Kīlauea is an active shield volcano that broke through the sea about 100,000 years ago. Her first documented eruption was in 1823. Witnessing the crater that year, missionary William Ellis and his party walked to the north edge so they could descend to the pit, an activity personnel at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park frown upon.

“After walking some distance over the sunken plain . . . we at length came to the edge of the great crater, where a spectacle, sublime and even appalling presented itself before us – ‘We stopped and trembled’ – Astonishment and awe for some moments rendered us mute, and like statues, we stood fixed to the spot, with our eyes riveted on the abyss below.”

In the years following World War II, Kīlauea presented several major eruptions. The 1952 eruption lasted 136 days. This picture from the 1954 eruption helps me imagine what William Ellis saw more clearly than his 1823 drawing.

We prefer to admire Pele’s magnificence from a distance, but sometimes the goddess comes up close and personal. The 1960 eruption buried Kapoho village.

Current activity began on Jan. 3, 1983 and shows no signs of stopping, making it one of the longest volcanic eruptions in the world. Kīlauea has two major rift zones from the caldera. The East Rift Zone, where the lava has been flowing, includes several communities. The 1986 lava flow destroyed and partly buried the communities of Kalapana, the Kalapana Gardens and Royal Gardens subdivisions, and Kaimū.

On June 27th Pele inaugurated a lava flow that threatens the communities of Pāhoa and Ka`ohe Homesteads. The lava front is moving through the Wao Kele o Puna forest reserve at a rate of about 270 yards daily, with the actual length of the flow just over ten miles Civil Defense hasn’t yet ordered residents in threatened areas to evacuate, but there’s an expectation that the lava will reach some or all of Pāhoa town and quite possibly cross Highway 130, cutting off Lower Puna. The County is clearing Railroad Avenue, an overgrown former rail bed, and Government Beach Road to provide alternate routes between Hawaiian Paradise Park and Hawaiian Beaches. Meanwhile, Pele continues to create as she destroys.

As observed on Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park website: “Each eruption is a reminder of the power of natural processes to change the air we breath, the ground we walk on, and the sea that surrounds this volcanic island we call home.”

People in Pāhoa have a more immediate concern – whether or how much of their town will survive. As Catarina Zaragoza remarked to Hawaii Tribune Herald Reporter Tom Callis, Pāhoa is “a landmark and it’s own place. . . . There would be no getting it back again, ever.”

Acknowledgements:

Featured Image: Goddess Pele holding Hi`iaka’s egg in her right hand and an `ō`ō (digging stick) in her left hand. Painting by Arthur Johnsen. Image authorized for Fair Use by Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Wikimedia Commons.

Tom Callis. “Pahoa Within Pele’s Grasp.” Hawaii Tribune Herald, Sept. 13, 2014, p. 1.

William Ellis. Journal of William Ellis.

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park Website.

Hawai`i Volcano Observatory Website.

The post GODDESS PELE’S PATH first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

RAIN FOREST RUN

The Rain Forest Run is sponsored by the Volcano Art Center, and started in 2010. Prior to that, the run was known as the Kilauea Volcano Run. Founded in 1983, the run took place inside Volcanoes National Park. The last year runners met inside the park was 2008, the same year the Kilauea Volcano erupted at Halema`uma`u Crater. The present Rain Forest Run began in Volcano Village in 2010.

Due to our year round warm weather, races in Hawai`i begin quite early. The Rain Forest Run starts at 7:00 a.m. We were supposed to be at our aid station by 6:45. So, I left the house at 6:00, mug of coffee in hand, and arrived at the site at 6:30, only to be told the access road was already closed. Guess I missed the memo. I parked the car and started to walk up, thinking I’d arrive about the time my friends were dismantling the station, but at least I’d be there.

Trudge – trudge – trudge.

I arrived at the race start point.

Perking up my spirits were these lovely Volcano Phlox Purple flowers (Phlox paniculata) blooming along the road.

However, despite my joy in scenic flora, I became disenchanted with the hike.  Our station was five – out of six.  The half marathon was 13 miles, which meant that I would have to walk about 4 miles.  *Sigh*

 When, Hark!

I heard a truck – a big, black, bad-#$% truck driven by a fellow Rotarian who was kind enough to give me a lift to Aid Station 5 where we joined other club members.

We had plenty of time to set up before the first runners appeared.  We offered plain water, water with electrolytes called Ultima, and a sticky energy concoction we called “goo” – now available in vanilla flavor.  Our station also featured a purple porta-potty.

These particular runners are on their way back down the hill.  Only about 4 miles to the finish line.  I took this picture of the finish line on the way up the hill.

By 10:00, the last runner had come through and we broke down our station.  It was too early for wine – so I went to one of my favorite places.

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, is one of the earliest parks in the system.  I arrived just as Ranger Noah Gomes was about to begin the introductory walk.

Gomes uses the walk to introduce visitors to indigenous and invasive plants in the park.  One of the most invasive species is Kāhili Ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum).  This beautiful and fragrant flower, which is also found along the roadside throughout the Volcano area, is an opportunistic plant native to the Himalayas.  Introduced to Hawai`i as an ornamental, Kāhili Ginger quickly migrated outside garden boundaries.  The Park Service has an active eradication program, but can barely keep up.

