We started today with an uneventful flight to our final island: Hawaii, aka the Big Island to avoid confusion. We flew into Hilo airport on the east/windward/wet side of the island. We had planned to stay here a couple days before heading to the Kona Coast in the west, but really wanted to do the Mauna Kea stargazing tour that only had availability today. So, we grabbed a quick bite before heading across the island on the Saddle Road through the middle of the island.
This road goes between the two largest of this island's 5 volcanos: Mauna Kea & Mauna Loa. There is a military training facility in the middle and we saw helicopters doing various maneuvers on the way.
We checked into our suite at the Kona Coast Resort before meeting our tour group from Hawaii Forest and Trail and our guide, Eugene. The tour went from the Kona Coast up to the summit of Mauna Kea for sunset at 14,000 feet, with stops along the way.
The summit of Mauna Kea is one of the best places in the world for land-based observation of the skies. It is well above much of the earth's atmosphere and far away from major light sources. Some of the most powerful telescopes in the world are stationed there. At near freezing temperatures, you can also see a bit of snow up there too. Yes, snow in Hawaii. You also need 4 wheel drive to ascend the steep dirt road to the top.
After sunset, they kicked us off the summit so the real scientists could do their work without our headlights in their way. We went down to a lower elevation where Eugene cracked out the brownies, hot chocolate, and telescope. Tough to show pictures, but we had an amazing view of the sky and saw Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn as well as countless constellations and star clusters. A man made satellite even sped across the sky in our view.
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