When you get to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hilo, you can drive around and split your attention on a wide variety of craters, lava rocks and, these days, the bubbling, live volcano that’s the center of attention.

Planning our route.

A stop at the Visitors Center and Scott’s advice helped us plan our agenda.

Big hole.

This crater is, of course, dormant. That’s a big, beautiful bed.

Hospitable lot.

The parking lot provided home to big birds that happened to be the Hawaiian state’s adopted favorite.

No-No.

We did not feed the Ne-Nes.

The sign says it.

We did, however, fork off onto the trail labeled “Devastation.”

Burned, baby.

It was easy to see how hot lava had carved its history on the terrain in a previous carnation.

The white tree trunk lying on the dark bed of rock talks to me. And yet green life fights to make its mark, too.

Tomorrow: Walking on the lava bed