Around the Big Island

We have arrived at Kilauea volcano on the south coast of the Big Island. The town where were are staying is actually called Volcano. This is one of the most continuously active volcanoes in the world. We saw evidence of past lava flows and eruptions all around us today as we toured volcano national park. This is a shield volcano - meaning that the lava flows slowly and forms rolling layers of black rock as it cools. The lava flows look different depending on when they formed, some look like melted chocolate. The highlight of the day was walking through a lava tube. This was formally a underground river of flowing hot lava that melted its way through the rock. This is a huge park with thousands of square miles of lava fields, craters, and rain forest right along the pacific coast.
Yesterday, on the suggestion of a local, we went to probably the most beautiful beach I have ever seen - Kaunaoa beach. This beach has only 40 parking spots available so we got there at 8:15am and were number 36. There is what looks like a very expensive resort right beside this beach but they have to allow the public access to this beach for free. There are no private beaches on this island. It is refreshing to see that the best locations here are not sold off exclusively to the highest bidder. Paul