Doc

Dr. J. Philip McLaren

May 17, 1941- February 12, 2014

A man who loved his family, his friends, his God. 

A man that had a wealth of knowledge oozing from his fingertips. 

A man who could make you laugh until you cried. 

A man who would comfort you when you were sad with a great big bear hug and words of encouragement.

 A man who wasn't afraid to knock some sense into you. 

A man who loved nature and adventures. 

A man who loved teaching and loved his students.

A man after God's own heart.

Doc's Rules: 

(1) Eat when you can. 

(2) Sleep when you can. 

(3) Go to the bathroom when you can. 

(4) If you like it, buy it because you might never see it again.

Psalms 107

Doc leading group of HS students from a lagoon tour. South Water Caye, Belize. 2009

Doc always had a supply of chocolate on his trips.

Doc working at the Whaling museum in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Doc in his garden. Merry Mac Farm, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Devotion time. New Zealand, 2007

Moeraki boulders area. New Zealand 2007

Doc talking with the canoe maker. Hawaii, 2007

Standing at the rim of the crater. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. 2007

Pearl Harbor National Monument. Hawaii. 2007

Belize. 2006.

Doc lecturing. South Water Caye, Belize. 2009

Doc with Meagan A. and Melanie A. Hawaii. 2007

The gang. Hawaii. 2008

Doc and bull kelp. New Zealand. 2008.

Whale Watch.

Teaching flora.

Doc following rule #2.

Teaching flora.

A man and his kilt!

Doc following rule #2.

How his office always was no matter the size.

Doc's last address at ENC. Senior chapel.

Days 23 & 24: Goodbye Hawaii

Our last two days in Hawaii. Day 23 was spent enjoying service at the Paradise Park Church of the Nazarene. After the service, we were treated to a lunch on the grounds and then everyone was involved in writing their second essay. Their first essay was written at the military camp a few days before. So for those of us not involved in this aspect, we relaxed until everyone was done. We got back to the camp and did the squaring away of luggage and final check because we would be leaving the next day. Day 24 was just filled with travel. Catching a small flight from Hilo to Honolulu then from Honolulu to Houston and Houston to Boston. Since we would be traveling all day, the students were given their third essay to finish.

As aways, I'm sadden to leave and head back to reality. I've enjoyed the time experiencing God's creation and hanging out with Doc, Twining, and the Everetts. I could have done without some of the childness, shelfishness, and intitledment displayed by some of the college students. Unless they have a trust fund waiting for them or marry someone rich, they will have a rude awaking when they head out into the real world. It always amazes me how people can be so shallow and stupid even when faced with the beauty of the creation. I just want to slap people at times and say "Wake up! Look around you. Experience this! Learn as much as you can because you never know if you will ever get another opportunity like this again!"

So until the next adventure, Mahalo Doc for another awesome trip!

Day 22: Keanakako'i, Napau trail, Helina Pali, Kaupaianaha Lava Shield

We stopped at Keanakako'i, Cave of the adz. The old Hawaiian's use to use the dense basalt to made adz (vertical axe) which was then used to hallow out canoes. The area is a collapsed feature on the NE rift zones.

We then hiked the Napau Trail. We walked along a prehistoric cinder cone callled Pu'u Huluhulu. From the top of the cone you can see Makaopuhi, the largest pit crater which is 1 mile wide and 500 feet deep. You can also see Pu'u'o'o, a fuming cinder cone. Also viewed Mauna Ulu, which erupted between 1969-1974. It produced enough lava to cover 17 sq. miles and some of the lava reached the ocean.

 

We then stopped at Helina Palie, which is a 1500' fault scarp. The by is riding on the headwall of the scarp. The cliff formed due to volcanic eruptions. Lava flows over the palie and speeds up on the way to the ocean and will break up forming skylights along the way. Earthquakes can cause laba benches to drop drastically.

 

After some downtime, we headed out to Kupaianaha Lava shield. Since it was nice time, we were able to see where the lava was flowing due to the skylights along the path. It was interesting to think back that a few days before we were walking right over where this was taking place. After viewing the lava, we enjoyed just looking at the night sky and all the stars that were out and about. While picking out constellations, we were treated to a few meteorids. Hearing the waves crash along the shoreline, the peeping of the tree frogs and smelling the scents of the flowers made for a very relaxing and enjoyable night.

Day 21: Hiking in the National Park

 

After breakfast and a stop at the post office, we headed out to the Jagger Museum before beginning the day of hikes. The first stop was at the Southwest Rift Zone. Here we viewed the crossbedding of ash sediments deposited by wind before walking the crater's edge.

 There have been 17 eruptions and 4 collapses of this crater over time. We were able to see the NeNe while at the crater. The NeNe are extremely rare and were almost driven to extinction but a breeding program is trying to prevent the loss of this bird.

From there we headed to Devestation Trail. The area is close to a climate community. Before the Kileau eruptions, the area was a mature forest. There is evidence of ash along the trail that buried the trees. Runners, small ferns, and ground cover can now be seen along the trail.

We headed to the Thurston Lava tube for lunch then a hike to the mouth of Kileau'iki. The area around the lava tube is a native forest and the rangers have removed non-native species along with erecting a fence to keep out ferral animals. The walls inside the tube are etched with the different lava eruptions and there was some drip marks and fleuting also seen in the wall of the tube.

Hiking in the crater was a lot of fun. There were fummerals and steam vents along the way along with uplifted strata due to the pushing up from the magma below.

 

Day 20: South Point, Punalu'u State Park, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park,

We headed out to the National Park but along the way, we stopped at South Point. South Point is the southern most point in the US. Along the way, there were old windmill farms along with new windmill farms. Since there is a lot of wind velocity off the coast, these farms help to generate electricity for the island. It's also a clean form of energy. Too bad people in Mass. are dead set against have windmills put up in Nantucket Sound. They're too worried about maring the view however it would create a lot of power and could have us not rely on using the power plant or obtaining energy from out-of-state sources. South Point is a great place to view the power of waves eroding the coastline. The volcanic rock is rich in olivine crystals. The crystals form inside the magma chamber slowly. When the magma is brought to the surface, the rock is filled with green crystals.

We stopped at Punalu'u State Park to spot the Pacific Green Turtle. There were are few sunning themselves on the black sand while others were surfing the waves.

After photo ops at the area, we headed on to the National Park.

 

Once we were checked in, we took a walk along the Sulfur Banks Boardwalk. Spied the Lenua Ohea tree which is related to the Rata tree we saw in New Zealand. There were steam vents along the way and we saw sulfur crystals along a scarp. Other minerals like gypsum, opal, and hematite were also found along the scarps. Fummerals were also along the boardwalk. Unlike a steam vent, which is produced when rainwater enters the area, fummerals release not only steam but gases into the area.

From the Sulfur Banks, we headed to the visitor's center to gather more information about the area and to look over the caldera. Watching the sun set capped off another beautiful day on the Big Island.