Big Island 3 and 4

Due to the 'technical difficulties' getting the pictures from the iPad into the blog, I can tell I have not always coordinated the text with the pic's.
We rode 2 days from the Avocado Tree House, through both lush rain forest, and on to lava fields. Then we relaxed at home, ran errands, and walked around Hilo, and the small Lava Tree State Park one day. Lava trees formed when the flowing lava cooled and hardened around burning trees.

Link to Big Island 3 pictures

Link to Big Island 4 pictures


Another day we drove to the visitors center of the Volcanoes National Park, and walked down into, and through the crater of Kilauea, which last erupted in 1959. It is a very interesting ~6-mile walk. You start down, and climb back up, through rainforest, which only in a few feet, becomes a moon like, brown, and desolate landscape. But even here, small flowers, and palms start to grow, where moisture collects in the cracks.
We continue to enjoy fruit, and avocados for breakfast, and  have made totally acceptable dinners in our small kitchen, while listening to the coqui frogs morning, and night, and at times the guinea fowl, too. There are many small birds, but am not sure if we hear them, due to the other animal noise.  Small geckos, or lizards (the former are apparently a small version of the latter), climb the outdoor furniture, and I have seen 2 on the walls of the kitchen. None have come near the food, so I don't mind them. They don't seem afraid, or eager to climb on to me. They might be natives of Madagascar, introduced here in the 1950s. They blend in perfectly with the greenery, some that also has the red spots.
We are definitely on the rainy side of this island, but lucked out yesterday when we drove to Hokopaa. Parked at Tex Drive Inn as suggested by he local bike blog, and rode up some 5 miles in to the hills, where the landscape suddenly was totally different than any we have seen since coming to Hawaii. Open pastures, and Maura Kea in the distance, with a weather observatory on top.
Tex is famous for its Portuguese malasadas, which were excellent. Craig though almost as good as what he had at a bakery in Banyuls, France in June!
Today we are off to a slow start, sitting on the porch by the kitchen. It's dry, and we might go for a ride not too far from here.

A chocolate malasada before riding!