As of this writing, there are four ways to see new flowing lava on the big island of Hawaii. The most expensive way is by helicopter, but definitely the best... getting a ring-side seat as you hover and you fire away with your camera. Still expensive, there's also boat access, which also gives you a ring-side seat of the lava flowing down the hillside and into the sea, where it cools and increases the size of the island. But you have to show up before dawn or after sunset to get the red, molten rock thing. Then there's the guided hike (5-6 miles one way) for about $150 per person. The start of this hike was where we drove to that day.

The road I'm referring to is located near the eastern-most district of the island, Puna (a district is like a county in other states). Take Highway 19 south from Hilo, then 130 until it junctions with 137 at Kalapana on the coast... well, before Kalapana (and the road that connected with the Chain of Craters road into Volcanoes National Park) was overwhelmed by lava in 1990. Anyway, the current flow of lava (in the daytime) could only be seen as smoke as it burned its way through the landscape to the sea from six miles away... as close as we would get to the current flow of lava.

But, hey, we did see some cool stuff. Stuff like the best viewing and photographing of the crashing ocean we'd seen so far. Blue and white, frothing and curling waves swelling and slapping in an impressive explosion of sight and sound against the volcanic cliffs and rock-strewn beaches of Puna.

Let's see... the roads through this part of the island are narrow, but take you through some very picturesque, rain forest corridors. We saw some very high-end, gated estates to either side. We stopped and parked outside a gated community, where we were allowed to pass and hike to a popular and exclusive, coastal access. Many of the homes in this community have ponds in their yards that are fed directly from the ocean.

And I've got to mention "The Hot Dog Guy". We knew of him because he was mentioned in the guide book. Just a basic hot dog stand at a junction in the road. Peggy had one beef hot dog; I had two. He told us that he had only recently heard that he was mentioned in guide books from customers. He's only resided in Hawaii for two years, having moved from Alaska... his connection for other items on the menu: reindeer and elk dogs...