Hawai'i
Read MoreThis is where the main G61 lava flow enters the ocean. The earth here is so unstable that cliff shelf collapses are incredibly often, so often that only a few weeks after this photo was taken, the build-up of the lava and the shelf behind it disappeared into the ocean below, adding to the expansion of the Big Island.
This little area overlooking Hilo bay is called Browns in Keaukaha. Keaukaha is a village in Hawai'i that still maintains their hawaiian culture as best as any assimilated native area can. Keaukaha used to be a hawaiian fishing village, and to many who still live there, the ocean is most of their life. Their connection to a body of water is like the connection you'd find between a mother and her child.
The mountain in this shot is Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in Hawai'i. Because of it's location and height, clouds almost constantly culminate around her, and so although incredibly beautiful, she has gained a reputation of being very shy. Only when she changes the sky from Day to Night can you catch a glimpse of her, just like a peeping tom.
I don't actually know if it's name is Death Canyon, but this sheer drop just outside Waimea toward Kohala contains scary scenes of devastation and conjure images of nightmare accidents. Within the canyon you can see a truck, twisted guardrails, and bones of what I hope is just livestock. The gorge was carved out by an old river that have left very smooth rocks and beautiful grazing grass patches that only the bravest of cattle could come to munch on.
These stones, if spoken about to anyone who grew up in Hawai'i, will evoke memories of the earliest kind of collecting treasure. These little olivine stones can be found in almost all of the stones in Hawai'i, and as children, we could only dream about how much candy or toys we could buy if we amassed enough of these near-worthless gems.
In Whittington park, there lies a sight that, as a child, always invoked curiosity. It's the old cattle pier in Ka'u. As I understand, this was an area many ranchers would use to offload their cattle, or to take them to another island to slaughter. The area can be very daunting for boats, and they must have stopped using the pier for that reason.