During this morning's "breakfast club meeting" at Motek Bakery, Mark & Melisa shared that they were able to take their visitors from Friday Harbor, WA, to see the eruption on Thursday evening, the day after the 4th eruptive episode began. Since they left after work & stopped for dinner on the way up to the volcano, it was dark when they arrived. They had a spectacular view! They said there were a lot of other people there but most of them stopped at the 1st spot available to see the lava fountains & it was very crowded. They drove a little further & found good spots with very few people; they also were able to witness a cultural practitioner making offerings to Madame Pele. They stayed until about 1 am. It was a good thing they went when they did since the eruptive phase paused again yesterday.
As we were talking, we wondered how large the crater was since the fountains had been described as being about 200 feet high but looked relatively small to them from the viewing area. A quick Google search said the Halemaʻumaʻu ccrater is about 2&1/2 miles long by about 2 miles wide & covers about 2600 acres! The deepest part of the caldera, where the current activity is occurring, is about 830 feet. No wonder those fountains look small!
In the afternoon I got a call from Margaret; she lives in Michigan. I sent her a Hawaiʻi holiday package to help brighten up the dreary, cold Michigan winter. (It is predicted to be below zero tonight!) I met Margaret in Everett via her mom Vivian who was my Sunday farmers market buddy. We visited them in Michigan in June 2018 & stayed for about a week. While there we visited several scenic places, enjoyed Yooper cuisine, had a lot of good ice cream, spent a night at the family hunting camp, & I got bitten by a tick & came down with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever a couple weeks later. Vivian passed away from cancer about a month after we left. Here are some photos from our visit in 2018.
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| Kai & Cedar spent a bunch of time doing what cats do best (& Kai likes to emulate): sleeping. |
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| Vivian & Cedar. |
My Duolingo progress has been slow. I had dropped down to the Amethyst level within a few weeks after they changed things. I finally stopped my backsliding & was able to move up one level to the Pearl League today! I got to the #1 spot this morning, then held on until 4 pm when the final tally is taken. Only 2 more levels to get back up to the Diamond League which is the highest level & where I was for over a year. Wish me luck!
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| At 3:30 pm. |
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| I checked at 5 pm & found this! |
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| Unfortunately you can't see that it says Pearl League. |
The pause in the 4th eruptive episode of Kīlauea volcano continues. HVO says lava remains close to the surface & a glow can be seen at the vents.
Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Bo & Amy!
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