Volcanic Emissions

The drive to the volcano was long and slow. I got really car sick, so Jerry let me drive which freed up all his energy for complaining about what a waste of time going to look at some steaming LAY-vah hole is.

When we got there we learned that some roads were closed due to abnormally high sulfur-dioxide emissions but that if we rolled up the windows and turned the a/c on recycled air, that we could drive through those places. We had a picnic at the visitor's center and then drove off on the 11-mile loop around the crater. It was pretty spectacular to see from up top, much bigger than I imagined and there were steam vents everywhere. It looked prehistoric and smelled even worse.

We were turned back about 10 minutes along the route due to the roads now being closed. Apparently, the emissions had got worse. We looped back the other way to see what we could before heading home. At one of the lookouts, there was a sign warning children and pregnant ladies not to go any further, so I stayed in the car while the others held their noses and explored.
All of us got a little congested and my throat was a little sore. The fumes were very uncomfortable.

The final stop was the Thurston Lava Tube, which was a tunnel formed by a lava flow 550 years ago. It was about 15 feet in diameter and now surrounded by rain forest. It was the highlight for me. A 20 minute walk down to it and through was well worth it and the highlight of the trip for me.