A beautiful mistake

I am starting off my Hawaii posts with one of the biggest mistakes we made on our trip.  There is a free star gazing program at the summit of Mauna Kea, the volcano.  I thought it was Mauna Loa, by the time we realized I made a wrong turn and we were on the wrong road, we decided to stick with our adjusted plans and soldier on.  First thing that should have told me we were not on the right path of a tourist trap was that we were on a one lane road surrounded by red lava which looked something like the surface of Mars, if I had to guess.  So we continued about 12 miles through this windy desolate path, which we were the only ones on.  The other car that made the same mistake as us, gave up and turned around.  So we are taking our time, driving through and we get to the 'public parking lot'.  It has about 6 spots, one is taken.  We decide since there is a parking lot, we get to stay.  This is where we realize this might not be to bad.  First, the kids could go exploring on the lava rocks.  Second, it gets cold at 11,000 feet (we were 2000 feet higher then the other point), so instead of dealing with cold kids for an hour or so, they were able to get in and out of the car and warm up, making it more enjoyable for the kids.  Lastly, no crowds.  The other site cuts off its admission at 150 cars!  There were 3 cars where we were, so we didn't have to fight the crowds to get a good picture. So we were able to see the sunset at 11,000 feet, above the lowest level of clouds and watch the stars come out and the full moon rise!   The cameras didn't pick up the clouds.  One other cool thing on this mountain--there was a weather station up there, so at one point, an employee comes driving through and turns on a laser---one that shoots up into the sky to measure atmospheric pressure and other things that it does.  So we were somewhat entertained by the fact that we were on a volcano, with a laser on an island which probably  had sharks swimming around like Dr. Evil!  (we had a combined total of 6 cameras 4 point and shoot and 2 cell phones, these are pictures from most at least 3 of them).

 The horizon is clouds...not water.

The volcano we should have been on.