[Geysers] Geyser Report 6/9 (Stephens)

[Lynn Stephens]

THIS POST IS FOR THE PERSONAL USE OF THE SUBSCRIBERS TO THIS LISTSERV AND IS NOT TO BE

REPRODUCED FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE, INCLUDING PUBLICATION IN THE SPUT.

 

Last night during the night I periodically woke to hear sleet and rain on the covering for the trailer.  This morning there was icy slush on the porch steps and I had to clear ice and slush off the windshield.  I also had to clear ice off the bicycle seat.

 

Although I was going to watch Geyser Hill for awhile this morning, it fogged in shortly after I finished cooking breakfast in the DNBSPL, so I decided to bike down to Link to take a look.

 

On the way down, I met Jim S.  He said that Link had definitely done something (other than just a large minor) but because he had been told that major eruptions left evidence in the runoff channel to the west of the line of little trees west of the rock causeway runoff channel, he didn't know whether the activity had been a major.  Although there was no visible disruption of that channel, the disturbance to the algae/bacterial mats between Link and the asphalt trail left clear evidence to me that Link had had a major eruption.  Some of the pieces of algae that had been torn up were as large as hotel dinner plates.  At least one of these large pieces had been washed into the rock causeway runoff channel.  Others were clearly visible in various areas between Link and the asphalt trail.  There was no dead fish smell; there were no dead fish around Fan & Mortar; there was no sinter washed onto the asphalt; but the destruction of the algae beds and 3-4" deep scouring of the dirt up to the asphalt convinced me there had been a major eruption.

 

I took a break this morning to go into West Yellowstone to have the inner tube on one of my bike tires replaced, to return the 3 books to the West Yellowstone library and check out another 3 books, and to get the weekly fill of the gas tank while I was in there.  (It costs more to drive to West to get gas than I save in the price per gallon, but as long as I have another reason to go to West, I'll gas up while I'm there.)  Gas has gone up $.10 a gallon this week.  As I was standing in line to check out my books, Jere B walked up, so we ended up sitting in the library talking for about an hour or so.

 

The plastic bison herd has abandoned the grounds of the Museum and has scattered around town.  At least one of the little calves has even found its way inside a store.

 

On the way out to West, one adult bald eagle sitting on a snag on the north bank of the Madison had attracted quite a crowd of amateur photographers--none of them had a big wildlife lens or spotting scope.  On the way back, one of the adults was sitting on the nest and had attracted a large group of people standing next to the sign saying "no standing beyond this point."  Several cars were parked in the road in the area where several signs say "No stopping" but people seemed to ignore those signs completely.

 

When I returned from West, I went in to Great Fountain to wait for overflow.  The Visitor Center heard my NPS radio transmission giving the updated predication at 2:00 p.m. +/- 15 minutes, and transmitted it out on the FRS radios to people in the Upper Geyser Basin.  Bob Bailey told a family that had been trying to see Great Fountain about the prediction.  The family abandoned Grand.  MA Bellingham, who had been stuck for 1-1/2 hours getting from Elk Park to Gibbon Falls, driving 4 mph when traffic was moving, plus a 30 minute delay when traffic wasn't moving at all, Kent Morby, and Dave Leeking were all in the Lower Basin.  Great Fountain (1358, of=85, p=8) rewarded us with a 170-175 foot superburst--one of those that goes up, then goes up further, then pushes a third mass of water up even higher through the first two as they are descending.  It didn't go sideways to get the parking lot, it just kept going straight up.  The family that abandoned Grand was well rewarded for their trip to Great Fountain.  Dave Leeking stayed for the third burst in case it had a blue bubble, then left.  This time Great Fountain didn't have a blue bubble on the third, but it rewarded MA, KenT, and myself with an exceptional one on the fourth.

 

(Grand had a two-burst eruption in the sun at 1416, so the people who stayed for Grand were also rewarded.)

 

Other observations today--There was a pair of Barrow's goldeneyes about 50 yards upstream from Excelsior today, a pair of osprey circling Biscuit Basin as I came back to the Upper Basin, and a pair of sandhill cranes in the meadow just east of the Myriad Group this afternoon.

 

As I was walking the road to pick-up garbage, I noticed pussy paws in bloom, a bright green grass with bright crimson seed-heads, and a read grass with feathery red seed heads.  The arrowroot are in bloom at Midway Geyser Basin.

 

It's been a short day (for me), so maybe I'll decide which geyser I'm going to jinx next, then analyzing some data related to it to put into tomorrow's report.

 

Lynn Stephens

 

 

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