Where the Royal Gardens subdivision used to be a year ago, there's now a black cracked field of lava. Some people still live out there, however, and we even saw a new building being constructed towards the ocean. "They think that because the flow came down here already," said the Parks Service volunteer, "it won't come this way again." But the residents are hoping for the best, and like the plants are springing up again wherever they can take root.
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Although there was a group of guys who led lava-viewing tours waiting for customers in the parking lot, it's a two-mile trip out over very rough ground to get close enough to see the lava as it flows slowly down the hills. Though this is a better option than the five-mile trip out from the other end of the flow field, we didn't go for it, and just looked at the wisps of smoke and steam in the distance.
And we didn't wait for it to get dark enough to see the dim red glow because we were hungry, and it had already been a long day of driving and walking and driving and swimming and driving some more. My close encounter with lava will have to be postponed for another visit.
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