April 30th, 2007: A view from Mauna Kea

Aloha,
A trip to Mauna Kea is always a revelation. Nine thousand feet up, you are in a far different place than the jungle of Puna or the white sands of Kona!

After passing through the pelting rain of the clouds between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, you rise up to see them nestled in between the two mountains. The setting sun lights up the red cinder cones and bathes the sparse and strangely shaped vegetation with indescribable clarity.

When dusks falls, the horizon becomes an aching light blue. On the night we were there, the moon was waxing, with a bright Venus below it. Through the telescopes of the visitor's center, we saw the craters of the moon, and the rings of Saturn, and the clouds of light in the Orion Nebula.

Astonishing beauty... with a grace that stays with you as you travel back down to the coast of jungle, sand, and people.

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