This is the area that we had identified as the new house site. It was a natural clearing, so it wouldn't necessitate cutting a lot of ohi'as. It had a nice southern exposure with an open view of the lot...and it seemed to be pretty level. The next step was "grubbing;" a local term meaning to clear away the vegetation and expose the lava surface. For this, we required slightly larger machinery.
This is an older D-4 Caterpillar arriving under cover of waning twilight. The owner/operator said he "would just take it slow" since no one was sure what lay beneath the uluhe. Stories abound of huge D-9's disappearing into lava tubes.
Here the tractor is breaking through some small ohi'a into the clearing. It's hot, wet, and muddy; but so far, no surprises. We have uncovered a small lava dike that crosses the lot.
This is the result of about six hours work...no large trees felled and no lava tubes. Under only inches of soil, there appears to be a shield of fairly soft lava, but the lot is uneven and sloped and will have to "ripped"...by even bigger equipment.
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