So we stood there at the overlook gazing into the distance and into Halema‘uma‘u crater, Pele’s home.
The sky was blue. White clouds went by. We could see to the horizon from where we stood. Steam and smoke and volcanic vapors rose into the sky and caught the wind.
We stood there for a while viewing the land, but we still had a half-hour drive down to Hilo. So soon it was time to go.
“Wait,” I said. “Let’s go across the street and take some more pictures of Mauna Kea.”
“Sure!” Trudy said. Somehow it wasn’t surprising that she was willing to stay just a little bit longer.
There was a four wheel drive vehicle stopped at a locked barrier crossing the road not far from where we had parked. A woman got out, unlocked the gate and drove the vehicle thru, getting out again to lock the gate behind her. She drove away, disappearing around a bend in the road beyond a cluster of trees.
One sign on the gate said Road Closed. Another said Slow moving vehicle. Measurements in progress.
Trudy looked at me with a pensive look on her face.
“In a different life,” she said, “that might have been me.”