[Geysers] Yellowstone July 5 (Stephens)

[ELIZABETH MEDLEY]

Thank you, Lynn, for your wonderful reports including wildlife, visitor interactions and weather.  They are truly appreciated by those of us who are unable to be at the Park all summer!
The Medleys
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Lynn Stephens 
  To: geysers at lists.wallawalla.edu 
  Sent: Monday, July 06, 2009 12:33 PM
  Subject: [Geysers] Yellowstone July 5 (Stephens)


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  Yesterday (7/4) on the way back to Old Faithful, I thought I saw some columbine in bloom along the road between Biscuit Basin and Mallard Creek Trailhead.  This morning on the way out to the lower basin, I stopped to verify the flowers.  Most of the columbines had yellow "tubes" and yellow petals, but a few of them had pink petals.  (Most of the ones we have in Washington has red petals.)  Phlox, purple asters, and groundsel are also in bloom.
   
  July 5--Two chipmunks were scavenging in the Fountain Paint Pot parking lot.  I got to Fountain in time to see the start of Super Frying Pan (0720), which had a duration of about 6 minutes.  Fountain started at 07:55 (duration 33 minutes).  I saw two nice bursts from Morning's Thief (07:55 and 07:57).  Jet started at 08:01 and erupted every 1 to 3 minutes during Fountain.  Steve Eide stayed at Fountain all day so he was there for the start at 12:34 (I=4h39m, duration 33 minutes).  He reported Morning's Thief did not erupt with this eruption of Fountain but Clepsydra did pause at 1322.  The early evening Fountain started at 18:53 (I=6h19m) and had a duration of 34 minutes.  Again, Morning's Thief had two eruptions--one at 1854 and one at 1857.  Super Frying Pan started about 18:04 and ended at 18:11.  This time Jet did not start erupting until near the end of Fountain's eruption (first Jet was at 19:22).  Clepsydra did not pause following this eruption of Fountain.  While we were watching the evening eruption of Fountain, a young boy pointed at Jet, which was quiet at the moment, and said, "That one's not breathing."
   
  Some of my other geyser observations included a closed interval on Labial of 5h26m.  From 7/4 observation to 7/5 first observation was 22h35m, probably a 5h39m average for 4 intervals.
   
  I also timed some eruptions of Botryoidal.  While I was doing that, I got an interval for Logbridge of 55 minutes, and two intervals for A-0--one of 26 mintues and one of 30 minutes.
   
  Great Fountain erupted at 1622 (p=7, of=77).  The first burst had some blue.  MA Bellingham said something about seeing good things from Great Fountain in her rear view mirror as she drove away.  Since the second burst lasted only 5 minutes and the third burst lasted only 4 mintues and neither burst had much strength, I said she probably didn't have to worry.  Boy, was I wrong.  The fourth burst came out gangbusters with a blue bubble and several shots to 80-90 feet, and lasted 6 minutes.  The fifth burst continued at the same level of activity with a beautiful blue bubble, lots of high jets, and also lasted a full 6 minutes.  I was going to stay for the sixth burst, but changed my mind.
   
  I had gotten out my NPS radio and turned it on to help deal with a young man who questioned whether I had the authority to ask him to return to the boardwalk and not to throw rocks into Great Fountain.  I head a report of a vehicle 30 feet off the road in a thermal area near Grand Prismatic.  The reporting party added, "It's pretty amazing."  So I had to go check it out.
   
  As I was headed south past Whiskey Flats, Kitt and friends were headed north toward Fountain.  They had seen the vehicle in question, which was actually more than 100 feet off road in the sinter area on the east side of the road just south of the large pullout on the west side of the road where fisherman park and just north of the smaller pullout on the east side of the road.  The black pickup with a pop-up camper on the back was sitting out there, facing back toward the road.  Dean Lohrenz suggested maybe they had gotten confused because dispersed camping is allowed in some federal land such as BLM and National Forest Service.  Whether or not they had gotten confused or whether they had done it deliberately probably doesn't matter although the magistrate may take that into consideration later in the month when they appear before him.
   
  Lynn Stephens


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