Last year Eric, David and I did the ‘Jungle Hike’ – and I wrote a whole blog about it – on February 8, 2015, here’s the link to that blog post if you want to learn all about our trip last year. What gave us bragging rights is that we walked through the original gate to Jurassic Park. I’ve the photos to prove it! Here’s the Gate (in case you did’t see last year’s blog). Just the posts are still standing:
Jurassic Park Gate
Here’s Eric and David walking through the gate:
Proof that we entered Jurassic Park
Well, it’s a super ordeal getting there – heading inland from Wailua on 580 you drive several miles on this rutty dirt road dodging all manner of puddles, ruts, pot holes, ditches, and exposed boulders. We drove through a pond last year, after David got out, waded in it to make sure our vehicle could clear it. (I posted a photo of David knee-deep in the murky pond.)
But, hey, the weather is drier this year. and David rented a bigger SUV. ‘Let’s do it again this year!’ Eric pressures us. ‘Victor, you and Steph have to see the gate to Jurassic Park!’
So, this year, on Sunday January 10, we all pile in the SUV – drive down the east coast of Kauai to Wailua – enter Wailua River State Park. Cross two spillways. Drive on that dirt road again – Kuamoo Road. The road has clearly deteriorated since last year. The potholes are wider, protruding boulders bigger, and deep dry ditches traverse the road. David finally pulls over. “Let’s walk from here…”
A couple in a Jeep roll by – they had 4-wheel drive. A few minutes later here they come back – the road was too rough – only passable by ATV or motorbike. Dang it! We walked the last few hundred feet to the pond we drove through last year – and turned around and returned to the SUV.
I snapped one picture only (hey, I couldn’t sit still enough to take a photo in the bouncing SUV). When we got back to the SUV I turned around and took this photo of the impassable road that leads to Jurassic Park. Hey, wait a minute. Do you see what I see? A vortex.
Kuamoo road swallowed by a vortex?
It appears Kuamoo Road has been sucked into a vortex. Could this be the real reason why it’s impassable? This could also explain the origins of Eric’s shirt that he wore yesterday – you know, the crazed kitty fluorescent psycho vortex shirt. The vortex sucked Kuamoo Road in and in so doing, blew Eric’s shirt out.
It’s just a theory. How else could you explain the origins of such an indisputably hideous shirt?
Well, I think everyone should be able to get to the Jurassic Park Gate. Last year I found this youtube video of the Jungle drive/hike through the Jurassic Park Gate. Someone videotaped the whole drive on Kuamoo Road through the Gate and beyond. They filmed it on February 5, 2012 – 4 years ago, when the road was in much better shape (and obviously before the vortex). I posted it on my blog last year, and will do so again now because it’s really cool (and the Hawaiian music really helps relax you and take your mind off your body being tossed around like a rag doll as you drive).
You can fast forward the video – at the 2:15- minute place you will get to the pond we drove through last year but turned around at this year. You will go through the Jurassic Gate at 5:09 minutes.
Well, that about wraps up this blog. I don’t want to start wandering around now worried about vortexes, well, okay ‘vortices’ around any next corner, waiting to suck me in. Although it might help explain those driving situations like today where I hit every light red through the downtown and progressed toward home so slowly it actually felt like I was driving backwards.
Tags: Jurassic Park Gate, Kauai, Kuamoo Rd- (580), Wailua River State Park
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