Hawaii, Part IV

One of our favorite events of the trip was driving up Mauna Kea (which means, White Mountain) and watching the sunset. On the Big Island, there are no bright lights at night. In fact, the island is quite dark after the sun goes down. This is because the 13,803 feet high summit of Mauna Kea houses the world's largest observatory for optical, infrared, and submillimeter astronomy. The telescopes on top of this mountain are massive. We took the scary ride up (it's steep and a bit treacherous) to the very top of the mountain to watch the sun set. After that, we quickly drove back down to the visitor center. You don't want to stay up there too long because it's extremely dark after the sun goes down and the road is partly unpaved and steep. After dark, there are portable telescopes at the visitor center (at the 9,000 foot level). We were able to look through these and see incredible shots of the moon and even Saturn.

I have so many pictures of Mauna Kea. I'll first share some of our drive up to the top of the mountain.

We first had to take the long trek on Saddle Rd. It's a very remote road, with no gas stations and not much sign of life. So, often car rental companies forbid you taking cars on this road because if you get stuck, run out of gas, or break down....they don't want to make the long haul to bail you out. BUT it was beautiful!!

Before long, we started our climb up the mountain. Our ears started to pop, and you could feel the temperature drop.

The sky was so clear and you could see the moon in broad daylight.

We quickly were above the clouds and the views were breathtaking!

Once on top, we got out and could feel the dramatic elevation and temperature difference. Some of us were lightheaded and had a headache. I went running up the road to take a picture and quickly was out of breath after a few yards. It was in the 70's when we left our hotel. By the time we arrived at the top of the mountain, it was in the 20's and there was snow. CRAZY! Here is Dave holding a handful of snow!

The very top of the mountain.

More to come of Mauna Kea...