McKenna and Me

Friday Fotos—Big Island Lava

October 31, 2014 By Terry 2 Comments

Kilauea Volcano has been steadily emitting a flow of lava since January 1983. Historically, Kilauea has been one of the world’s most active volcanos. It’s frequent eruptions have shaped the island as well as the ecosystem of the Big Island. In recent years, even the banyan trees on the other side of the island have been showing signs of succumbing to the frequent presence of vog, or volcanic organic gasses.

The currently active flow that has been dominating island news began on June 27, 2014. The flow continues to extend its reach, passing through manmade structures as though they didn’t exist. Residential areas are now being impacted, with roads being closed, utilities threatened, businesses impacted, and more. Here are a few photos taken by the US Geological Survey that might help to put this tremendous power in perspective.

You can follow the latest developments and see new photos almost daily on the USGS website at hvo.wr.usgs.gov/

This distant photo shows the flow was still active on October 28. It's getting very close to the small town of Pāhoa.

Burning through the trees and vegetation, the lava flow goes where it wants...

On Monday, this was a fence marking a property line. The lava could care less...

Relentless in its push forward, the lava continued to move through the property on Wednesday. At this point, the lava was just 700 feet from Pāhoa Village Rd.

As the flow advances across the Pāhoa cemetery, the crust inflates to almost chest high. Cracks show the glowing lava beneath, which will continue to push forward.

Normal photo of the flow's advance. Note the area outlined by the white box. The next photo is a thermal image of that area.

A thermal image of the outlined area. The white and yellow areas show high temperatures at the flow front. Behind the front, there are still lava breakouts.

This geologist may be the first to walk this newly formed lava field. The lava, known as pahoehoe, is still expanding and is chest high in some places.

What does it take to keep the electric on? Protection unlike anything you've seen before. This system appears to be working!(Photo: Hawaii Electric Light Co.)

This palm tree near that Pāhoa cemetery is surrounded by lava...

Friday Fotos—spectacular Hawaiian waterfalls

October 24, 2014 By Terry Leave a Comment

The Big Island of Hawaii has some fabulous waterfalls. Here are some of the best shots we’ve been able to find that show off this beauty. The tour goes from A-Z (actually, W, since there’s no Z in the Hawaiian language). Some of these waterfalls can be viewed at no cost, while others may charge for parking—or for a guide to get you there. Of course, they’re all free to view here.

Whether you’re planning a trip to the Big Island or just want to learn more about any of these waterfalls, try going over to hawaii-guide.com, where you can get more info about most of these and much more. Information on Nanue Falls, which is on the Hamakua Coast, can be found on world-of-waterfalls.com.

Most of the waterfalls shown here are well known, but one in particular, Kahuna Falls, is a bit lesser known. Kahuna Falls is not as famous as its nearby neighbor Akaka Falls, but it does have a B&B named after it. While Akaka Falls doesn’t have a B&B, it does have a cool legend. It seems that Akaka Falls was named after King Akaka, whose wife returned home one day to find the king with his mistress. The wife began chasing her husband, who fell to his death at the falls.

Enjoy the photos and please share with your friends! Hint: you can manually advance through the slides by placing your mouse over the slideshow and clicking the pause button.

Akaka Falls by Daniela A Nievergelt on flickr.com

Kahuna Falls from gigihawaii..wordpress.com

Nanue Upper Falls by Alan Cressler on flickr.com

Onomea Falls by James Schumaker on hawaii.hawaii.edu

Rainbow Falls, Wailuku River State Park by PortPromotions.com

Rainbow Falls, Wailuku River State Park,

Wai’ilikahi Falls - Kaka’auki Falls by www.unrealhawaii.com

Ka Lae – past to present

October 17, 2014 By Terry Leave a Comment

Drawing of priests traveling across Kealakekua Bay (near Kona on the left side of the Big Island in the map). Drawing by John Webber.

From its windswept rolling hills to rocky cliffs, from the days of the first Polynesian visitors to today’s thrill seekers, Ka Lae, or South Point, has been through massive changes. Today, Ka Lae is a popular destination for adventure seekers and those who want to boast that they’ve been to the southernmost point in the US. I hope you enjoy the slideshow for this little tour of Ka Lae, past to present. The images included here are mostly in the public domain, but attributions are provided where appropriate.

