Lava

I had a recent trip to Hilo (on the Big Island) for work. We finished up our first day of meetings in time for me to make the hour long trek to watch lava flowing from Kilauea volcano into the ocean. It was pretty amazing. I only caught fleeting glimpses of the red lava from the quarter mile vantage point, but the steam and spray that were rising up from the ocean give a real sense of something special going on. The pictures certainly don't do it justice!

I was there about an hour and a half before sunset. I thought about sticking around until dark, but really needed some dinner.

Right at the point on the very left, I would catch sight of lava spurting up as it hit the cool ocean water. Cooler lava seemed to explode out of the water.
The lava fields between the viewing area and the lava are only a few weeks old and not very stable. When the eruption first started flowing in this area viewing was within about 25 feet of the lava!
The road into the lava field passed over the lava flow from a decade or so ago that wiped out a subdivision. They're hard to make out, but those are rebuilt houses on the lava flow in the distance. I guess they are going on the lightning never strikes twice theory of lava flow....