Volcanoes National Park, Part III - Lava Tubes + Petroglyphs

There is so much to see and do at Volcanoes National Park that we had to go back for a second time a few days later.  It was drizzling in the afternoon after a morning of swimming and shopping as we headed out for the hour long drive.  The elevation means the temperature drops quickly as you ascend - 10 to 15 degrees cooler in a matter of moments.  We perused the gallery shop in the park (fantastic place!) and let the boys each choose a piece of art they wanted to hang in their room.

After that we went to hike to the Thurston Lava Tube, something we didn't have time for on our first visit.  All I can say is wow!  And to think we could have missed it altogether.  We did not plan to see it on a drizzly afternoon but that is the perfect time to visit this prehistoric like lava tube.  The entrance is huge and in the evening it's a little creepy (perfect).  It's dark and you don't know what you're entering.  The size of the tube was really shocking to me - we had seen a few while driving the Big Island and I thought Thurston would just be slightly bigger than those.  The other real treat is the lush forest that you come upon when you make it to the other end.  Of all the hikes we took, this was the most lush, soft and verdant forest we saw.  It was absolutely beautiful in the misty rain and we took it slow to savor it.

Because of its beauty, we drove down Chain of Craters road one last time.  Another site we missed during our first visit to the park was the hike along the lava fields to the petroglyphs.  It was late when we arrived, with just a few other cars here and there.  As we made the long hike out into the middle of nowhere, I started realizing that there are no lights anywhere, that it was cloudy and the moon was hidden, and that we were completely alone.  The terrain is not easy to navigate - it's jagged, hard lava rock but we basically ran out to the petroglyphs and really ran back to the car in the dark.  It was scary to be out there on our own but also incredibly thrilling.  Both C and I had our phones so we knew we could at least use the flash light feature to guide ourselves back if need be. The petroglyphs were fun to see but as with many things in life, it was the journey to them that was the thriller.  With that, we made our way back on Chain of Craters and went back home for our last night in Pahoa.