Beware of Invisible Cows!

This really is a thing on the Big Island because of all the cattle ranching and a lot of open range area. We found this particular warning at the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station (VIS). On our way back from Hilo we came back via the Saddle Road and decided to stop at the visitor station since it was a nice day. There were other warning signs about hiking, too.



They had an informational video that was looped. It covered several topics including the sacred & spiritual aspects of Mauna Kea. One video also explained about all the different telescopes currently there and what type of information each of them is capable of gathering.


We probably would have stayed longer but the VIS is at 9200 feet; Kai had a little difficulty walking from the lower parking lot up to the VIS. They recommend people spend 30 minutes at the VIS acclimating to the lower oxygen level before continuing on hikes on any of the trails around the VIS. When we had arrived, Kai noted that he had many of the symptoms of altitude sickness when he was at sea level so it would be difficult for him to tell whether it was affecting him. After about 30 minutes Kai looked at his fingertips & nail beds and noticed they were cyanotic; we decided he needed to get to a lower elevation before he passed out. Needless to say, he will not be hiking on Mauna Kea any time soon.

Drinking hot chocolate before heading back to the car. Sorry, no photos of his cyanotic fingers.

The parking lot is above the level of the clouds today.

The road is very steep; the video at the visitor station let's you know that you should be cautious about driving back down. On the way back to Waimea we also saw some cool clouds.

(Photo by Kai)

(Photo by Kai)

(Photo by Kai)

(Photo by Kai)

I was able to check what the weather was like while I was standing at the kitchen sink this morning; Chris changed out the translucent material for transparent corrugated roofing so I could look out. We started out the day by walking around the yard and seeing how things are doing since our last visit in early February. Because it can now get more sun, the mountain apple (Syzygium malaccense) had a lot of fruit; unfortunately most of it was not harvested, I hope it does not attract the wild pigs. We did not find any signs that they have been in the yard recently. The gardenia also got more soon so it is blooming, too.

It rained last night and is overcast this morning.

The back yard.

A big crop now that it has more sun. Hope the pigs don't find it.

Grandma's gardenia is blooming again!

We had breakfast at King's View Cafe. Kai had Mama's Creme Brulee French Toast and I had the Homestead Omelet; I am trying all their omelets in the order shown on the menu.

Mama's Creme Brulee French Toast.

Homestead Omelet.

While at King's View, I saw this flyer for a Filipino festival in October. Curtis has a ticket he needs to use by some time in October; I will check if he can make it to the festival. A couple of House Sparrows hopped under the door and were looking for dropped food.

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus).

We stopped in briefly to let Uncle Kazu know we were here. We also told him we would take him out for lunch and ice cream tomorrow and to Obon on Saturday.

Because the weather was nice, we took the Kohala Mountain Road; this used to be the only road in and out of the north end of the island. We were able to see the wind farm outside of Waimea.

Looking down on the clouds from the Kohala Mountain Road. L to R: Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. (Photo by Kai)

The wind farm outside Waimea. (Photo by Kai)

On our way to Hilo, we like to stop in Honoka'a and pick up some malasadas at Tex Drive-In for omiyage. And Kai also likes to get coffee and one malasada for the road. Today he tried the guava filled malasada.



We made a brief stop at Alae Cemetery to pay our respects at the Mayahara family site. This is where my mother's mother's parents (my great-grandparents) are buried.  We also saw a memorial to the Korean immigrants to the Big Island there.

As I mentioned earlier, we went to Hilo today to visit Aunty Doris & Uncle Tom; they no longer travel very far from home so they have not been to Kohala for a while. I try to visit them every time I am on the island; I would always take Mom over to see them. Today we went to Freddy's Restaurant Drive-In for lunch with them. Aunty Doris had the Fried Noodles, Uncle Tom had the Won Tun Min, Kai had the Korean Fried Chicken, and I had the Kim Chee Teri Burger Special.

Aunty Doris with fried noodles and Uncle Tom with Won Tun Min.

Korean Fried Chicken.

Kim Chee Teri Burger. This is not what I thought it would be.

In order to try to offset all of the eating that I did today, I rode my bike. I know the 15 minutes I did will not equal the calories I have taken in; but I haven't biked in a while so I need to ease back in to it slowly to avoid injuries. My bike is always set up on my trainer so that I can get exercise while I am here. This time I had to use my hiking boots since I am not sure what box my bike shoes are in and I forgot to bring a pair of walking shoes. My bike has toe clips so I had to step on the back of the pedals tonight. I also had to use regular shorts and not my bike shorts; other than that it was a good ride.

Yes, I can get in there and ride it comfortably.

As I was writing this blog the motion-sensor flood light on the southwest corner of the garage kept coming on; but there was no wind rustling the shrubs like last night. Then I heard the sound of the wild pigs moving through the grass in Jessie's back yard. I think they were looking for fallen avocados. None of them came close enough to the light for me to get a photo. I will have to check tomorrow if they came in to our yard. I don't want them to find the hapu'u; they like to knock them over and eat out the center of the hapu'u stalk, which kills the plant. I will have to check the one weak point in the fence that I know they have come through before.

Happy Birthday to Ruqqaya, Eric, & Eric!