Stargazing on Mauna Kea
Jan. 13th, 2013 09:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Yesterday we went to the summit of Mauna Kea! Again we went in a van with other people and guides (you have to have 4 wheel drive to go up there). I was kinda nervous about the altitude since it's 13,803 feet. We had dinner at 7,000 feet so we could acclimate. There were other buses there and there was a couple from Fairbanks and another guy from Anchorage!! Awesomee haha..maybe I'll see them in Fred Meyer one day. :P As we were driving up it was foggy but once we got high enough we got out of the clouds. As we drove up the guide pointed out the TERMINAL MORAINE of a glacier that used to be on the volcano!! There was even PERMAFROST up there..OMG haha. We got up on the summit in time to see the sunset..nicee. The altitude made me feel WEIRD..like my eyes couldn't focus and I just felt..woozy or something. If I moved my head too fast it would just hurt. Weirdd. There are a bunch of telescopes up there..pretty cool. After the sun set we went down to 11,000 feet to stargaze! Mauna Kea is one of the best places to stargaze..there's less atmosphere, it's dark, the airflow is stable, etc. There were definitely a ton of stars! The sky just seemed to shimmer. I saw the Milky Way too! The guides pointed out constellations and told us the mythology behind them. We also saw Jupiter! Way cool. Now the stars at sea level just look washed out and blah haha. Eventually clouds started moving it so we went to check out the visitor's center at 9,000 feet. You could actually see the summit eruption of Kilauea from there!! SO awesome..it actually got pretty bright for awhile. I later read the lava had risen and overflowed the inner ledge of the caldera. Omggg..that is SUPER awesome and exciting!! After that we just drove back to the hotel..I had a headache from the altitude..ouch. It was interesting though
Today we went down to Kona and went shopping. Ryan spent over $200 on clothes at Macy's! Eesh..that store is super expensive. D: PJs for $50?! Yeah, no way. We also went over to Kmart..pants for $8, that's more like it. :P We ate dinner and looked around in more shops and now we're back at the hotel. Time to relax!
Today we went down to Kona and went shopping. Ryan spent over $200 on clothes at Macy's! Eesh..that store is super expensive. D: PJs for $50?! Yeah, no way. We also went over to Kmart..pants for $8, that's more like it. :P We ate dinner and looked around in more shops and now we're back at the hotel. Time to relax!