Mother nature spoils Pele's show

View from room, Volcano House
Originally uploaded by siegel_jackie.

In order to take advantage of all the Volcanoes National Park we booked one night at the Volcano House and paid extra for a deluxe crater view room.

When we arrived it was raining steadily, creating a mist and fog that pretty much obscured the crater. We headed out to all the open look-out areas (a large portion of the Crater Rim Drive is closed due to activity at the Halemaumau crater.) At times the sky would clear but by the time we got back to our room the sky had misted up again.

After a decent night's sleep I looked out the window at about 5:45 a.m., the sun was rising behind us and the crater view was stunning. Within 10 minutes though the rain started and the view was obscured yet again. Almost missed getting a shot because the XO laptop takes so long to boot. My regular camera doesn't like taking pictures through glass.

If staying at Volcano House, our recommendation is to bring food along for dinner or leave the park. Dinner at the Volcano House restaurant was atrocious and very expensive.