Tag Archives: Lapakahi

EV Nautilus

The NOAA EV Nautilus off the coast of Hawaii
The NOAA EV Nautilus off the coast of Hawaii

I saw this ship off the coast of North Kohala, but couldn’t immediately identify it because it was too far offshore. Luckily, it hung around and a couple of days later I saw it much closer and stopped to take photos.

The ship is the Nautilus and it’s an exploration vessel operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust and was engaged in research, sponsored by the National Geographic Society. They were studying marine mammal vocalization and local shark diversity and abundance around Hawaii.

For more information about the ship, go to https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/technology/vessels/nautilus/nautilus.html. For more information about the research project, go to https://nautiluslive.org/.

The NOAA EV Nautilus off the coast of Hawaii

Abstracts: Lighthouse

The sun shines from behind a lighthouse in Hawaii

I was in the water, looking up at the lighthouse north of Lapakahi, and trying to get a photo of the sun behind the light. I was swimming back and forth, to get the sun and light lined up, while the sea whooshed back and forth in a quite shallow area. Results were mixed as they say, but I liked this image which has a bit of a Halloween feel to it.

Posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Bright.’ See more responses here.

Rainbow blue

A Rainbow over Lapakahi, Hawaii
The front of the Old Hawaiian Trading Company store in Kapaau, Hawaii
A Bank of Hawaii ATM

This is the sixth of my rainbow colors in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Bright.’ (See more responses here.)

Today’s rainbow arches above Lapakahi State Historical Park in North Kohala. Lapakahi was an old Hawaiian fishing village and the ruins give some insight into the life and culture of those people.

Second is a blue offering hanging outside the predominantly red and green Old Hawaiian Trading Company in Kapaau.

Third is all that’s left of the Bank of Hawaii in Kapaau. The bank used to occupy the whole building, but it’s now used as a senior center.

Grasshopper at Lapakahi

Grasshopper at Lapakahi

Grasshopper LapakahiSeveral weeks ago, when the Big Island had a couple of hurricanes in the vicinity, we were inundated with rain. Tired of staying indoors or slogging through mud, I headed down the road a few miles, to the dry side of the island, in the hopes of finding somewhere I could go for a walk.

I stopped at Lapakahi State Park, which holds the remains of an ancient Hawaii fishing village. It was dry and warm, though the trails there were still slick with moisture and closed to the public.

While I soaked up the warmth, I noticed this grasshopper (Schistocerca nitens I think) on a plant. It was hanging onto the stem and, despite my presence, seemed not in any hurry to move. It took me a while to realize there was something odd about it, but eventually I noticed that it was missing one of its hind legs. It’s not the first grasshopper I’ve seen in this condition and I always wonder how it affects them. The hind legs are the ones that launch them, so if they’re missing one do they ping off to one side? Do they end up going in circles? Or are they able to compensate?

I didn’t find out on this day as the grasshopper remained in roughly the same position the whole time I was there. Eventually I gave up watching and headed back into the gloom.