[Geysers] A Bit On Norris

[krmorby at comcast.net]

I took the half-day (12:15 to 5:30) Xantarra tour from Mammoth to Norris on Friday, January 22. This allowed about two hours of actual time at Norris. 
A few things of note: 
There was about four inches of fresh snow in the basin. 
Vixen 1450 ie. A good eruption and as always an amusing drain. 
Steamboat was relatively quiet and the minors were small. We did not visit Echinus. 
Large tree immediately south of Monarch was coated with ice of a yellowish-green color. 
Ice cones in the Black Growler/Ledge area north of the museum were very large. 
In the Porcelain Basin Constant and Whirligig were quiet, but the vents in the eastern portion of the basin were very active, much like this previous May. 

There was a herd of perhaps 50 bison in the meadow along Gibbon south of the Norris campground. 
Otters are being seen in the Gibbon River near the campground. 
The tour I took was in a van which provided much better views than the ones offered in Bombardiers. 
Even though this tour only allows for two hours at Norris it is a relatively inexpensive ($57) means of winter access to the interior of the park. Because this was a generalized tour we were kept moving and had little time to "sit" any particular feature. 

Kent Morby , tourist 



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