Tag Archives: Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea telescopes at sunset

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Remote.’ (See more responses here.)

I’m going for this photo for three reasons. First, Hawaii itself is remote at more than 2,200 miles from the nearest major landmass. The closest U.S. state is actually Alaska, though California is the closest state to the Big Island.

Secondly, Mauna Kea is one of the more remote spots on the island, particularly these days. Protests over building a new telescope on Mauna Kea have resulted in the road up the volcano being closed for some weeks now with no end to the dispute in sight. So if a person wants to go to the top, a long and arduous hike is the only way.

Thirdly, the telescopes on the summit are there to explore the farthest reaches of the universe, and you can’t get more remote than that.

Pu’u Wa’awa’a views

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Great Outdoors.’ (See more responses here.) When I think of the great outdoors, I think of hiking, and one of my favorite hikes on the Big Island is up Pu’u Wa’awa’a. It’s an 8-mile round trip and tops out at just under 4,000 feet. On a good day, the hike offers great views, not only from the top, but also on the way up and down. And there are several benches where a person can rest and take in those views, including a couple on the summit.

The top photo shows the view north from around 3,500-feet elevation, with Tamaki Coral in the foreground and Kohala Mountain in the background. The bottom photo is a view from 100 feet or so below the summit looking east toward Mauna Kea.

The hike can also include many native trees and plants as well as a variety of wildlife. There are domestic sheep, cattle, and horses, as well as wild pigs and goats. When the trees are in bloom, they’re rich with insects and birds including several native varieties.

To top it off, most of the times I’ve visited, usually in the early morning, I’ve had the place to myself.

For more information about Pu’u Wa’awa’a and its trails, go to puuwaawaa.org.

Keck 1 and 2 telescopes

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Twins.’ (See more responses here.)

These are the two telescopes of the W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea. Keck 1 began operation in November, 1990, while Keck 2 made its first observations in October 1996. Each telescope’s 10-meter primary mirror is made up of 36 segments, hexagonal in shape. Not that these segments are small themselves. Each one is 1.8 meters wide and weighs half a ton.

The telescopes can accommodate a wide variety of instruments, such as cameras and spectrometers, and are considered to be the most scientifically productive in the world.

For more information about the W. M. Keck Observatory, go to www.keckobservatory.org.

Mauna Kea pu’us and shadows

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Shadows.’ See more responses here.

This view was taken near the summit of Mauna Kea. Pu’us – little volcanic cinder cones – dot the landscape here, giving the area an otherworldly look. As the sun sets, the pu’us cast shadows on one another accentuating the slopes and craters.

Waimea and pu’us

The town of Waimea sits in the saddle between Mauna Kea and Kohala Mountain. The town is also known as Kamuela because several towns on other islands have the name ‘Waimea’ too. The postal service needed something more exclusive so Kamuela, Hawaiian for Samuel, was chosen to honor a local citizen.

This view shows the town nestled among trees and backed by pu’us (hills) on the flank of Kohala Mountain. It could be considered a rather bucolic view, which is something of a private joke in this household. A couple of years ago, a run down and shuttered gas station, at the main intersection in town, was becoming something of an eyesore. A letter to the local paper deplored this situation, saying it was a blight on ‘bucolic Waimea.’

Truth is, Waimea looks a good deal more bucolic from a distance. Close up, it’s a busy small town, with a good deal of traffic and a couple of prominent shopping centers. It’s really a quite nice small town, but I’m not sure ‘bucolic’ is how I’d describe it.