[Geysers] Giant/Grotto activity, July 1-6

[Tara Cross]

My trip ended up being somewhat backwards when it came to Giant.  Giant erupted on the very first hot period that occurred after my arrival in the park, and then I spent a majority of the back end of my trip watching many hot periods and waiting for an eruption that eventually occurred when I was about 50 miles west of Missoula on my way home (and no, I wasn’t expecting it to erupt so soon, else I would have stayed--proving once again that the geyser will do whatever it wants).
 
Anyway, I was present for a majority of significant events in the Giant/Grotto area between July 2 and noon on July 6.  The following is a summary of that activity.
 
July 1
 
~0730 Grotto marathon (d~14½ hrs) ended
1454 Giant hot period (d=5m05s) Mastiff boiled a bit to a maximum of 3 feet
1727ie Giant hot period (d>5½m) Mastiff to 3 feet, India 70% covered
1956 Giant hot period (d=4m29s) Mastiff light overflow
2012 Grotto Fountain (d=18m) no Grotto
2059ns Giant hot period (d~2½m) 
2218e Grotto (marathon, d~11½ hrs)
 
July 2
 
~1000 Grotto marathon ended
1445 Giant hot period (d=8m37s) Mastiff to 3 feet, India 80% covered
1756 Giant hot period (d=3m39s) Mastiff mostly flat
1954 Giant hot period (d=5m51s) Mastiff to 1 foot
~2130 Giant hot period (missed), India 30% covered 
2204 Grotto Fountain (d=22m) no Grotto
2242 Giant hot period (d~4m45s) Mastiff did not surge
 
July 3
 
0018 Giant hot period (d=2m48s) Mastiff light overflow
0056ie Grotto Fountain
0106 Grotto (marathon, d~11 hours)
0131 Giant hot period (d=4m23s) no Satellite, SW Vents started before Feather
0237 Bathtub; Feather overflowed and SW Vents sputtered
0436 Giant hot period (d=6m26s) Mastiff light overflow
1158ie Rocket major (this apparently caused Grotto to shut off)
~1200 Grotto marathon ended
1604 Giant hot period (d=8m10s) Mastiff to 3 feet, India 70% covered
1901 Giant hot period (d=3m)
2112ie Giant hot period (d>6m) Mastiff 2-3 feet
2230 Giant hot period (d=2m10s)
2341 Giant hot period (d=6m15s) Mastiff did not surge, India 20% covered
 
July 4
 
0041 Giant hot period (d=1m47s) Mastiff light overflow, no Satellite
0128ns Grotto Fountain (d~23m)
0149 Rocket major
0152ie Giant hot period (d~2-3m)
0153 Grotto (d~1h50m electronic)
0259 Giant hot period (d=4m30s) Mastiff light overflow, no Satellite
<break in observations>0659 Giant hot period (d~2m) no Satellite
0813 Bathtub
0905 Giant hot period (d=9m) Mastiff to 5 feet, India 100% covered
1014 Grotto Fountain
1027 Grotto (marathon, d~17½ hrs)
1211ie Giant hot period
1322 Giant hot period (d=3m12s) Mastiff light overflow, no Satellite
1530ie Spa active
 
All but one hot period I saw over the course of July 1 through early morning on July 3 included Feather Satellite, and it started within the first minute of the hot period all but one time.  Cave was did nothing more than bubble lightly.  Quite emphatically, the strongest hot periods were the marathon recovery hot periods, so it seemed to me that the energy was on the north side of the complex.
 
Something seemed to change either late on the 3rd or early on the 4th, as most hot periods after that time did not include Feather Satellite, and the SW Vents sometimes preceded Feather.  The 0905 strong hot period on the 4th showed a definite shift to the South, including strong bubbling from Cave to 6 inches and a reasonably strong restart that lasted 2m15s.  I thought maybe Grotto would have a short eruption and we’d have a chance for Giant in the evening, but instead Grotto went into marathon again.
 
Once again the marathon wasn’t quite long enough to make me feel confident about Giant, but it as the best chance thus far in the interval.  The Hoppes raced to the park to make it in time for the recovery hot period, but alas….
 
July 5
 
~0400 Grotto marathon ended
1133 Giant hot period (d~11m) Mastiff to 6 feet, India 100% covered
1516 Giant hot period (d~4½m) Mastiff to 1-2 feet
1638 Giant hot period (d~7m) India 40% covered
1659 Grotto Fountain (d=36m)
1729 Grotto (marathon, d~13 1/4 hrs)
1746 Giant hot period (d=2m27s)
1925 Giant hot period (d=6m20s) Mastiff to 6 inches, Satellite
 
July 6
 
~0645 Grotto marathon ended
1149 Giant hot period (d=9m50s) Mastiff to 4 feet, Cave to 3 inches, India 95% covered
 
And, at that point, I left.  Having observed the energy shift from North to South, I thought that perhaps Grotto needed to have a couple of short eruptions before Giant would erupt.  I was certainly expecting a strong hot period at the start of the next Grotto, but I was not optimistic for Giant at that time.  So, I was wrong.  Guess I get to store that information away for next time....
 
Thank you to all the gazers who helped keep an eye on Giant/Grotto--I won't list names for fear of forgetting somebody.
 
--Tara Cross
fanandmortar at hotmail.com
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