On Mother’s Day weekend, we went up Mauna Kea. We had been wanting to go up there since we moved here.
For those that don’t know, Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano and the largest mountain on earth when measured from the sea floor. Its home to the largest observatories in the world and stands 13, 796′ above sea level.
We first drove to the Visitor’s Center at 9000′ to acclimate. Then we headed up for the summit. As we left the visitor’s center, we saw a couple of hitchhikers so we picked them up and took them to the summit with us.
It was really cloudy so we didn’t get a great view of the island or get to see the sun set over the ocean, but we did watch the sun set over the clouds.
Afterwards, we went back to the Visitor’s Center where they had telescopes set up and U of H astronomy students explaining things. We got to see Saturn up closer via the telescope and a galaxy and other close-ups of stars and planets.
Overall, a very cool experience. We want to go back sometime when its more clear and also in the winter so we can play in the snow.
Mauna Loa
