It's interesting that the post office at Kilauea, a.k.a. Hawaii National Park has a very low zip code (96718) while nearby Volcano Post Office is rather high (96785). If this is chronological, it's interesting. I asked all over the Big Island, including the folks in these two post offices, why the US Postal Service doesn't have a Hawaii National Park stamp available. Shouldn't this be a natural thing? A default stamp and maybe some postcards for visitors and kama‘aina to enjoy sending to friends?
I know there are all kinds of logistics. And should the stamp art be a photo or painting, etc. But between this area and the post offices on the Kona Coast — Honaunau, especially, should have a stamp for the City of Refuge, or Pu‘uhonua O Honaunau National Park — it should be automatic. A win-win for everybody.
But, in lieu of such things, Marvin Gaye is on the envelope. One of my favorite artists of all time. My Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits vinyl album is around somewhere. Got it at Sears in Ala Moana for $4 in the late 1970s. Might have been my best purchase ever.
Getting into Kilauea includes a $25 charge per vehicle, but the Ranger at the entrance was kind enough to let me enter since I was only going to the post office. It had been more than two decades since I visited, so when he said the post office is a mile down the road, I felt a bit lost in the midst of lava and trees. But there it was, a series of military-style wooden structures. I couldn't resist taking photos, thinking of how cold it gets there at night (30-40 degrees in winter time). Also took photos of the structures built with lava rock. This place is timeless, easily could be the same look from 1970 if not for the cars. I didn't have time to check out the store, but the service at the post office was friendly, as it was everywhere on the Big Island.
I remembered the postmaster back in the 1990s, who was a very nice fellow. The PO was actually in a different building, I think, kinda small. I was just amazed back then that there was a post office in the area, but learning about the military presence, it made perfect sense. Today, there aren't a lot of post offices on military property* that are accessible at all, so this was cool.
From here, it was back toward town with a series of stops, and time was of the essence.
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