Hawaii, May 23-June 2, 2002

After the semester ended, I headed to Hawaii on a work/play vacation. The trip began in Kona with my dad. We explored the Waipi'o Valley on Hawaii's north coast and drove to the top of Mauna Kea. The next few nights I went to Waimea for some remote observing on the Keck 1 telescope with Mike Brown, the fellow I'm working with at Caltech this summer. Then Mom joined us as we explored Volcanoes National Park for a much-too-brief time. Dad then had to head home, while Mom and I went to Maui for a few days.

Amy and Dad before descending into Waipi'o Valley.

Amy.

Rock sculptures on the beach.

Dad is a rock sculpture.

Dad with a waterfall growing out of his head.

Dad hiking up the hill to the summit of Mauna Kea (13,796').

Amy and Dad at the summit.

Tiny Amy in front of Kecks I and II.

Astronomers use Mauna Kea's telescopes remotely from a facility in Waimea. A video-conference link to the mountaintop provides entertainment for the long night.

Mike.

The night we arrived at Volcanoes National Park, a new lava flow from the Pu'u 'O'o vent had ignited forest fires along a ridge near the end of the Chain of Craters Road. Dad and I hiked a ways along the relatively new flows (1992-1997) at the end of the road and watched the glowing fires as night fell.

Here's Dad on earth that is less than 10 years old. A few days after this, the road was closed.

Beautiful ropes of pahoehoe lava.

The next day, I got up early and hiked around on my own. I hiked the Kilauea Iki trail, Crater Rim Loop, Byron Ledge trail, and Halema'uma'u trail, for a total of 21 miles. By 2:30 in the afternoon I was pooped and plopped down on a couch. Here's Kilauea Iki early in the morning. I did this loop first since I was worried it would be the most crowded, but at 6:30 a.m. I didn't see a soul. The trail can be faintly seen cutting across the crater here.

An orchid along the Crater Rim Loop.

The Steaming Bluffs.

A lehua flower growing on the barren bottom of the Kilauea Crater, along the Halema'uma'u trail.

Amy, Mom, and Dad.

Sunset our first night in Maui.

I went for a hike to some ruins along the beaches of southwestern Maui. Here are waves breaking on a mixed black/white pebble beach. The island of Lanai is in the background.

Mom and I drove up to Haleakala Crater, which actually isn't a crater in the true sense of the word. This was a valley created by normal old erosion, and then later carpeted with lava and pimpled with cinder cones.

Mom, Amy, and the shadow of the guy who took this picure, up at the Haleakala summit.

Sunset of our second night on Maui.

The fog-enshrouded Iao Valley.

Waterfalls along the Hana coast.

View from the air.

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