Friday, July 23, 2010

Coastal flow plain inflation continues – not to the sea yet ~ Foxes Landing trail lava-covered

Sun setting through burning forest

For those familiar with the blacksand beach surrounded by high and sheer rock on both ends, and known as Foxes Landing, will have walked there over a long-used trail leading there from inland. The advancing lava covered this trail by late afternoon yesterday. The photo above was taken while standing on a portion of that path.




Above: Locals gathered there at dusk to witness this event or to see if the expanding and spreading lava was also going to pour into the ocean at Foxes Landing itself, which seems unlikely in the short term due to a long high rock escarpment between the flowing lava and the sea.


Below: Gary’s house under a nearly full moon late last night and lava sparked fires just beyond.

Above: A bright setting Venuse hangs over a spectacular and expansive lavascape. These two chairs set on older lava near Gary’s home; it is where he sits and has the finest view of lava flows coming down the Pulama Pali on all of Hawaii Island. The lava glow on the lower right is only 130-feet away, and advancing slowly.

Last night Gary & I sat in those chairs and gazed out over a surreal moonlit lavascape and talked story until late. We watched trees flare up in huge torch-like flares as they each succumbed to the molten lavas intense heat moving beneath; we talked of where he might find homes for his two dogs when the lava takes his house; Gary will only have his van to live in when that happens...

Much closer; we watched glowing lava only a couple hundred feet to the north side of his property, west side of his house, and in the ironwood trees to our east: essentially surrounding Gary’s home and the lava-watching chairs.

Gary said that he hasn’t been able to sleep well at night, not from worry over whether Pele will take out his home, but from all the curious people that walk through his property at every hour of the day & night talking loud and/or waking his two dogs.

To Karen & Chas and his other friends: today is the day.

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