Throughout the park, visitors also see the `Ōhi`a-Lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha), an indigenous plant.

The `Ōhia-Lehua is able to grow in places with minimal soil – as pictured here at the side of Halema`uma`u Crater with Mauna Loa, another volcano, in the background.  You can just see the `Ōhia-Lehua on the lower right hand side.

 Gosh – Look at the Time. 

I better hurry or I’ll miss Estate Tea and Wine Tasting at Volcano Winery

“Doc” McKinney planted the first vines in 1986, and opened the winery doors seven years later.  In 1999, Doc sold the business to Del and Marie Bothof who bottle about 6,000 cases of wine annually.  A Hilo Bay Rotarian, Marie invited the club up for a tour followed by wine tasting.

Many wineries display vines at the entry way.  But, I had never seen vines wrapped in netting before.

Although I’ve written a book about the macadamia nut industry, I don’t know anything about growing grapes.  Well, I know they grow on vines, but that’s about it.  So, when I saw these vines wrapped in netting at the winery entrance, I was puzzled.  I asked  Del a question he’s probably tired of answering:

“Why do you have nets around the vines?”

The short answer is that the nets are supposed to keep the birds from eating the red grapes.

The grapes grow in tight clusters, so they need air circulation to avoid mildew.  Turns out the birds are pretty smart – especially mynah birds (Acridotheres tristis).

Mynah birds are very social, and they work together to get at the grapes.  One will pull the net aside while the other eats.  This clever behavior is countered with a tight metal mesh immediately over the grape cluster.

White grapes are not so tightly clustered and can be protected by paper bags.  Of course, this is a bit messy if it rains.

Many thanks to Mary Bergier who organized the aid station for the Rain Forest Run, Marie Bothof who hosted our afternoon at Volcano Winery, and to the Rotary Club of Hilo Bay.

For more information, check out these websites:

Rainforest Runs, organized by the Volcano Art Center  http://www.volcanoartcenter.org/rain-forest-runs

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park  http://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm

Volcano Winery  http://volcanowinery.com

Rotary Club of Hilo Bay  http://hilobayrotary.com

Rotary International  http://www.rotary.org/

Unattributed Photos by Author.  All Rights Reserved.

Please feel free to leave a comment.

The post MY ROTARY DAY IN VOLCANO first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Purna Yoga

I didn’t post last week, because I attended a four-day yoga workshop at Big Island Yoga Centers in Kealakekua, Hawai`i. Aadil Palkhivala, founder of Purna Yoga, led us through sessions on hips, knees, inversions, twists, backbends, backs, necks, and shoulders. I didn’t realize I could focus on so many body parts – fortunately not at the same time. Nevertheless, it took all my concentration to keep up, and so, alas, none could be spared. To learn more about Purna Yoga, check out http://www.yogacenters.com or listen to the radio show http://www.aliveandshineshow.com

[Sidebar: This position is called “Full Lotus” – like the flower.  No, I cannot yet achieve this model of flexibility — which may be why I have other names for the position.  Just sayin’]

History at the Manago Hotel

I had a second adventure the same weekend, because I stayed at the historic Manago Hotel in Captain Cook, about four miles up the road from the Yoga Center.  It is a fascinating slice of ”Old Hawai`i”  — in business since 1917.   http://www.managohotel.com  I’ll be sharing about the Manago Hotel in my next blog.

Legends of Pele at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is about a 40 minute drive from my house.  It, too, is another world.  The domain of Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes.  Hawaiian practitioners still conduct ceremonies and make offerings at the Kīlauea  Summit.

If you look closely at the bottom portion of the photograph I took yesterday, you will note the remanents of a ho`okipu, an offering left behind.

The volcanic gas rising from Halema`uma`u Crater is sourced from the molten lava lake beneath the crater floor.  The crater has been active since March 2008.  Take a look at the park website and web cam http://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm

The Legend of `Ōhi`a, Lehua, and Pele.

(There are several versions of the story, so you may know a different one.)

Once there a boy called `Ōhi`a and a girl called Lehua who grew up together.  When they became young adults, they had eyes only for each other, and swore to be together always.  `Ōhi`a was very handsome, and one day, as he walked through the forest, he met a beautiful woman.  The woman invited `Ōhi`a to be her lover, but he refused.  She invited him again, and `Ōhi`a rejected her a second time.  The woman was Pele.  Enraged, Pele turned `Ōhi`a into a tree.

Later, Lehua searched the forest looking for her lover.  When she realized what had happened she cried incessantly, until the gods took pity on her and transformed Lehua into the lovely flower that blooms on the `ōhi`a tree.  Thus the lovers reunited, never to be separated again.

This is how the ‘ōhia lehua tree, a species of flowering evergreen, came to be created.

I took this photo yesterday.  See how closely Lehua clings to `Ōhi`a`s strong branches as she prepares to bloom.  I find it a beautiful metaphor of eternal love.

The post PURNA YOGA, VOLCANOES, & MOMENTS FROM OLD HAWAI`I first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.