Category Archives: Scenes

Bench overlooking Honokane Nui Valley

Bench overlooking Honokane Nui Valley

I’ve posted a photo of this bench and view before, but when I took this walk beyond Pololu a few months ago the bench was in bad shape. One of the legs had rotted out and if I wanted to sit, it had to be on one end and with care.

So last time I hiked up that way I took a tape measure, planning to assess the damage and work out what was needed to fix the bench. However, when I got there I found someone had beaten me to it. And unlike my repair idea, they had wisely decided to discard the previous bench frame and replace it with a plastic one.

While it might be somewhat less aesthetically pleasing, the plastic frame should last a lot longer than its predecessor. It’s also securely anchored with metal rods so the bench should be around for a good long time. Something to look forward to next time I make the hike.

Abstracts: Cruise ship windows

Abstracts-cruise ship windows

Every week, a cruise ship drops anchor off Kailua Kona and passengers are ferried ashore to explore the delights of the town or to go on tours of the island. While it’s there, the ship dwarfs the town.

This image shows a section of the ships side, row upon row of cabin windows. Technically, one might be expected to refer to these as portholes, but I don’t think that applies to cruise ships, which are basically giant floating hotels.

Going to the Moon or Mars?

HI-SEAS site on Mauna Loa

HI-SEAS access road on Mauna LoaSitting at around 8,200 feet on the northern slope of Mauna Loa, is the HI-SEAS (Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) site. The dome is where a crew of volunteers stays, simulating what could face a similar crew living on Mars. The terrain has similarities to Mars, the crew can only go outside in space suits, and communications are delayed by 20 minutes as they would be in real transmissions between Earth and Mars.

Currently, I believe the dome is empty. The last mission, scheduled to run for eight months from February 15, 2018 through October 15, 2018, was canceled after a few days because of some kind of accident, the details of which were never released.

The second photo shows the approach road to the HI-SEAS site with a near full moon above. Public access to the site is not allowed for obvious reasons, but I do think it would be great fun to dress the kids up as little green Martians and take them trick or treating there. Imagine being inside the dome when there’s a knock on the door.

For more information about HI-SEAS, go to hi-seas.org/.

Place of Refuge from the water

Place of Refuge from the water

This is a view of Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, otherwise known as Place of Refuge. The pu’uhonua or place of refuge was a place that offered sanctuary to those who had broken laws or been defeated in battle. Reaching this spot meant they’d be spared and allowed to go home.

So this view is one that a young frightened warrior might see while trying to reach that spot. Hale o Keawe, the small structure with the steeply pitched roof, can be seen in the center of the photo. It sits on the edge of the pu’uhonua. To the right of it is safety; to the left death.

Fortunately that wasn’t my choice. I was just looking at fish.

F-22 Raptor at Kahului Airport

F-22 at Kahului Airport on Maui

F-22 at Kahului AirportRecently, I took a short jaunt to Maui. By short, I mean I left in the morning and returned at lunchtime and the only place I visited was Kahului Airport. However, while I was there I did get to see this F-22 Raptor make three low-level passes of the airport.

I happened to be outside when it made its first pass. By the time it returned, people had spilled out of offices and workshops, phones pointed at the sky, as it zipped by. And it did zip by. Compared to the rest of the action – commercial planes lumbering in to land, light aircraft wobbling through the wind, helicopters scooting up and around and away – the F-22 was a flash of noise and action.

The F-22 Raptor entered service in the United States Air Force (USAF) in 2005 and the last plane was delivered to the USAF in 2012. It has since been largely supplanted by the F-35 which is considered to be cheaper (relatively speaking) and more flexible.

Royal poinciana

Royal Poinciana flower spray

Royal Poinciana flowersRoyal poinciana (Delonix regia) is also known as the flame tree. As well as producing a stunning array of crimson flowers, it has lacy-looking leaves and produces long, distinctive seed pods.

I noticed this tree, tucked away at the end of a small commercial area in Kawaihae. The top photo shows an array of flowers. The flowers consist of four red petals with a fifth upright petal which is more yellow and white, as in the photo to the right. The photo below shows three of the seed pods which start out green before turning brown. At the bottom is the full tree. It can do well close to the ocean, as this one is, because it’s salt tolerant.

Royal Poinciana seed pods

Royal Poinciana tree

Civilian Conservation Corps Cabin on Mauna Kea

CCC Cabin and water tank Mauna Kea

This Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Cabin is one of seven that were built around Mauna Kea in the 1930s. The CCC was a public work relief program to create jobs during the Great Depression. It focused on the conservation of resources on government-owned lands.

The seven cabins on Mauna Kea were used by crews working on the construction of sheep-proof fencing. The goal was to remove sheep from parts of Mauna Kea in order to protect the high-elevation dry forest which was rapidly being destroyed.

This cabin is just above the Palila Forest Discovery Trail on the southwest slopes of Mauna Kea.

Posted in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘Work.’ See more responses here.

CCC Cabin Mauna Kea