Squeeeeee! There’s just something so exciting about the first National Park… and unlike other firsts in a girls life, this did NOT disappoint!

We arrived as quickly as we could when we landed on the Big Island; around 7:30am after an easy drive from the Hilo airport. However the visitor center didn’t open until 9 so we took a quick cat nap in the car. And by we, I mean Mike slept and I tossed and turned like a kid on Christmas morning who was told they couldn’t get out of bed until the parents were up. 

So, 9am finally arrived. Ranger Jay was giving a wonderful summary of the park and his recommended itineraries for people with varying time frames. He was so enthusiastic and clearly loves his park…. he was a great example of why I fell in love with our country’s National Parks in the first place, and why I’d love to someday be a ranger too. 

Anyway, Mike and I grabbed my Junior Ranger Hawaii Adventure book and the map and started! We decided to go the opposite way than most since it seemed like most people were only spending a few hours there (crazy!). We took the drive down the Chain of Craters to see the sea arches first. 

We hiked up to the petroglyphs and saw hundreds of carvings. My ranger activities told us to yell into the Craters for echos and that was so fun! It was so big and would echo back multiple times!

We hiked up a closed road that just opened up for hikers. It wasn’t as mind blowing as some other views but it was a nice rainy hike!

Then we checked out the Thomas Jaggar museum that overlooks the Kilauea Caldera and Halema’uma’u Crater.  There we got to jump around and play with the seismograph machine and learn about Pele! The Crater has active lava in it, but during the day all you can see is the steam. Ranger Jay recommended that people come for sunrise because not only do you get to see the lava, very few people are there because most go after sunset instead. So, that’s what we did on the third day on Big Island!

Mike and I arrived around 5:30am to view the Crater and sunrise. Ranger Jay wasn’t lying about no one being there! It was so peaceful and hypnotizing. 

After watching the sunrise, and the colors switch from the Crater to the sky, we headed to Kilauea Iki Trail for a hike around and in a Crater! It felt like being in Land before Time when they’re searching for anything living to eat. Basically, I often think of myself as a dinosaur when I walk around. I know pictures won’t do anything justice, but the feeling you get when you’re seeing all this land that used to be flowing lava, destroying everything in its path, leaving a barren wasteland is just overwhelming. It’s an awesome and terrifying reminder how little control you have in the world.

This hike took about 2 hours and led us to Nahuku, or the Thurston Lava Tube. It ginormous and it’s hard to believe hot lava created something so big. It could definitely be a tunnel for a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. Luckily, Hawaii doesn’t have snakes because I would have really freaked out being in there.

When we were done, we headed back to the Visitor Center for my Junior Ranger badge!!! Ranger Jami reviewed my booklet, stamped it, and did the oath with me!!! She was so friendly and kind. She is currently finishing up her degree, and being a ranger is part of an internship. It started with 400 people and now it’s down to 3. Isn’t she a badass?? And so incredible that she gets to do this for school. She started working there in high school just to make some extra cash and ended up loving it and changed her degree. As a born and raised local, she loves this park and thinks it’s so important to preserve and educate others about it.