Volcanoes National Park Holo Holo

We spent two days camping at VNP. Memo to self: don't camp on the weekends when school is out. A bit noisy and crowded, but we made do.

We took a ride up to the Mauna Loa lookout (about 6200 feet), thinking we were going to see the summit of Mauna Loa.

But, the lookout was to Kilauea. Still, a nice drive and all.

 Saw of few of these: Gray Francolin. Not too afraid of humans.

 Hidden on the slopes of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea are the silver sword plants. Extremely rare, they live 10-35 years, then flower and die.

 This plant is about 5 feet tall. There were numerous silver swords in the area, marked to keep people away from the fragile plants.

I don't know what this is, but it is scattered along the road edge and very pretty. Looks like some kind of poppy. If you know, let me know.

Peace my friends!