Rumble: You'll Never Guess Where This Is.

I used this picture in a previous post. I gave away it was somewhere in the US, but asked if anyone could guess where... Nobody apparently knew...

Well, it is in Hawaii.. Not the typical Hawaii people normally have in mind.. But it *is* Hawaii. The Big Island actually. An area called Parker Ranch.

So what was I doing on Parker Ranch? Well, not learning to be a cowboy, that is for sure! We once did a humanitarian exercise there. With the heat, the volcanic dust blowing meters high in the air each time you put your foot on the soft soil, it was one of the toughest environments I ever worked in. The fine dust got into everything.
After one week, we retreated in one of the beach hotels for a debriefing of the exercise, and the hotel staff almost expelled us from the premises. We were just too dirty. Clogged up the showers and washing machines!

So now you know. Hawaii has its volcanic deserts too!