When you want to see the stars, find someplace dark
Exploring the islands
Winter might just be starting in Hawai’i. A fall storm dropped the season’s first snow on the summit of Mauna Kea this afternoon. Not much, just enough to turn the summit white. I had to scrape the frozen snow from the windshield to free the wipers before I could drive down.
We got 1.2″ of rain at the house, quite a bit when you consider we get 10″ a year in the shadow of the mountain. I am headed back to the summit tomorrow morning, wondering what we will find, this storm is just starting.
Guardrails? What is the problem? It is only a few hundred feet to the switchback below. As if taking all of the fun out of Saddle Road is not enough.
Mauna Kea Support Services is overseeing the addition of guardrails on quite a few of the more dangerous places on the summit road. This includes the lower side of each of the hairpin turns for the switchbacks. Notable curves are getting the same treatment.
The new rail locations include the spot where a red jeep went off the road a few years ago, killing the driver and a passenger.
MKSS had made a number of safety improvements to the mountain facilities over the last few months, part of a concerted effort. New speed bumps at the visitor center, guardrails, and plans for new signage along the road.
Visitor and observatory traffic on the mountain is increasing, so is the attention from state officials. With the new comprehensive management plan in place, and groundbreaking for TMT not far off, now is a good time for it.
The latest segment of the new Saddle Road opened this last weekend. From mile post 42 all the way to Mamalahoa Highway we have an all new highway to drive. The road follows a new route, straight for the coast instead of climbing up and over the ridge at Waiki’i. As a result Saddle Road comes out at a new intersection three miles south of the Waikoloa intersection. The old road remains, now demoted to a ranch access road, no longer labeled Highway 200 at the intersection.
Boring!!
There are no blind curves. There are no one-way yields over narrow bridges! No more roller coaster, no slamming the curves at Kilohana. There is even a passing lane all the way up the steep grades. No more thrills and scares while passing the water trucks in no-passing zones. It is just boring!
And much safer I suppose.
What was the Saddle Road of infamy is now the best highway on the island. You can still travel the old segment if you do want a taste of the old Saddle, but most traffic is using the new road. Word from our management is that Keck vehicles are to drive the new road. It is a few miles longer when traveling from Waimea, taking about the same time considering the higher speed limits. For those traveling from Kona or Waikoloa it is substantially shorter.
Boring and safer? I will just have to deal with safer.
A nice bit of Big Island after dark eye candy from German photographer Michael Kunze.
Hawaiian Sky – Mauna Kea | Kilauea volcano from Michael Kunze on Vimeo.
It is always a little wierd… I am just starting a vacation, in a plane of folks who are ending theirs. Thus is the strangeness of living in Hawai’i. Talking in the gate with fellow passengers I get asked how was my vacation, “Don’t know yet, I am just starting out”. The reaction is always the same, a little surprise and a little envy, “Oh! you live here!” A good way to start a conversation, we all have little else to do but kill time.
The flight does not start well, a loud thud and a lurch are all we get when we should be rolling back from the gate. It seems the ground crew has broken a tow-bar. The delay turns the pilot’s promise of an early departure into a fifteen minute delay as they inspect the nose landing gear for possible damage.
This time I remebered to pack a water bottle and some munchies. A bag of cajun spiced trail mix keeps hunger at bay. At least until I can get a quick dinner in the terminal at SeaTac. That will have to do, arrival in Portland will not occur until a bit before midnight.
Overnight in Portland, a chance to have breakfast with my mother before heading to the airport and another flight. This time the destination is Juneau, flying with my Father to pick up the boat.
The tickets were booked far enough ahead that I had my choice of seats. A window seat as usual, I do enjoy the view. This time we went right over the cauldera of Haleakula. I set up the GoPro to do a timelapse using a suction cup mount in the window, it should be a nice bit of video. I hope to use the GoPro in a little creative fun, inspired by some of Mark’s latest projects.
Five hours to Seattle. Three of those hours are now gone as I write this. Two more hours in this seat. At least the inevitable crying baby is far enough forward that the screams are muffled. I look up from typing at a seemingly endless expanse of water and clouds. Pretty, but the sight of land and the end of this flight will be welcome.