Mauna Loa, the highest mountain on the Big Island is erupting, for the first time since the early '80's (don't quote me on this).

I lived on Mauna Loa, at an elevation just below the mountain's snow cap.

I lived there for almost 10 years. It was the most beautiful place I've lived.

The landscape, the views, the occasional very heavy wind, the air quality, and the occasional very heavy rain were the reasons why I liked the place.

But now... I know what spews from these volcanoes, what the gas is comprised of, and how it smells, to say nothing of the destructive power of lava.

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/New...339161?fromLive=true

If you find Paauuilo on the belt road, and you are coming from Hilo, you can take a left and drive up the mountain through a tall pine forrest. Or at least you could as I remember it.

Oh, well.

My wife and I spent time on Hawaii in 1988. Kilauea was doing its thing back then and lava was flowing from the vent below the crater all the way to the sea. One road had been cut by the flow and the state had put up a flimsy barricade. You could see from the barricade to where the lava was flowing into the sea ... about a quarter mile or so over recently cooled flows.

You could see down through cracks in the surface to the still red and flowing lava beneath your feet, about 10 feet below. Lots of people were making the easy walk across the cooled surface out to where the lava was actively flowing into the water. I'm sure it was dumb to go out there, but we were young and adventurous and picked our way out to where everyone else was going. What an amazing sight to watch lava actively pouring from a tube into the ocean. Water and lava makes for an explosive hissing response!

After enjoying the view for a while, we picked our way back to the car and drove over to the black sand beach at Kalapana where the bars were active. What a beautiful spot.

It was destroyed a short while later. The flows widened and took out the whole town and the glorious beach. I understand a new black sand beach is forming, but paradise was indeed lost. Kilauea gobbled it up.