Potential restrictions to Mauna Kea access

[Justin]

I was up at the Visitor's Center this morning, around 10am, and at least then it was pretty chill. There were about 8-10 cars parked in front of the protestor's dwelling (not quite sure what to call it), and I saw 1-2 of them milling around, but nothing official going on.

I gotta say, I feel a little bad for some of the tourists. This plainly isn't their home and doesn't impact where they live, but it does impact their travel plans. My guess is that - outside of Hawaii itself - this story is not getting much national (let alone international) news, and I saw many people come up to the Visitor's Center, see it was closed (including the parking lot), and then turn around. It kind of reminded me of the Griswold's finding out that Wally World was closed.

Trying to put myself in their shoes, it would be like if I traveled to Paris to find out that the Eiffel Tower was closed because of protestors. I might be a little interested in what they were protesting, but mainly I'd be pissed that I'd traveled so far only to have my travel plans thwarted. I had this happen once at Iguazu Falls in Argentina, and I was livid - I didn't care what the protest was about or why people were protesting, I just knew that I'd planned my trip a year in advance and couldn't see what I wanted to see, wasting my hard-earned money.

So, whether or not TMT eventually goes forward, or whether or not this makes a dent in the sovereignty movement, I really hope that the two sides can quickly get to the point where the Mountain and Visitor Center are open to all. Because on days like today, with gorgeous weather and outstanding views, make Mauna Kea one of the most incredible places on Earth to visit and enjoy.