Tag Archives: Sunday Stills

Muddy waters

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Cobalt Blue.’ See more responses here.

I had a post all lined up, until I was called into work yesterday to do some clean up after flash floods swept through several places, including where I work. On the drive down, I came on this scene.

The cobalt blue waters of the Pacific were being overrun by muddy waters swept into the sea by flooding. I’ve never seen such a sharp line before and, as I watched, I could see it moving forward, to the north. On that coast, the current generally runs in that direction, and a swell from the south was probably helping it along too.

The muddy waters entered the sea down by Kawaihae and when I first saw them, they’d almost reached Lapakahi, a distance of around 12 miles. When I returned home, about three hours later, the brown water had moved up off Kapaa Park, another two and a half miles north.

It will take a day or two for the ocean to clear again, as the waters mingle or are eased away by offshore currents. In the meantime, Kawaihae is digging itself out from the copious amounts of mud left behind by the floodwaters.

Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Move Forward, Reconstruct, Renew, and/or are Burgeoning. See more responses here.

Not moving forward

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Cars wait on the road into Kawaihae Hawaii as a traffic accident is cleared

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Groups of Any Kind.’ See more responses here.

One day last week, late in the afternoon, the driver of a dump truck carrying asphalt, lost control of his vehicle on the road into Kawaihae. He careened across the road, into a guard rail, and overturned, spilling the asphalt onto the highway.

No one was hurt, but the highway was closed in both directions. This is the highway I take to go to and from work. I’d heard about the accident before I set off for home, but there were conflicting versions about whether one lane was closed or both.

It wasn’t long before I was in a line of backed up traffic, but even then it wasn’t clear whether the highway was closed or not, since a fair number of vehicles kept coming from the opposite direction. However, the longer I was in the line, the more clear it became that these vehicles were driven by people turning around and getting out of the jam. Some of these were likely people who were headed to Kawaihae for some reason that wasn’t urgent. Others were surely those who lived up where I do who figured it would be quicker to take the long way home. I’ve done that before (here) for a brush fire, and once stuck it out for an overturned semi (here).

This time, I decided to wait it out with my group of fellow delayed travelers. It was interesting to watch what people did. Some got out of their cars and chatted. Others took the exit to Spencer Beach Park for a more relaxing wait. Still others waited, gave up, and turned around to seek alternatives. A few cars did just that only a few minutes before a retrieval vehicle with the damaged dump truck aboard, passed by. Shortly thereafter, traffic started moving through from the other side of the holdup. Then it was our turn.

The backups were quickly cleared and I got home two hours after I left work. Had I turned around as soon as I saw the backup, I might have been home in 90 minutes. My normal commute is about 30 minutes. But I wasn’t too put out. Back home, I was still able to relax with a nice glass of wine. The dump truck driver, who caused the delay, probably wishes he’d done that too. He was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant!

Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Move Forward, Reconstruct, Renew, and/or are Burgeoning. See more responses here.

I know you’re there

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This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘National Kids and Pets Day.’ See more responses here.

This is Gigi, one of the cats at work. She wasn’t about to move, but she was keeping a bit of an eye on me, just in case.

Halemaʻumaʻu crater

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A view of Halemaumau Crater at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii — Halemaʻumaʻu crater sits within the larger Kilauea calera.

A view of Halemaumau Crater and Jaggar Museum at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii — Jagger Museum sits on the center of the ridge above Halemaʻumaʻu crater. This view gives an idea of the scale.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Earth Day.’ See more responses here.

My brother has been visiting from England and, a few days ago, we went down to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to check out the scene. The volcano’s last eruption ended in September 2023, and it’s been mostly quiet since then.

We arrived to find the volcano socked in with clouds, but the next morning the skies had lifted and we got some great views. We started at Uēkahuna, a viewing area next door to the Jaggar Museum. The viewing area used to be at the museum, but that was badly damaged during Kilauea’s 2018 eruption and is currently in the process of being removed.

Halemaʻumaʻu crater is a pit crater within the larger Kilauea caldera. By the end of that 2018 eruption, the crater floor had collapsed into a deep pit. A small lake formed at the bottom, but that was boiled away and covered in the next eruption. Subsequent eruptions have continued this process of filling the collapsed pit. I hadn’t been down to view this area for quite a while and I was surprised at how much had been filled in. The whole floor was easily visible from the many viewpoints around the caldera, and while there’s no active lava to be seen, there’s plenty of steam rising.

A view of volcanic cones in Halemaumau Crater at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii — Volcanic cones, from the last eruption, on the floor of the crater.

A view of steam rising in Halemaumau Crater at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii — Steam rises from cracks in the walls of Halemaʻumaʻu crater.

Ironically, yesterday I got an email from the U.S. Geological Survey announcing that ‘Increased seismicity over the past three weeks, indicates heightened activity. Updates will be provided daily while at a heightened state of unrest.’ In other words, watch this space!

For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/.

A purple patch

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An orchid tree flower in Hawi, Hawai — An orchid tree flower.

This week’s Sunday Stills monthly color challenge is ‘Diamond, Quartz, Crystal and/or Purple.’ See more responses here. I’m going with purple because I have nothing for the others! I was going to do another flower array, but then I had a wander around beautiful downtown Hawi and came up with these photos.

A water dispenser in Hawi, Hawai — A water dispenser in Hawi.

A screen in Hawi, Hawai — A water dispenser in Hawi.

An abandoned theater in Hawi, Hawai — A sign at the front of an old theater in Hawi.

April flowers from March showers

Water lilies at Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden — Water lilies.

Painter's Pallette Anthurium at Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden — Painter’s Pallette Anthurium.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘April Flowers.’ See more responses here.

Looking through my files, I found a dearth of flower photos taken in April, except for one visit to Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden a couple of years ago. These photos are from that visit.

A Phalaenopsis Orchid at Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden — Phalaenopsis or Moth Orchid.

Some ‘flowers’ aren’t flowers at all. These are the bracts of the plants, which are far more showy than the small flowers that emerge from them later.

Heliconia Pogonantha at Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden — Heliconia Pogonantha

A red Heliconia at Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden — Heliconia Pogonantha

For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.

A peek into Hilo

The Hilo Armory building in Hawaii — The Hilo Armory, dating from 1931, is the home of the Hawaii County Parks and Recreation department. Their budget doesn’t appear to include funds for paint!

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Urban sights.’ See more responses here.

I went to Hilo recently, intending to spend time wandering around the downtown and taking photos. Hilo is the largest town on the island. Naturally, I got distracted on the way, arrived later than intended, and ended up with just a short visit. But while I was there I took these photos.

The Palace Theater building in HIlo Hawaii — The Palace Theater has been around since 1925 and is used for movies, stage shows, and concerts. More information here.

The Hilo Bay Hostel building in Hawaii — The Hilo Bay Hostel building dates back to 1912.

The Puueo Street Bridge in HIlo Hawaii — The Wailuku River marks the north end of downtown Hilo. The Puueo Street Bridge is the middle one of three bridges crossing the river near downtown area. This view is out towards the ocean.

Coming up, going down

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Sunrise or Sunset.’ See more responses here.

The top photo is a recent sunrise over Waimea. The bottom one is a sunset along the Kohala coast.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii