Volcano Park again and on to the west coast

We were packed and underway shortly after 9 with plans to spend more time at the Volcano National Park on our way to the W side of the big island.  When we entered the park, the ranger solved our problem of how to roll down the windows - 2 levers on the dash board with a somewhat vague pictograph.  It made more sense when you knew what it meant.  Now we won't need to run the AC so much.  Life would be so much easier if the rental companies included the owner's manual with the car!

Panorama of one of many craters on the Chain of Craters Road (note small red jeep in upper R corner for size) click here and enlarge to full screen vertical

After stopping at the rangers at the visitor's center to see if anything special was occurring in the park we headed down  the Chain of Craters Road - the same road we'd drive from the other side of the lava flow.  We stopped at several of the many craters along the road to check out the huge craters left by eruptions before driving down to the Pu'u Loa Petroglyphs Trail, a sacred and awe-inspiring gallery of petroglyphs dating back to ancient times.  The site is still used by native Hawaiians who bring the umbilical cord of their new born for burial with hopes of receiving the blessings of a long and prosperous life (it didn't appear that they carve petroglyphs).

One of the petroglyphs

Another petroglyph with a sailing canoe

Board walk to the petroglyphs - some visible on the right

We drove to the barricade at end of the road and walked about a mile before heading back to the car in order to arrive at our next 'home' to check in by 4.  We were glad we'd approached the flow from the other side, which looked to be closer.  There were neither shuttles nor bikes for rent in the park, making for a long walk with no shade.

Long hike to the lava flow

With little time to spare, we drove past a number of places we'd have liked to see - saving them for the next week.  For some reason, our GPS address on the cell phone wasn't correct and we had some difficulty finding Kim's Coffee Farm and had gone past before calling to better directions (they'd been written for arriving from Kona).  Eventually we found it, and our host was gracious although he had an appointment in Kona - 38 miles N.

The view over looking the old rodeo ring from out apartment

We arrived to find an very comfortable apartment over a garage, overlooking the ocean on a small coffee farm run by Kim and Monica.  The farm is about 1500' above sea level and gets a nice breeze to keep it comfortable.  The house was beyond anything we'd expected (it's hard to tell from the AirB&B photos) - a large living room, a fully equipped kitchen, a king sized bed in a large bed room with a porch extending along front of the unit. Included with the room are any and all veggies or fruits we wish pick from the trees (and free range eggs, we find any), and coffee from their trees. We were directed to a reasonable grocery store about 15 minutes away for anything else we might need.  Why would anyone consider staying in a resort or hotel?