kelly, Josh, Adele, Josh, Tom