Hawaiian style joke

While hiking on a lava field in Hawai’i I suddenly noticed a road sign:

Not that there is a road at the moment but apparently there once was. It may seem funny now but I am sure that it was no joke when this sign was erected. Roads do get cut off there by lava flows and lava does not show any respect to road signs either.

Here is the end of the Chain of Craters Road in southern Hawai’i not far from the sign. This road once connected southeastern part of the island to southwestern but no longer. The road was cut in 1969 but it was reopened ten years later. However, in 1986 it was covered by lava again and since that time there is no road connection anymore and one needs to drive about 100 miles to go and see the other side of the lava field which is about 10 kilometers wide and comes from the Pu’u O’o vent of the Kilauea volcano.

Why is the road still closed? Because we humans are helpless against mother nature. Kilauea and especially Pu’u O’o vent are very active and would certainly destroy the road very soon. I spent several days on this huge lava field and also saw flowing lava. The landscape is full of fantastic lava forms which I hope to soon demonstrate in another post.