Hawaiʻi is at the northernmost point of the Polynesian Triangle, which includes Easter Island (2) on the lower eastern corner and New Zealand (3) at the lower western corner. Depending upon which expert you listen to, settlement began as early as the 3rd century.

In 1779, Captain James Cook and the crew of the Resolution “discovered” Hawaii. Cook actually visited Kauai first, then worked his way South. According to the Historical Background of South Point from the Bishop Museum, Cook’s journal of January 5, 1779 included the following.

This part of the coast is sheltered from the reigning winds but we could find no bottom to Anchor upon, a line of 160 fathoms did not reach it at the distance of half a mile from the shore. Towards the evening all the islanders leaving us, we ran a few miles down the coast and there spent the night standing off and on (Cook/Beaglehole, 1967:487)

Cook’s visit set the stage for a massive depopulation of the islands beginning around 1800. Opinions as to the why the islands were hit so hard by pestilence vary, but by the mid 1800s, the population had been reduced to less than half of what it was when the Resolution made that fateful discovery.

Hint: you can manually advance through the slides by placing your mouse over the slideshow and clicking the pause button.

The Polynesian Triangle includes Hawaii at the northernmost tip. That's a lot of ocean to cross in a little canoe!

Where is Ka Lae? Lower right corner, bottom of the yellow.

"Aniheneho. L'un des Premiers Officiers de Tahmahamah", pen and ink wash over graphite by Jacques Arago, 1819, Honolulu Academy of Arts.

This photograph shows two petroglyph men . The age of the petroglyphs is unknown, but imagine having to carve those into rock by hand!

Portrait of Captain Cook by Nathaniel Dance-Holland - from the National Maritime Museum, United Kingdom

Does the wind blow here? Oh, yeah. On our trip, it almost looked like the cow's were growing crooked. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka_Lae

Would you want to jump? Not me! Image from http://www.city-data.com/articles/South-Point-Ka-Lae-Naalehu-Big-Island.html

Taken by Rebecca Stanek from her honeymoon photo album on Flickr. These old turbines were replaced in 2007.

Don't worry, you're not seeing things. That sand is green. Image from http://www.bigislandguru.com/green-sands-beach.html

Friday Fotos—Cultural Festival at Volcanos National Park

October 10, 2014 By Terry 2 Comments

Most likely, you have not had the opportunity to see the Cultural Festival held at Volcanos National Park each year. These photos are from the 2013 event, but they are timeless. Also, mahalo to the National Park Service at nps.gov for hosting a Hawaii Volcanos National Park page. If you want to see all of the 46 photos posted for the event, click here to visit the event page.

The philosophy behind the festival is expressed on the National Park Service web page dedicated to this event:

Ka ‘ike o ke keiki – The learning of the child:
i ka nana a ‘ike – by observing, one learns;
i ka ho‘olohe no a maopopo – in listening, one commits to memory;
i ka hana no a ‘ike – by practice, one masters the skill.

I hope you enjoy these photos. We have not had the good fortune to be able to visit during this event, but it would be so much fun to visit in mid July and be able to attend a future festival. Also, we should all say thanks to Park Ranger & Visual Information Specialist Jay Robinson for these fabulous photos!

Credit: Jay Robinson Opening ceremony of the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park's 33rd Annual Cultural Festival - July 13, 2013

Credit: Jay Robinson The mission at Hula Halau Ke ‘Olu Makani ‘O Mauna Loa is to perpetuate and carry the torch of our hula lineage as it has been passed from Hula Master George Lanakilakeikiahiali‘i Na‘ope through our Kumu Hula Meleana Auli‘i Ku‘uleialoha Manuel

Credit: Jay Robinson Mamo Brown was formally trained by Nalani Kanaka‘ole and Pualani Kanaka‘ole Kanahele of Halau o Kekuhi in the ‘ai ha‘a or low bombastic style of hula

Credit: Jay Robinson Lei Wili - lei making

What’s Coming Up?

October 7, 2014 By Terry 1 Comment

“Mystery of the Lei Palaoa” puts McKenna and PI wannabe Chance Logan on the hunt for a killer on the streets of downtown Honolulu. They soon learn dead men tell no lies…but the living do.

Sunrise, sunset…Hawaiian style

October 3, 2014 By Terry 4 Comments

Are you a lover of great sunrises or sunsets? Here are ten of my favorite photos taken over the years. Most of these photos were taken at Nukoli’i Beach on Kauai’s east side. Even those taken in the same location change every minute and every day. I hope you enjoy!