Lava me now or lava me not

There is a distinct demarcation where the lava flow has covered much of the hillside, but left some random areas untouched and green.


In the next photo, the thin diagonal line cutting through the darker lava flow is Chain of Craters Road coming down from Kilauea Caldera. It is the only road that leads to this side of the lava flow, and now ends there (as you will see in the photos).





The most breathtakingly beautiful landscape LocalTourist has ever walked across. This is Pahoehoe lava, the smooth version, and it looks like the top of a pan of brownie batter that has cooked and cooled.



The most amazing formations repeated over and over, yet never the same. This flow is much younger than you are, part of the 2003 to present flow. Think about that a minute.
The lava cools, cracks, and breaks off. If you are not careful where you step before you see this, you will be careful after.




Guess which one we chose first?



WOW. A life long goal fulfilled. Seeing new earth being created as it pours into the steaming sea.

Why did the lava cross the road?











To get to the other side.





Roadkill.


This is what's left of a road sign sticking out above the lava. The side you see is the front of the sign. Time to ask for directions.



This is the best photo LocalTourist could get of the lava flow. It was getting too dark for my camera to focus at that distance. First sighting of the lava flow was 4 small orange spots on the hillside. As the sky grew slowly dimmer, more and more orange flames appeared, until in the dark, it was a connected flow of orange spilling down the hillside toward the ocean.