[Geysers] Geyser Report Saturday, May 23, 2015

[Barbara Lasseter]

Geyser Report Saturday, May 23, 2015

I checked Geyser Times before leaving this AM and saw that Grand
(0448?), Beehive ((0535), Castle (0554) and Riverside (0452wc) had
recently erupted.

Fountain was ie as I approached (0703 - ended at about 0720)

Neither Fountain Flat nor Firehole Lake had been opened.  I took a
look at Till (not ie) and stopped to watch Flood (0728ie) on my way
back to Norris.  (I was unaware that Ledge had erupted yesterday AM,
per Nick Virgil NPS).  The Norris book store opened for the first time
at 1000 this AM.  I had a good look around before I encountered Nick.
I did not go by Vixen, and did not see Constant erupt.  I was told
Whirligig has not been active.

When I returned south, both Fountain flat and Firehole Lake drives
were open.  There was a very long backup of northbound cars from
Madison Jct as a group of bison walked north along the narrow roadway.
The boluses of traffic, apparently released from the delays between
Norris and Mammoth, make a certain amount of trip planning a good idea
on Memorial Day weekend.  When the stream of cars reaches Fountain,
the backup of turning cars goes over the hill, blocking the southbound
lane.

Great Fountain was not in overflow, pink cone area was dry with no
activity from the roadside features.  I watched Fountain from the
pullout for a while then took another pass at Great Fountain, thinking
I could park near the exit and walk into Fountain.

Another icy rain began, Great fountain's initial overflow dropped, and
I elected to spend some time reorganizing my "stuff" back in West.

Barbara Lasseter