November 19, 2025
I am noticing more guavas around the property at Holowai. There are more than I can eat.
And, they are good sized also.
The siding on the back wall of the tool shed has been completed and the corner and joint trim has been installed. I feel like it is more of a finished project – except for the doors on the front! The gutter I have installed on the roof at the back is collecting water and it is successfully being filtered via the bucket and barrel system. I have the downspout emptying into a bucket that sits on top of the 40 gallon storage barrel. Then from the bucket, it flows into the barrell. The bucket catches the debris from the roof before it goes into the barrel! A passive filtration system.
Now, I have to figure out how to use this water in the bathroom.
November 20, 2025
I drove in to Kona for some building supplies. I did a little sightseeing as well, and went down to the waterfront.
November 21, 2025
One of the things I went to Kona to get were framing anchor nails! These anchors are called H2.5’s They are hurricane ties. I have the ties, but I did not buy enough nails when I bought the ties. I could buy the nails from the local hardware store for $36.00 per box, or $26.00 at the big box store in Kona! These need to be installed in a difficult to reach place. Basically, I either need a 16 foot tall ladder that I need to fight with on uneven ground, or I hang over from above, trying not to fall off the roof 18 feet above this same uneven, rocky ground! Another example of being like the turtle – slow and steady!
November 24, 2025
Most of the day was spent installing these H2.5 anchors.
I took time out for another coconut break!
November 25, 2026
I received an email from the USGS telling me that it is time for a road trip. So, I head down highway 11 out of Na’alehu.
Past the turn off for Punaluu Black Sand Beach.
To the Volcanoes National Park.
Not too long after I pass the rock sign a the entrance to the park, I can see the volcano spewing smoke and fumes.
From here, I can see just a little bit of the lava spouts coming out of the caldera!
A little further down the road gives me a little better view!
The entrance to the visitor’s center is not as crowded as I expected, and I get right in without much of a wait. My National Park Senior Lifetime pass is helpful!
Just past the guard booth at the entrance off the highway, there is a roundabout. Now I need to make a decision! Which side of the caldera do I want to do? When I as here in August, I went straight ahead. Today, I think I’ll go off to the left!
As I get closer to the overlook, there are cars parked on both sides of the road.
I probably need to be more serious about finding a place to park!
Once I park the car, I join the crowd of people walking down a side road that looks like it has been closed to traffic for quite a while. I can see the glow of the lava up ahead of me on the left. Further on, the road takes a turn to the left, so that the caldera is now on the right.
The clouds and the sky reflect the setting sun as it glows through the stuff tossed up into the air from the volcano. It almost looks like the sky is on fire as well!
Then I see the lava fountain off to my right, through the trees.
Once past the trees, there is an open area with the lava fountain beyond. I head off the road and across a flat, level area, that does not look to be appealing to vegetation as the ground is covered with ash and small chunks of lava from many past eruptions.
But the main attraction is still further down the road.
Most everyone else is continuing on down the road, so I follow!
The Park Rangers have cordoned off an area for the tourists to stay in “not just for your safety, but for the safety of all those around you”!
Most obey, but there are those who take that as a challenge!
And go wandering off to areas that are “unsafe” but offer different views of the eruption!
But not me! I always obey all the rules, and stay behind the barriers!
We are at 4300 foot elevation above sea level, and there is a steady breeze blowing.
It is interesting to observe the different attire of the tourists. Some are wearing long sleeved jackets and coats, while others are in shorts and tee shirts! I guess it’s a matter of prior planning, and the area of the country/world they are from. Those from Minnesota would find this weather as a nice summer day, while those of us from Arizona find it a bit cold!
As I pan the camera (my phone) from the erupting geyser down along the caldera, I see the red hot lava flooding out onto the floor of the crater. There are white/grey clouds of steam and smoke that are comng out of cracks between the rocks. I cannot help but wonder, “What would happen if the volcano were to erupt through all these smoking cracks around us?”
Just a few more videos of the lava.
After the sun goes down, the flowing lava on the caldera floor becomes more visible.
And the clouds above become a glowing mass of red and orange!
This episode – the 37th episode of the current eruption – has been going on since early this morning. Most of the past episodes have lasted abour 12 hours. It is getting close to the time that this one will end as well, and I have a half hour’s walk back to the truck, and an hour’s drive back home. Time for me to be heading out!
As I walk away from the caldera, I can still see it between the trees as I look back.
I get a different view from a different lookout viewpoint closer to the entrance to the visitor center.
Here is a video from this viewpoint:
As I drive along the highway from the park entrance, headed back to Na’alehu, I can still see the clouds and flames of the geyser!
A last video of this roadtrip – but probably not my last video of this volcano!
November 27, 2025
On my lanai (patio/porch) I have a few pots with plants growing in them. One pot has a mango tree that started from a seed I had thrown into the mulch pile. I went to add to the mulch pile and saw the sprouted seed, so I planted it in the pot. This was a few months ago. Now it is almost two feet tall!
In the other pots, I have bell peppers growing from the seeds of bell peppers I have eaten. I put the seeds into one pot before going back to Arizona and when I returned, the pot was very crowded. So, I transplanted the seedlings into four other pots. I had also placed some seeds into a couple of other pots. These have grown to almost two feet tall, and now have blossoms and small peppers growing on them.
Also, the plumeria tree has what appears to me to be the beginnings of flowers!
My neighbors up the road have invited me to share Thanksgiving with them.
November 28, 2025
This morning, the flowers on the plumeria have opened up.
I go back into the pallet disassembly mode.
This is a pile of pallets that I brought back from Kona, the last time I was there!
November 29, 2025
The plumeria flowers are just getting better and better!
As I continue installing roof boards on the roof, I am “painting myself into a corner” so to speak! I have one ladder from the ground to get up on the floor deck. From there, I have another ladder leaning against the outside wall to climb up through the roof to get on top. I can see that one of these times, I will install roof bords so that I cannot get to the ladder to get off the roof. So, I need to make some changes in my methods.
Also, I have worried about the rafter tails being all the same height so that when I cut them off and install the fascia, they will all fit together. I used some 2 x 4’s to check that the short rafters at the corners will lne up correctly. Now would be the time to make any adjustments in the way they are attached to the hip rafter and to the exterior walls.
I am treated to a relatively nice sunset as the sun sets on the other side of the hills.
The roof is looking more finished as I continue installing boards.
The end facing the driveway is completed down to where I can mark the ends of the rafters and cut them all evenly. I’m not sure, exactly, how I’m going to do this yet! As there is nothing for me to stand on, I cannot do it from below, so I will need to do this from above. How do I hang over the edge of the roof and cut the rafter tails without falling off the roof?
I’ll have to think about that some more. But for now, I need to finish the roof sheathing boards on all four sides down to within a foot of the end of the roof. This last foot will give me room to use the skilsaw to cut the rafters – as opposed to a hand saw!
TTFN
TropicalCastaway 