AdventuresNW
It sounds ridiculous to say that I had already let the first 26 eruptive episodes of Kīlauea slip by unappreciated. Life has a way of carrying us along in autopilot mode. So, this time when I saw the fountaining lava on the webcam, I made the spontaneous decision to go and watch Kīlauea’s fiery display. After navigating the madhouse that Volcanoes National Park has become, I found myself walking out toward the Keanakākoʻi overlook in flipflops (or slippers, as we call them here). I heard a sound reminiscent of a jet engine long before the spectacle came into view. And oh, what a spectacle!
As the sun dipped below the horizon and the stars appeared in all their splendor, the jet raged on. Finally, long after dark, in an instant, it was done, conspicuously quiet, and all that was left was the orange glow of the lava delta spread below, and the cheering of several dozen delighted fellow witnesses. Awestruck and humbled, I walked back under the banner of the Milky Way.
Ethan D’Onofrio was blessed with parents who instilled in him a deep reverence for our place in the natural world. He now provides a range of technical services, including consulting on the often-overlooked dangers modern technology poses to our health and our humanity. He thrives in Hawaii with his wife, Shannon.
