MORE Hawai'i

Moving over to the Hilo (east) side, EVERY river has waterfalls and pools all along it. This side of the island gets around 300 inces of rainfall each year - people catch it in their pools and run it through their hoe water systems.
Like macadamias? This is the largest of the "MacNut" farms near Hilo....

Then, the east side drops off (about 500 feet!) into the ocean.....breathtaking.

This was our 3rd time to this most beautiful multi-island-state

Mauna Kea - snowy white above the island of Hawai'i----
far below those clouds, a molten river running more than 2000 degrees F - we could see it bubbling up out of the ground, all neon-red and black!
This is how the lava flow stopped after oozing and burning into the jungle in the 1980's---
Here is a close-up view of the flow just below the "vent" - we are so glad we opted for the fixed wing flight...GREAT idea, Bob!

( We were all grinning, since we each had our own window for the flight - This is the 3rd of these islands we've come to. The plan is to stay on a different island each trip, then take one of those fancy cruises to visit them all! )
Mauna Loa (Long Mountain) peeking above the clouds. Mauna Kea is taller and has snow as you saw - even skiing.
One of the bigger volcano 'vents' now active..it's incredible to see, and a little frightening!

Some of the smaller vents, letting off steam above the lava flows...