Day 10 - Anini Reef and Kilauea Lighthouse

Today is one of my favorite days.  Critter collecting on Anini Reef and then to the Kilauea Lighthouse to see the birds!

Lots of cool critters on the reef.  We found an octopus!  We have not found one is years! Further down the reef, we found a sea turtle.  We, sadly, did not see as many sea turtles this year.





At the Kilauea Lighthouse, the students were given a program over the birds seen at the Lighthouse and then completed a service project that cleared out an area of weeds and replaced it with grass the the Nene birds like.

Day 9 - Limahuli Gardens

I love coming to Limahuli gardens.  Each year, we do a service project here. This year, we went into the forest, weeded, and then planted some native and endangered plants.

After we were done, we went for a swim in the river.  It was so refreshing and nice!

Saw a cool walking stick and crab spider after I got out of the water.

Day 6 - My Piece of Paradise and Mauna Kea

This is one of my favorite places on the island.  It is a little piece of paradise.  It is lagoon/bay system that has freshwater intrusion in the water, so the number of species here is not super high.  It is beautiful though! We collected cool reef critters (without harming them) and snorkeled a bit.



After we got cleaned up, we headed up to Mauna Kea to see the stars.  There was no moon, so it was amazing! The good pictures are on another camera...will have to come back and add them later.





Now for the star pictures and painting with light.

Day 5 - Heading Down to Hilo

We left Volcanoes National Park and headed down to Hilo. On the way down, we stopped at the "magic forest", the Volcanoes National Park Sign to get our group picture (in the rain), and then the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens where students completed a scavenger hunt.

The whole group is on another camera...so here are some other pictures.





Ken's House of Pancakes for dinner and then a study session after. I got their yummy Taco Salad!

Day 4 - Volcanoes National Park

We started the day going to see another view of the Halemaumau crater and then learning about the plants. Students played "telephone" with the plants teaching each other about each plant.

Next, we went to the Lava Tube...with flashlights...the lights are not working inside right now.



At lunch, 4 Nenes came around.  We were able to watch them for a bit until a big bus came and we had to get closer to the Nenes. They went into the woods.  Boo!  They are such a cute bird!

After lunch, we headed down to the Sea Arch. We stopped at the A'a and Pahoehoe lava flow to see the difference.



On the way back up, we stopped at the "smoking trees" where there is some heat coming up from the volcano. The trees are covered in cyanobacteria. They look slimy and cool! We also checked out a pit crater.



Dinner was at the Military Camp's Cafe.  They were fixing Mongolian style food.  Not bad.

The evening ended with going back to the Halemaumau crater.  The lava was doing some really cool things. We could actually see it spitting up a bit.  Really cool! It was really hard to capture, so imagine lava being thrown up into the air from the lava lake.

Day 3 - Hula and Volcanoes National Park

We started the day at the Visitors center.  The students got oriented to the Big Island. They then watch the visitor's center video on the history of the island. After that, we went over to the Volcano House to see a different view of the Halemaumau crater.

While the students were in watching the movie, Kate (photography professor) and I went to go check out an art exhibit on Hawaiian culture. We learned that there was Hula lessons around the time we were having lunch. Yep.  Hula lessons in the afternoon.  I has Hula-ing, so no pictures!

Students headed down to the Sulfur Banks to check out...well, the sulfur and to see how it affects plant growth.  No pictures.  I hung back with those that were not too keen on being around the smoke.

On to a new spot. We walked the Mauna Ulu Eruption Trail. Saw some Pele's tears, Pele's Hair, and Lava Trees.



Back to the camp and on to dinner.
 

Day 2 - Arriving at the Big Island of Hawaii

After landing on the Big Island of Hawaii, we packed up the vans and headed out to Akaka Falls.  Most of the path was blocked off.  They were working on getting rid of an invasive plant species. I'm thinking the other 1/2 of the path did not look pretty, so they blocked it off.














Lunch in Hilo, groceries at Safeway, and then up to the Kilauea Military Camp in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We got dinner and then headed to the Halemaumau crater to see the lava glow.  Went a little crazy with the Gig 'em sign!

Oahu - Days 0 and 1

Day 0 - getting to Hawaii

3 AM wake-up call...4 AM at the airport.  This is the 4 AM crew...Jia, Ishita and myself.

Layover in San Francisco = yummy sourdough sandwich for breakfast. 

On to Honolulu! Why do I get up so early in the morning to get to Hawaii... so I can spend some time at the beach! 

Orientation with the North Lake College Summer Hawaiian Field Studies on Waikiki beach. 

Dinner at Gyu-Kaku. I had cake...

Day 1 - Oahu - Pali Lookout, Coconut Island, Hanauma Bay, and Sunset Workshop


We got to do a new activity with the Coconut island Research group. We actually got dropped off in Kanahoe Bay to go snorkeling.  A lot of pretty corals, fish, and sea turtles!


Tour of the research facility on Coconut Island, watched the sharks be fed, and then back to Oahu! No snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, but we did go and learn about the geology.

Sunset Workshop on Waikiki beach! There were a lot of thick clouds, so it was not as beautiful as it has been in the past.

After the Sunset Workshop, the staff went to eat at the Shorebirds Restaurant. Someone that worked there said that they were going to tear it down and build something new.  So sad. Loved eating there.  Great salad bar and it is fun to cook your own food.