Kilauea erupted on January 5, 2023. This was the same day I took Dad to the ER in Miller. Two unimaginable events: my Dad in a hospital bed and a volcanic eruption 30 minutes from my house in Hawaii. Yet, ordinary events: a man in a hospital bed and an active volcano erupts.
Not Jersey and I drove up to Volcanoes National Park on Jan. 23. The volcano had been erupting nearly three weeks, so some of the visitor traffic had slowed down. We had no problem finding parking at the visitor's center.
Although there were still hundreds of people in the park, we walked down the sidewalk to Volcano House alone. The sky shone orange through the 'Ohi'a trees.
We walked up to the rock wall. Across the park the lava lake glowed bright. Everyone stood quietly.
Not Jersey set up his tripod to take video and pictures. I tucked into my jacket and walked up and down the viewing area looking for the best place to take pictures from my iPhone. When I got bored of watching the lava, I watched the people. I looked up at the stars.
After a while we drove down to Kilauea overlook. Usually eruptions become less dramatic as time passes, but the lava was still quite vibrant. We went up to the viewing area and waited until there was space up near the railing. Below the lava steamed and spluttered.
It is really incredible to see an active eruption. Dad would love this, I think. He would be explaining the science of it all. I'd ask a question and he would shake his head and say, "I taught you that in junior high science."
I take a breath. My head tips back. Tears fall. I will never disappoint Dad by not remembering everything from junior high science again. We will never watch an eruption together. Even though he is not really gone, he's not here. Maybe he is the lava, the stars, the trees or the air. Maybe he's a little bit of all those things.
Not Jersey and I walked back to the car. We agreed that it is another beautiful eruption. We headed back to Hilo.
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