[Geysers] positive news: Geyser gazing in Yellowstone

[V]

August 6th 2006

Geyser gazing in Yellowstone
By Tammy Walquist
Deseret Morning News


YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — When Ralph and Donna Friz 
came to Yellowstone National Park in 1949, their purpose was 
to work in the Hamilton Store near Old Faithful Lodge.

Grand Geyser is the largest predictable geyser in the world, 
erupting from 150 to 200 feet high.

This lasted until 1951 when something else started drawing 
the Ogden couple back to the park each year: geyser gazing.

"(I love) the variety of being outdoors and the beauty everywhere," 
Ralph Friz said. "I'm fascinated with something coming up 
from the depths of the Earth and going 75-200 feet in the air."

Donna Friz agrees. "(I like) the unpredictability. You learn 
patience because you don't know exactly when (the geysers) 
are going to erupt," she said.

Over the past 50 years, the Frizes have become two of the 
park's "geyser gazers," people who become fascinated with 
geysers and come back to the park for a certain period of 
time every year to spend hours, days, sometimes weeks or 
even months observing the park's geysers to discover patterns 
and characteristics of the ever-changing systems. Gazers 
sometimes spend an entire day sitting beside a single geyser 
waiting for an eruption or observing it after a sudden period 
of activity.

The geyser gazer community is a collection of people from all
 walks of life who share a passion for geysers. Gazers come 
from all over the United States and the world. The only 
qualification to become a geyser gazer is an interest in 
geysers, said Ralph Taylor, president of the Geyser 
Observation and Study Organization.

Many gazers spend their days at Upper Geyser Basin, which has 
Yellowstone's largest collection of predictable geysers, 
including Old Faithful, many of which erupt daily or several 
times daily. Members of the geyser-gazer community share 
observations with the National Park Service through radios, 
which they use to report eruption times and other details 
that the park staff may not have sufficient time to watch.

Geyser gazers wait for an eruption of Giant Geyser.
This year, gazers' information is especially important because 
the new Visitor Education Center is under construction, and 
the location of the temporary quarters is such that staff can't 
see the geysers, not even Old Faithful. The geyser-gazer 
presence adds a collection of anywhere from two to two 
dozen knowledgeable observers to provide reliable information 
for the Park Service to answer visitor questions and predict 
some of the geysers, Taylor said.

Kitt Barger of Worland, Wyo., was inspired to become a geyser 
gazer after seeing a group of gazers waiting for Giant Geyser 
during an active period in 1997. Giant Geyser, in the Upper 
Geyser Basin, is highly unpredictable and has infrequent 
periods of activity. The geyser does an impressive eruption, 
shooting 200-250 feet into the air. Those who get to see a 
full eruption are considered lucky, Barger said.

"I thought other people are waiting to see Giant, and I wanted 
to see it myself," she said.

Since then, Barger has spent at least a portion of every summer
in the park and comes on long weekends during the school year. 
Normally she spends the entire month of July and part of 
August in the park. This year she has to go home earlier 
because the school where she works as a teacher's assistant 
is starting on Aug. 7.

Barger's favorite geyser in the park is Beehive Geyser. It's a 
cone geyser about 4 feet tall, located on Geyser Hill in Upper 
Geyser Basin. When it erupts, it sends a stream of water 150-200 
feet into the air and is accompanied by a roaring noise. Intervals 
are irregular and impossible to predict, but in the past have 
ranged from every 16 to 20 hours to once every several days. 
This year Beehive has been erupting once a day between 9 
and 11 a.m., according to Barger.

Most days when Barger is gazing she goes into the geyser 
basin around 7 a.m. and doesn't leave until 9 p.m. She packs 
breakfast, lunch and dinner in her backpack, as well as rain 
gear. Many gazers, like Barger, are identifiable by backpacks, 
floppy hats to keep off the sun, notebooks to record geyser-
eruption times and radios to keep in touch with what is 
happening in the area, Taylor said.

"Some of us make serious studies of geysers, some enjoy the 
aesthetic beauty of a sparkling column of water against a clear 
blue sky (and) some like the social aspect of geyser gazing," 
Taylor said.

The family-like atmosphere among the gazers is part of what 
draws Barger back.

"You get this family of gazers," she said. "The camaraderie with 
the gazers (makes visiting the park) like a family reunion."

The Frizes agree, pointing out that at any time they come to the 
park, they have a group of around 30 people they already know.

"Some of our closest friends are gazers," Donna said.

Many of the gazers belong to the Geyser Observation Study 
Association, a not-for-profit scientific organization. Its purpose 
is the collection and dissemination of information about geysers 
and other geothermal phenomena in Yellowstone National Park 
and elsewhere. Information about geyser eruptions, intervals 
and monitoring can be found on GOSA's Web site at 
http://www.geyserstudy.org
Other gazers are not affiliated with GOSA but visit Yellowstone 
frequently and love the geysers.

Greg Gushwa, a high school government teacher from San 
Diego, says even after 10 years of geyser gazing, he can't get 
enough of them.

"I got hooked on the geysers and find them so fascinating that 
I never get tired of looking at them," he said. "I came into the 
park and really enjoyed the (other gazers). I'm really close 
friends with a lot of them."

Great Fountain Geyser is on one-way Firehole Lake Drive, 
about eight miles north of Old Faithful. It is the only predictable 
geyser in the park you can drive to and watch from the comfort 
of your car. Eruption times are posted at the Old Faithful visitors 
center.

One of the most memorable moments of gazing in the park for 
the Frizes was seeing a major eruption of Steamboat Geyser in 
1991. Steamboat, located at Norris Geyser Basin, is the largest 
active geyser in the world. It sprays water 300 feet into the air, 
and eruptions are rare. The Frizes had parked their camper at 
Norris, because it was allowed that summer, and around 11 p.m. 
they saw the geyser's show. Their camper got sprayed with water 
from the geyser.

Geyser water at Norris Basin is full of silica, which bonds with 
the glass and becomes impossible to remove if it's not wiped 
off immediately. The Frizes' camper still has water spots from 
Steamboat's eruption, but they say it's worth it.

Ralph and Donna said they come to the park over long weekends 
and during the summer. They have become such frequent visitors 
that they bought a house in West Yellowstone and are considering 
living there once Ralph retires from his job as the medical director 
at the McKay-Dee Surgical Center in Ogden.

They like the opportunity gazing gives them to see something out 
of the ordinary.

"It's interesting to see unusual and unexpected things," Donna said.
 
The Frizes said some couples have even met each other while 
gazing and are in turn introducing a second generation to it 
now by bringing their children. One couple was married at 
Riverside Geyser and others have been married in Old Faithful 
Lodge.

Gushwa, the Frizes and Barger all agree geyser gazing is more than 
a hobby, and they don't have plans to stop any time soon.

"It's an addiction," Barger said. "It's a constant learning process."

Link to the story
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,640199234,00.html


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