We had the most awesome experience Saturday night. We traveled 13,000 feet to the peak of Mauna Kea. It is a volcanic mountain that formed the island of Hawaii. Actually it is the highest mountain in the world if it is measured from it's base at the bottom of the ocean. At any rate 13000' is higher than I have ever been. We took our trek in a small diesel passenger van with about 15 co passengers and a guide. We stopped at a visitor center at 9000' to eat our dinner and become acclimated to the thin air. The picture of Ken is not so amazing except the clouds you see in the background. I have never eaten above the clouds before, except on an airplane.

Here we are at the top of Mauna Kea. Ken is standing in front of some of the observatories. These are amazing structures and are owned by various governments around the world. We were told that the Japanese telescope has an 8 meter lens that took 3 days to get up the mountain because it was on a specially made transport that would keep the lens perfectly level while it was being carried. Trust me when I tell you that I can't imagine anything being carried up that bumpy lava rock road in a level state! The next picture is of a cinder cone, a mini mountain that is formed by a small eruption in the side of a volcano. These look small in contrast to the mountain of Mauna Kea but they are much higher than anything we have in Illinois.

I am going to have to sign off and enter another blog since it doesn't want to let me put any more picture on this one.