Volcano National Park - day 1

The shoreline at the end of Chain of Craters Road. It takes about 45 min to drive down this 19 mile road with all the curves. We were a little disappointed that there weren't any visible lava flows accessible by hiking. Only by helicopter. But the other views were still pretty amazing.

I love how the sun rays pierce through the clouds and reflect on the jagged terrain in this photo.

Keanakako Crater

One of the many steam vents along Crater Rim Drive. The steam was not too hot to touch either (at least the ones accessible to us). It was like an outdoor sauna!

Halema'uma'u Crater. It's a crater within the larger Kilauea Caldera Crater

The Nene goose walking along the Halema'uma'u Crater overlook. We learned that the beautiful Nene is actually an endangered bird of Hawaii.

It's much cooler in the higher elevations. It was drizzling, raining hard at times and just downright cold. We bought some cheap ponchos and looked like tourists but it was so cold at times we didn't care.

A stop along Crater Rim Drive (circle: 11 miles). Look at what lava can do to your backyard. It was simply amazing how the terrain changed from crater to desert to rainforest. The views were simply awe inspiring.