[Geysers] Giant 7/6/07 1949 (Stephens)

[Bruce Jensen]

Hi - just back from Yellowstone.  A very nice report, Lynn, thank you. 
Nicholas and I were incredibly thrilled to be there for our first Giant,
and are grateful to you and many others for helping along these
wet-behind-the-ears rookie gazers to see it.  Waiting for it for three
days was an incredible experience in itself, and we met many really nice
folks for the first time.

It certainly was the tallest and most powerful eruption of anything we had
ever seen.  It clearly beat Grand, Beehive and Old Faithful, and seemed
taller than any Great Fountain we had ever seen.  It lasted long enough so
that my wife, who had been talking with Rhonda way up at Plume, was able
to get down and see it still at substantial height.  What an amazing
geyser it is!

Being still denizens of the dark ages, we have only a film camera, and so
we wait for the pix to be developed.  As soon as we have them, I will post
a few of the better Giant shots here.

Bruce Jensen
************


--- Lynn Stephens <lstephens2006 at hotmail.com> wrote:

> 
> This message is for the personal use of the readers of this listserv and
> is not to be reproduced for any other purpose, including publication in
> The Sput.
>  
> Giant erupted 7/6/07 1949, Giant or Normal Function.
>  
> As Scott posted in his report the recovery hot period was at 11:49.  I
> left the Upper Basin for awhile, so may have missed some hot periods
> while I was out.
>  
> Once I returned, I heard a Giant hot period at 16:58, duration 5m45s,
> with Feather Satellite.  I was working in the Geology Office when I
> heard another Giant hot period called at 18:16, but I didn't hear the
> details on that hot period.
>  
> Kitt Barger called Grotto Fountain at 19:15.  At 19:33 she started to
> call Grotto, but then said "Not yet."  Warren Hoppe started calling the
> Giant hot period at 1936 with Feather Satellite.  Warren indicated there
> was about a 3 foot surge from Mastiff before Feather started.  Mastiff
> had some boiling and small surges, was going up and down, etc., as
> Warren was reporting on the radio.  I had been at the parking lot, got
> on my bike about four minutes into the hot period, leaving everything
> except my radio, pen, book, and keys in the pickup.  When Warren
> reported that Mastiff had dropped out of sight but Feather and Feather
> Satellite were still on, I picked up the pace.  Kitt called a Rocket
> major at 19:41.  At that point there was some confusion about
> transmissions so the Visitor Center asked if Giant erupted at 19:41. 
> Kitt replied that it was Rocket at 19:41 but a Giant hot period was in
> progress.
>  
> At 1947, Rocket was still ie, Grotto had not started, and the water in
> the GIP had dropped out of sight.  Kitt noticed Cave erupting to 1 feet,
> but was on channel 5 with Donnie, so I don't believe Cave got announced
> on channel 4.
>  
> As I parked the bike at Grotto and started running toward Giant, some
> visitors tried to ask me why I was running in that direction.  I yelled
> over my shoulder that Giant might erupt.  They said, "What?"  I yelled
> back again that Giant could erupt.  They asked "Which geyser?" at which
> point I yelled, "Giant could" one more time and just kept scurrying.
>  
> Giant gave a massive surge late in the minute of 1948 but Kitt and I had
> it locked at 19:49:02 per our atomic watches and Warren agreed.
>  
> Bruce Jensen and his son Nickolas were at Rocket with Kitt so they got
> to see their first Giant start.  Pat Hoppe also got to see her first
> start.  I think Kitt, the Jensens, Pat and Warren, and I were the only
> gazers at Giant for the start because most of the gazers had gone in for
> the evening and/or for dinner.  The gazers who saw the start from the
> balcony of the Inn said the water column was immense.  It looked huge
> for our vantage point also, although no one had an inclinometer to
> measure it.  It certainly seemed taller than the last eruption.
>  
> Grotto started sometime after 1947 and before 2007.  There was a rainbow
> in the eruption.  People in the cage (all visitors although Kitt also
> got her Giant shower) got several cold showers.  Earlier in the morning
> or afternoon a geyser shower would have been nice, but temperatures had
> cooled off this evening.
>  
> Duration for Giant per Kitt was 103 minutes.  (I left because the sky
> was getting ominous and we had at least one flash of lightening.)
>  
> During the recovery hot period somone pointed out coins in Giant's
> runoff channel.  I said I would tell Ralph and Dick.  I don't think they
> have to worry about retrieving them now.  The Giant sign was washed
> almost to the first bend in the runoff--the farthest I've seen it washed
> for the last several eruptions I've seen, but I haven't seen many
> eruptions yet this year.
>  
> During the eruption we were also treated to the sight of an osprey
> flying around and even landing in a tree for awhile, and the great blue
> heron flying north out of the basin.
>  
> Now everyone is free for a few days to do other things without worrying
> about missing Giant!
>  
> Lynn Stephens
>  
>  
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