Kilaulea

Kilaulea is a volcano in its own right, erupting out of the side of Mauna Loa near the sea. It doesn't look like this right now, although it is permanently belching brimstone into the air in huge quantities. I tasted the Vog (yes, tasted) yesterday when I drove up to Hilo to pick up my friend Sharif at the airport. On the way back, we stopped in at Volcanoes National Park, where a nice ranger directed us to the caldera of the active volcano, which now looks like this:

At night it is supposed to be pretty red - reflecting the magma below. From time to time it spills over and they have to evacuate a town. 

But now there is nothing much between it and the ocean.

HI Rt. 11 (the Kamehameha Highway, which circles the island) runs north of it, just up the mountainside. 

There are plenty of chthonic spectacles everywhere, including dozens of steam vents that make the landscape look pretty infernal - like Yellowstone only more so - steam rising out of the ground everywhere you look.

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I had my first "bible study" today, with the men's group. Very interesting people. It was a privilege to hear their spiritual journeys. We didn't pore over text so much, but talked about our own experience and convictions, with occasional reference to the Holy Scripture.