Throwback to ’95

Throwback to ’95

Adventure, affordable, Camping, Conservation, Environment, Hawaii, Hilo, History, Nature, Travel, Traveling, Volcanology
This past week we were given a gift in the form of several photos of Arnott's Lodge and our Mauna Kea tour all the way back from 1995! We want to say a special thank you to Geerten Kalter of Delft, Holland, for sending us his pictures. We have been in operation since 1990 and are so grateful to all the people we've met along the way. Things sure have changed! One of our original tour vehicles. You have to love the old suburban. Traveling to the summit of Mauna Kea. A view of the shadow cast by Mauna Kea The front of Arnott's Lodge. A lot has changed!
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2023 starts with a new Kilauea eruption

2023 starts with a new Kilauea eruption

Adventure, affordable, Budget, Camping, Environment, Environmental, Geology, Hawaii, Hilo, Nature, Outdoors, safety, Travel, Traveling, Volcano, Volcanoes, Volcanology
Aloha to Arnott's Guests and future guests!This is an update to the current status of the Kilauea volcano and its eruption. As of January 10th, 2023, there is a spectacular lake of molten lava with one fountain that varies from a few to 30 feet or more in height (10m +.)The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park staff have have prepared great viewing areas that are very close to the crater and allow spectacular photography. Be aware, however, that the full show does not begin until the sun sets (currently around 6:00 p.m.) and that large crowds and long waits for parking can be expected until about 9:00 p.m. After 9:00 p.m. and until around 4:00 a.m. there are very few people in the park. It can be very cold at that…
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The New Eruption of Mauna Loa

The New Eruption of Mauna Loa

Adventure, affordable, Budget, Conservation, Environment, Environmental, Geology, Hawaii, Hilo, History, Nature, Outdoors, safety, Travel, Traveling, Uncategorized, Volcano, Volcanoes, Volcanology
On the evening of November 27th at 11:30 p.m., we were just getting ready to sleep when social media became alive with news of a lurid glow over Mauna Loa and that an eruption was in progress. This announcement followed months of increased activity after years of mild tremor recorded by sensitive instruments placed at strategic points on the mountain. Of course in a very short time the Internet was flooded with pictures from 360 degrees around the mountain of very strong glow. A quick visit to ever-patient HVO research Webcams on Mauna Loa's NW corner of the Caldera Rim showed the entire Caldera of Moku'aweoweo flooded with very hot fresh Lava, and for a while it seemed like it would spill out the Southwest corner toward a very steep…
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Doug Arnott Discusses our SUNSET and stargazing Mauna Kea tour

Doug Arnott Discusses our SUNSET and stargazing Mauna Kea tour

Adventure, affordable, Budget, COVID, Environment, Environmental, Hawaii, Hilo, Outdoors, Travel, Traveling
Aloha guests and future guests. My Blog today is about our Mauna Kea Summit tour and why some companies advertise the use of expensive telescopes while we use a Laser Pointer, and also why our emphasis is on SUNSET and not so much on stargazing. Most people who go up Mauna Kea, have never experienced anything like this amazing adventure, nor have they experienced the clarity of our atmosphere that has you gasping in wonder with your eyes; not even with binoculars.Many realize for the first time that we are part of a highly visible VAST galaxy that looks like a River of closely associated Stars in their Billions: this is what drove ancient Egyptians to build the Pyramids in perfect alignment with this River.If you want to look through a…
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Doug’s Blog on Visiting the Big Island during COVID

Adventure, affordable, Budget, Business, Camping, Conservation, COVID, distance work, Environment, Environmental, Geology, Hawaii, Hilo, History, Nature, Ocean, Outdoors, safety, Travel, Traveling, Volcano, Volcanoes, Volcanology, Wifi
Aloha All Visitors reading my Blog.The problem for any destination that has a Main Feature is how to draw visitors to come when that feature is not doing its thing.The burning question is whether the destination has other charms for Visitors besides its main feature.Paris without the Eiffel Tower is still amazing Paris, Japan without Mt Fuji is still rich in culture and scenery.Many have visited Italy many times without seeing Rome or the Volcanoes.And so it is with the Big Island, or as our Visitor Bureau likes to call it, "Island of Hawaii".For a start this is a BIG Island with three Huge Mountains: two over 13,000ft above sea level. One is Mauna Kea, which you can drive (4x4) or take a tourto the top, the other is Mauna Loa,…
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Mr. Arnott’s January Blog

Adventure, affordable, Budget, Business, Camping, COVID, distance work, Environment, Hawaii, Hilo, Nature, Ocean, Outdoors, safety, Travel, Traveling, Wifi
Aloha to those joining my blog..... There is a move afoot on Oahu to encourage mainlanders who want to (individually or with family) come to Hawaii for remote work, to fulfill their dream by offering good rates for longer stays into months for qualified applicants.We recently had an experience with 30 college-age students who would have gone on overseas trips but, because of Covid, had to stay in the US. This group stayed with us for 3 months, from Sept. through Nov. last year and taught us a great deal about longer-term stays, which we have never entertained before. One of the things we had to provide was really fast Internet for them, and after a new contract with Spectrum and about $4000 to a local Tech company, we had…
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Hurricane Season in Hawaii

Adventure, Conservation, Environment, Environmental, Nature, Ocean, Outdoors, Travel, Traveling, Uncategorized
Guess what time of year it is! That's right, it's hurricane season in Hawaii! Every year from the beginning of June to the end of November, Hawaii has its eyes on the Pacific Ocean from Mexico to Japan, watching for weather disturbances. The Central Pacific Basin, in which Hawaii squarely sits, is monitored constantly by NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.) Our busiest month for hurricanes is usually August, followed by September. Let's be real: Hawaii is in a blessed spot. Hurricanes rarely strike us directly, and there are some good scientific reasons for this. First, Hawaii is a small target in a big ocean. The Pacific is the largest and deepest ocean on the planet: it covers about 63 million square miles and contains more than half of…
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Hawaiian Terrestrial Life

Conservation, Environment, Environmental, History, Nature, Outdoors, Travel, Traveling
Sitting outside on the lanai, enjoying a cool drink and relaxing sea breeze, listening to the crashing waves in the distance...and then you hear it. This small, two-tone animal call. Most visitors to the Island think it is a small bird….but what bird is awake at night? It is actually a tiny, invasive frog endemic to Puerto Rico; the Coqui Frog. They are only one of the many species that somehow managed to find their way to one of the most remote islands in the world. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450"] The size of an adult coqui frog[/caption] As you travel around this beautiful island of Hawai’i, the diversity of plants and animals across the island is absolutely amazing! However, there is a darkness to that beauty. Much of what is…
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Volcanoes of Hawaii

Environment, Ocean, Uncategorized, Volcano, Volcanoes
In lieu of the most recent fissure eruption in the Puna District of the Island of Hawai‘i, we want to clear up some confusion about our volcanoes. Unlike the rest of the volcanoes that surround the Ring of Fire, the Hawaiian Islands were and still are created by a hotspot magma chamber in the asthenosphere. Over this hotspot, the Pacific Tectonic Plate slowly moves. Due to this type of uprising of magma, our Hawaiian Islands form as shield volcanoes. So what is the big confusion? As most of the world is not familiar with the idea that there are many different types of volcanoes and lava flow events, one of the biggest things has been that many people have thought that the eruptions have been signs that we will be…
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