My Hawaiian Vacation, Pt. 7

Still speaking of volcanoes... The day after the helicopter ride, we went to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park for a ground-level view of things. And there was, indeed, a lot to see, including lava fields:





And a natural volcanic stone arch, which will probably not last more than another couple of years:



And the smoking caldera, which we didn't get a great view of from the air due to, you know, not actually wanting to get too close:



Actually, that's not smoke. It's steam. Which was pouring out from vents all over the place. Some of them you could walk right up to and stand in, if you wanted to engage in the most awesome example of overkill known to humanity and use a volcano to clear your sinuses.



Want a dramatic illustration of the fact that this is, indeed, an active volcano? How's this: there is a whole section of the national park that is no longer open to visitors, because lava came and covered up the road. Like this:



It must be extremely difficult trying to maintain a national park in an place that nature is not yet done making.