Volcanoes

I've always been fascinated by volcanoes: I remember a Life magazine spread on Pompeii from when I was in grade school. There was a story about Yellowstone Park in my second or third grade reader -- the only time I actually went there was while moving to CA with my leg in a cast, so didn't do too much exploring. I remember reading about the way the Krakatoa eruption changed the world's weather for years. Mt. St. Helens happened shortly after I moved to California -- we went to see it 20 years later. Loved camping at Lassen.

I really wanted to see Kilauea in eruption, so we scheduled a trip to the Big Island. Expensive! Saw (and smelled) steam vents, looked out over craters, walked through lava tubes, climbed around on old lava fields, admired lava tree molds, went swimming where a thermal vent under the sea had formed a hot pond. Nothing spectacular, but then these things can't be planned for, really. I guess I'll have to watch National Geographic Specials until I get another chance.

Through the Lava Tube

Lava Tree mold

1970's lava field

Steam coming out of Kilauea Crater