[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.]
1/31/26
Aloha Folks!
Well, Pele really popped off last Saturday after I posted Snow Crash. Starting a little past 11 a.m. and lasting until about 7:30 p.m., lava fountains shot up to almost 1600 feet from two close vents. Just
before dark this was very spectacular. At 7:30 the show ended abruptly, as usual. The height of the fountains, coupled with fairly calm winds, created a unique situation for the area around the volcano. Tephra (small rocks) and even a few globs of football-size cooled lava rained down on the viewing areas and even as far as nearby Volcano Village. They had to evacuate some areas inside the park because it was getting a bit dangerous (fortunately there are several live-stream web cams positioned around the volcano rim so the action was still available to watch). Along our coast the vog has been pretty bad for the past few days, and it is particularly high right now at the summit of Kilauea, so getting close might be still be hazardous. The current analysis from the volcanologists is that the lava reservoir below the caldera is recharging rapidly, suggesting another episode is very likely in the next couple of weeks. Pretty neat, eh?
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| Asbestos Umbrella? |
before dark this was very spectacular. At 7:30 the show ended abruptly, as usual. The height of the fountains, coupled with fairly calm winds, created a unique situation for the area around the volcano. Tephra (small rocks) and even a few globs of football-size cooled lava rained down on the viewing areas and even as far as nearby Volcano Village. They had to evacuate some areas inside the park because it was getting a bit dangerous (fortunately there are several live-stream web cams positioned around the volcano rim so the action was still available to watch). Along our coast the vog has been pretty bad for the past few days, and it is particularly high right now at the summit of Kilauea, so getting close might be still be hazardous. The current analysis from the volcanologists is that the lava reservoir below the caldera is recharging rapidly, suggesting another episode is very likely in the next couple of weeks. Pretty neat, eh?
Our guests from Ohio arrived Tuesday evening, just missing the show. They managed to escape the mainland despite the travel snafus caused by mountains of snow and bitterly cold temperatures. Needless to say, they aren't minding our somewhat cloudy and voggy 80 degree weather! They have been here before, though it has been quite a few years ago. We've kept it low-key, enjoying a couple of picnics and some general site-seeing. One picnic was down south at the very picturesque "Place of Refuge," an important historic Hawai'ian religious center. This is very near Kealakekua Bay, where Captain Cook wore out his welcome and was fatally whacked by warriors protecting the king when Cook tried to take the king hostage. Another picnic was north, at a beach park where we were treated to the antics of some whales as we watched from the picnic area. This coastline is where we usually see humpbacks who have migrated down from Alaska and Canada for the winter (don't tell ICE, but I don't think they're documented). Our friends are currently on the Hilo side of the island for a few days. They'll then spend some time on Oahu before returning the to the Ohio deep freeze.
No news for the Geezer Gazette this week (!), but next time I'll regale you with an account of my heart CT scan and the results.
Take care. Don't strain too much on clearing that snow!
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