Prelude: another stupid houli-boy adventure
I lived in Hawaii during the late '80s & early '90s. My job, then, allowed my frequent visiting of all of the islands.
One job sent me to the big island for several days. From the start, I busted my but to free up some part of my final day there. I passionately wanted to see actual lava flowing out of Kiluea.
On that last day, with only 3 hours to spare, I jumped in my rental car and hauled-ass, off to find that lava. Without a second thought....like an idiot, I headed straight to the volcanoes summit. By the time I got there, it was dark(& damn cold). I was increasingly anxious to find that damned lava!
Coming around a turn, I spied far down through the jungle, the glimmering orange glow of what must, of course, be the lava. Hazaah!! I parked, & ran down some forest trail, in the pitch black of how night is on the summit.
It was not the glow of lava, as I had been so sure of. What I found was an ancient, fairly large & lengthy, lava tube. It had been strung with mercury-vapor lights for the tourists.
Although it took little more than ten minutes for me to reach 'the orange glow'; it was more than two hours of wandering the black jungle before I found my car again. It did give me time to think, though.
I remembered that I already knew that lava flows, except during full-blown volcanic erruptions, never surface at the actual crater. They always first reach the surface several miles distant, down the hill from, the volcanoe summit. In this case, I missed by more than 30 miles.
If it hadn't been for damn near freezing to death, I probably would have felt a bit embarrassed.
I was very happy to move to Hawaii. I was also very happy to move away.