the GPS division is not only the most fun/coolest/best/most wonderful division ever, but on top of that they take all the graduating students each year on an educational trip to hawaii!!! it was some serious icing on the cake.
the geology girls reunited!!! we missed amy this past year!
hawaii has breathtaking waterfalls
and beautiful beaches that make a happy elise!
and really cool trees for little girls to sit on
i like the trees. :)
another day we hiked out to an active flow on Kilauea. here we're standing on the volcanic bench, a thin layer of basaltic crust that cools just past the sea cliff. its a really dumb idea to stand on benches because they're unstable and fall into the ocean regularly. we couldn't resist though, because we got to see red hot lava flowing into the ocean.
as the sun set, we began the hike back, and fortunately ran into pahoehoe on the surface
...it was amazing!!!
after a quick check to make sure none of the park rangers were around, our fearless leader broke out the pipe to conduct some "viscosity experiments" on the lava.
it was so viscous (and hot!!), it felt like taffy!
proudly displaying the day's catch
yeah! ---and nice lavender pants, jason! :)
kim and i were weak in the knees for this new rock! kim loves lava so much that after poking it she decided that when she dies she wants her body to be thrown into an active flow.
after our astute professors made sure it was safe, we all got a chance to poke the lava
this was the culmination of my education thusfar.
aw yeah
lava is the coolest substance ever
seriously, ever
elise shows off her *red hot lava*!!!!!
we also did a lot of hiking around the big island. here's an old lava tube.
and a beautiful rainbow in halemaumau crater
one day we drove all the way up mauna kea to visit the keck telescopes
it was a long way up
and the summit was phenomenal
omigod! the twin domes! being the supernerdy kid that i was, my favorite magazine in 8th grad was sky&telescope. going to keck was like one of my childhood dreams fulfilled. i was overwhelmed.
inside there's a long hallway/tunnel connecting the two telescopes. at one end is keck I.
and at the other end is the big imposing door of keck II.
... the spare segments (two of each kind) are kept in the mirror barn!
behind me is a freshly aluminized mirror in the aluminizing room
we visited both domes. here's the gang from the car in front of keck I.
i'm the tiny little ant person at the bottom in between the two scopes. :) yay!
on the drive down we enjoyed the signs.... it is so windy up there that all the signs are made of swiss cheese to keep them from being blown over!
i love hawaii!
i love hawaii!
i love hawaii!
thank you GPS for my excellent education! also elise, kim, and i stayed a few days after everyone else left to go snorkeling and hike to a green sand beach. --it was really exciting too, but sadly, i don't have any pictures because my camera got wet and decided to be tempermental. as soon as i can get some from someone else, i'll post 'em.