Volcanoes Beckon

 Click Here for a crunchy Video of Kilauea Crater and steam banks

I was in Volcanoes National Park many years ago, before it was fancied up as it is now. We drove down the road to the edge of the Kilauea crater, and could actually hike across it if we wanted. Extraordinary, considering Mauna Loa and Kilauea are among the most active volcanoes in the world, and Kilauea has been spewing lava – often changing the landscape - every few years. One eruption was along a rift zone called Pu’u’o’o’ on the east side of the park; it lasted from 1983 to 2018. Another, from 2008 to 2018 caused the Kilauea summit – where we would have been hiking - to collapse. The latest eruption was in 2021, though it’s quiet for now except for dozens of little earthquakes. 

 

One word to describe this park is “vast”. To the north, the summit crater of Mauna Loa is over 13,600 feet. The entrance to the park, Kilauea Visitor Center, is near the Kilauea summit crater at 4000 feet.

 

 

Marked "August 1887"

It was intermittently cloudy but warm when I started on a 1.75-mile hike recommended by a ranger, beginning at the visitor’s center along the crater rim, ending in the steam banks, crossing the road to the sulphur banks and back through a forest to the visitor’s center.

The sulphur banks

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Since the ranger said the Thurston Lava Tube would be most crowded between 10 and 2, I opted to drive the 20-mile-long twisted Chain of Craters Road through a rain forest down to the sea. 

The forest opened up to mind-blowing vistas – what I initially took to be the bluest of sky turned out to be the sea set against miles of new land created by the eruptions. I was disappointed that the petroglyphs required a mile-plus walk in the hot sun; I had to choose between them and the Thurston Lava Tube if I was to leave before dark. I’d advise visitors to begin around 10 in the morning to see everything, not starting at noon as I did. The Chain Road takes time to drive, especially if you stop off at one of the many sites along the way.

The end of the road

I was pleased to find that, though Hawaii is the "newest" island, another one is forming out in the Pacific to the south, about 30 miles away and 300 feet below the surface of the water.

I returned to Volcano House, waited a few minutes for a table at the small restaurant, and had a decent sandwich to revive myself. Then it was back down the road to Thurston Lava Tube. It’s situated in a beautiful, dripping, screaming green rain forest, and when I was there, was nearly deserted (about 5PM). The tube itself reminded me so much of the caves of France and Spain; it was surprisingly long, cool and wide. A must-see.

I made my way out of the park, west along the Hawaii Belt Rd. (Rte.11), foolishly assuming that sunset would be around 7:30. I forgot I was much closer to the equator, and by the time I was ready to find the turnoff to my next AirB&B, the sun had fallen with a thud. 

It's pahoehoe, not Aa, or ow ow, which is what you say when you step on it

This proved to be a problem.

 

Gold Country/Father Knows Best: Railtown 1897 State Historic Park

Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey

Conductor Brian gives us the goods (Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

My dad was a railroad man—he worked for the Southern Pacific for many years, and loved it. You can see that ardent love of the rails in all the volunteers who populate the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, one of only two fully operational roundhouse complexes left in the country (the other is at East Broad Top Railroad in Broad Top City, PA—yes, it’s in my book, Moon Travel Handbooks: Pennsylvania). A roundhouse is the shop facility that maintains and repairs rail engines and cars; equipment that's being restored is on display. The roundhouse is open for tours year-round, but there’s far more here. Most of the repairmen and "rail personnel" are volunteers, many of them former rail employees like my dad.

Our engineer by his locomotive (Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

Hollywood saved this historic site from being scraped during the Great Depression. Starting in 1919, more than 200 movies and television programs were filmed using the former Sierra Railway's steam engines, buildings, and other equipment. This historic landmark hosts regular round trips on a three-mile long-track Saturday through Monday from April through October: steam trains pull passenger cars on Saturdays, and vintage diesel locomotives operate on Sundays, plus Wednesdays in July and August (tickets $10-15, under 5 free). Each passenger car has a “conductor” that tells of rail days gone by. There are multiple events held throughout the year, and volunteers dressed as passengers during the hey-day of rail travel wander through the park and answer questions. One of the most popular and fun events is the Polar Express Train Ride in December; families can enjoy hot chocolate and cookies with costumed characters from the animated film, Polar Express. When passengers reach the North Pole, Santa comes aboard and gives each ticketholder a silver sleigh bell, “the first gift of Christmas.”

Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey

 The singular smell of the roundhouse—grease, dirt, steel and smoke—though rooted in a long-distant past--brought back so many memories of my dad returning from work, bearing a whiff of engines and rails on his clothes. The people who dress up and give their time and energy to this bit of American history, engineers in their stripped caps and Victorian ladies with parasols alike, are equally dedicated to the gritty romance of trains. This is a special place.

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, 
10501 Reservoir Road, Jamestown, CA 95327

www.railtown1897.org


Map to the location