A Darker View

A Visit to the Nation of Hawaiʻi

At the back of Waimānalo is a place separated from modern society through an act of sheer will. Here in rainy, windward Oahu is a valley ringed with impossibly steep cliffs, a pali that soars thousands of feet overhead draped in lush greenery. At the base of those cliffs is a place where an older culture finds a place to shelter, a place of refuge.

I am here to attend a tech event, a hackathon where various makers like myself use technology to solve problems. This event has been arranged by the folks of Purple Maiʻa, an organiztion dedicated to tech education. The theme this time? Instrumenting an ahupuaʻa, learning from the land by installing a network of instruments to monitor such things as temperature, water quality, stream flow, and more.

3D Printed Fix… Again

It has become apparent to me that what were modern electronics in my youth are now considered vintage electronics. What does that say about me?

The piece of vintage electronics in question this day is a veteran Tektronix 465 oscilloscope. This particular oscilloscope was purchased decades ago as surplus from Elliot Electronics in Tucson, once my go to place for electronic parts and tools.

The ‘scope is in great shape… Mostly.

Resort Telescope

The NexStar 11 setup on the grounds of the Mauna Kea resort

Tephra

While enjoying and photographing episode 15 of the current eruption we got dumped on.

Pele's hair and reticulite from the episode 15 lava fountains — Pele’s hair and from the episode 15 lava fountains under the microscope

It was while photographing the spectacular fountains of episode 15 that bits of tephra began drifiting down on the crowded viewpoints along the crater rim. There was little wind and the enormous volcanic plume drifted over the eastern end of the caldera where thousands of people had come to view the eruption.

As I stood by the tripod I noted little clumps of Pele’s hair lazily drifiting down. Looking to see where it landed I note minute black gritty granules atop the camera and tripod. Oh lovely!

Fountain

Lava Surge — Lava pistons from the north vent as episode 15 builds pressure 26Mar 2025

Fountain

Episode 15

Reading the tiltmeter data it was clear that the pressure was building again, an eruption appearing likely in the next day or two. The last episodes have produced ever higher lava fountains, I expect episode 15 to go even higher and I truly wish to see it when it happens.

Right on schedule the first lava appeared, a little rivulet of lava overflowing the north vent onto the crater floor. If the pattern repeated this would be followed by high lava fountains in the next ten hours or so. Episode 15 was on.

Strong glow from the eruption vents illuminate the heavy volcanic plume above between surges

Tomorrow it would be, and as tomorrow was also a holiday for me, Prince Kūhiō Day, I would be free to make another volcano run!!

We are a go.

The same plan… a 2am alarm, hit the road, 4am in the park, hike to the Keanakāko’i viewpoint.

Geology of Waikoloa

While writing up my visit to Goat House Tube I was again wondering how old the lava tube was, it is clearly old, but how old?

A Google Earth image of Waikoloa overlayed with a geologic unit map showing the various lava flows from Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, pinks are Mauna Kea flows while Mauna Loa flows are green

Most of the Mauna Kea lava flows upon which Waikoloa sits are ten to twenty thousand years old, but the Mauna Loa flows that start just south of the village can be quite a bit younger.

Just a few miles south of the village one can find the 1859 Mauna Loa flow, the longest lava flow in the state representing a very long eruption that produced an enormous volume of lava. This is the flow that reshaped Kiholo bay, destroying the large fishponds that could once be found there.

M67

Goat House… Again

The upper power line entrance to Goat House Tube

It has been a while since I last hiked out to Goat House Lava Tube. A bit obscure, the tube hides in the grasslands outside Waikoloa Village, accessible with a modest hike.

With the new eMTB this tube is even easier to get to. The power line access roads are rough, simple tracks just scraped into the lava, but fun. A good road to enjoy with a full suspension bike bouncing over the bare rock.