[Geysers] Trip report October 22-24 and 10/29 - 11/2

[Lynn Stephens]

With short days and daily commutes to and from West Yellowstone, I don't have a lot of information, but here are a few items from my late October trips.
 
Till is still having intervals in the 9 to 9-1/2 hour range.
 
Flood intervals have shortened compared the extremely long intervals this summer, but the one closed interval I recorded was about 1-1/4 hours between two about 5 minute duration eruptions was still longer than in prior years.
 
Lemon Pool on Firehole Lake Drive was down about 18 inches on one of my trips past it November 2 and had recovered to about 6 inches down about two hours later.  Jim Holstein and I commented to each other that neither one of us had seen it down at any time during the summer.
 
A-0 is still active.  Botroiydal--no change.
 
Great Fountain--Only one overflow was recorded--83 minutes.  I didn't see any superbursts.  Intervals continue to average about 11-1/2 hours, varying from an observed maximum of about 14-1/4 hours to a triple interval that averaged just under 10 hours.
 
White Dome--Continues to have intervals varying from 10 minutes to 2 hours.  
 
I observed two series of Gemini on two separate days--one of three eruptions, one with two eruptions.  I also spent several hours on two separate days without seeing Gemini.  One day I watched Pebble fill and drop, fill and drop, fill and drop, etc., but each time Pebble dropped Gemini's right vent erupted first, preventing the left vent from erupting and the right vent from having a full-height eruption.  The other day Pebble was at the level where it overflowed into Cave for several hours without dropping.  One day the UNNG in Tangled Creek had 9-11 minute intervals for over two hours.  Another day, most of the intervals were in the 9-11 minute range, but there was also one interval of about an hour.
 
Pink Cone Group--The only interval I observed for Pink Cone was an interval of about 18-1/2 hours (based on estimated start of the second eruption).
 
I read with interest Dave Goldberg's comment in the October Sput that "Dilemma" was active.  Through September 20 when I left the Park, I did not see it erupt this season.  Neither did I see it erupt on the days I was in the Park in late October and early November.  I did not see any water drops above ground; I did not hear any gurgling; I did not see any heavy steam surges; I did not see any evidence of eruptive activty. 
 
I did not observe any change in Narcissus--with intervals from major to major (or minor to minor) remaining about 6 hours, alternating major and minor eruptions, and longer intervals following the minor eruptions and shorter intervals following the major/longer duration eruptions.  
 
Pink was active but I didn't get any closed intervals.  
 
Bead--no change with intervals varying from 28 to 37 minutes.  Box Spring--no change with intervals varying from about 15 minutes to close to an hour.
 
Labial--no change with one interval of about 5-3/4 hours and one interval that exceeded 7 hours.  One eruption was preceded by at least 3/4 hour heavy splashing and the heavy splashing continued for at least 3 hours after the eruption. 
 
The interesting activity in the Pink Cone group was from Labial's Satellite Vents.  This summer, as in past summers, I could spend an entire day observing the Pink Cone Group without getting a closed interval on Labial's Satellite vents, or, for that matter even seeing a single eruption of them.  On both November 1 and 2 I observed closed intervals of about 2-1/2 hours.
 
I recorded my observations on Fountain and associated geysers in the logbook.  Since Steve Eide has more observations, I'll let him report on them if he wants.  Fountain is still erupting from a very low pool.
 
Other notes--driving after dark was somewhat distressful with several bison herds on Firehole Lake Drive and Fountain Flats.  I did see a mangy bull elk at Biscuit Basin and watched on for awhile near Firehole Lake one morning.  As I was driving out on Saturday afternoon, I saw a swan at 7-Mile Bridge.  I think I saw a bald eagle every day I was in the Upper Basin.  
 
One evening at Great Fountain a red fox went by the pickup about 5 feet away from the passenger side headed toward White Dome.  (Since it was almost dark and very little traffic in the Park, I was parked parallel to the sidewalk.)  About 5 minutes later a red fox went by the pickup about 3 feet away from the driver's side headed toward White Dome.  Since it was almost dark, I don't know whether I missed the first fox circling back around behind the pickup, or whether there were two separate foxes.  
 
Finally, on a non-geyser note, I decided it was finally time to replace the windshield on the pick-up so I can drive east the hour or so after sunrise and west the hour or so before sunset.  Anyone want to take bets on how long before the first rock or piece of gravel puts a crack in it?  Probably whenever our first snowfall occurs, which may be this evening.
 
I don't plan on making any winter trips to the Park although I will be in the Bozeman area a few times this winter and spring.
 
Happy gazing.
 
Lynn Stephens
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