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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Greetings fellow geyser gazers!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I was in Yellowstone, in
the Upper Geyser Basin, last weekend from Friday (2/17) to Sunday (2/19) for a
brief, but glorious geyser fix. Worland has been mostly dry and brown and
I needed to see snow and feel winter. I took the snow coach down from
Mammoth to Old Faithful on Friday morning. I savored the expanses covered
by blankets of snow, the snow laden trees, and even the bison (although a group
did delay our entourage of coaches and The Prenoth for approximately 5
miles). We saw an eagle, several elk, and even a coyote.
I felt a smile creep over my face as I watched some of our younger
passengers try out the snow slides at Gibbon Falls. White Dome was in
eruption (at 1149) as we drove past the Lower Geyser Basin. It was sending
up a tall plume of water and steam that glistened in
the sunlight. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Our coach finally pulled
into the loading zone at the Snow Lodge and about 45 minutes later I
was watching Old Faithful erupt at 1301. I noticed Sawmill was erupting,
then I hurried to the Visitor Center to check both the logbook and the
prediction board, so that I could make plans for my first afternoon in the
geyser basin. The first thing I noticed was that Castle was unpredictable
and there were no prediction times posted. Aargh! With a quick
wave to Carolyn I headed out into the basin to see something erupt. It was
supposedly chilly, but I was decked out in thermals, fleece pants, snowpants, a
sweater, more fleece, my down coat, hat, neck tube, fleece gloves, and my trusty
old snowmobile boots. (I was plenty warm.) I decided to head toward
Grand to see if it was ready. As I passed Castle, I was able to see it
splashing fitfully (like it does when it has minored). I made a
mental note to keep an eye on Castle and continued toward Grand as Turban
started to erupt. I relished the crisp crunch of iced-over snow, as I
passed Crested Pool. It was music to my ears. (The snow depths
varied from an inch on the warmer grounds to 3+ feet along parts of the
paved path.) </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Sawmill is a year-round
crowd pleaser and several people were oohing and ahing as each burst shot
skyward, with the returning water leaving steam trails. West Triplet was
in eruption at 1330 and so I waited for the next Turban. Sean arrived to
download the previous Grand eruptions and then he headed back to the
Visitor Center. He was almost to Sawmill, when Turban started very
energetically. A breeze shifted the steam away from Grand's pool and
I noticed it was very full. Grand! I yelled toward
Sawmill. Then I remembered to call the time over the radio. I
enjoyed the first couple minutes of the eruption and then started to write in my
notebook. (1345 Grand T2 - Oops, I decided to leave the 2 and
hoped for a second burst.) Ah, the power of positive thinking!
It was a T2Q ~11 minutes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2> Carolyn called Lion
at 1354 and Rift was in eruption at 1400. I was trying to decide between
going to the Hill for another possible Lion eruption or checking on Riverside
and Daisy. I chose the latter. Riverside was not in over flow, so I
went to check on Daisy. I was happy to be able to hike up the snow packed
trail without snowshoes or skis. (In previous years, I would have sunk up
to my thighs, but many had used the trail, no snow had fallen in the past week,
and a nice crust had formed.) I did have to tread lightly, and the steam
was gently blowing towards me, making it hard to tell what was going on at
Daisy. I watched Lion at 1515 near start from my Daisy post and
also Old Faithful at 1600 i.e. I left Daisy to meet up with
Karen Burchard. We checked Riverside one more time (no overflow) and
headed back toward the Lodge by way of the paved path. I kept looking over
my shoulder and was finally rewarded with Daisy's steam cloud at
1625 i.e. Plume and an intermittent Lion minor waved farewell as
I headed home for the night. (I had been told that the weather forecast
overnight was going to get quite cold.)</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2> Saturday morning I
awoke before the sun. I had carefully laid out my many layers of
clothing that would permit me to enjoy the day even if it was cold. After
I had readied my winter pack and put all of my layers on, I made my way to the
Snow Lodge's Desk to visit briefly with Karen B. (who had been working since
6:30 AM). I was told that the overnight low was -35. I found it
interesting how occasionally my eyelashes would stick together and I had
to put my warm hand on them to release them. I chuckled to myself as
I remembered Bill telling me to make sure that I packed and used my
sunlotion. (At 0740, the only part of my body visible to anyone was a
small slit between my ski hat and my neck tube which was up over my face
and revealed only my eyes.) I listened to the sound of my feet
at they squeaked and crunched in the snow. I heard one snowmobile drive
past the Lodge and then all was quiet again. Slowly I walked
toward Old Faithful, taking each moment to enjoy the sights, sounds, and
just the sheer pleasure of being there. A visitor was leaving Old Faithful
when I noticed it was in pre-play. I stopped him and we both hurried
forward as Old Faithful chose to erupt at 0754. The temperature was
approximately -26, so you can just imagine the height of the steam cloud.
As the visitor and I enjoyed the eruption, he said that he saw another big
one erupt over there. He said he was walking around Old Faithful and a
geyser started erupting on the hill. I listened to his description and
after Old Faithful's eruption we walked to where he could see the geyser.
It was Beehive and it had erupted approximately 45 minutes before Old Faithful,
just as the sun was creeping over the hill at 7ish. We kept hearing
crackling sounds and every so often something would pop up in the forest behind
Old Faithful. We finally identified the crackling sound as the ice melting
as the runoff from Old Faithful flowed underneath the icy runoff channel.
I wished the visitor farewell, since he was returning to the Lodge to get his
friends up, so that they might see the next Old Faithful eruption. I
headed toward Grand to see what it looked like, but the pool was still
refilling, so I continued on to Grotto, Riverside, and then down to glance at
Fan and Morter (the last two were covered with snow and still
sleeping). I returned to check on Grotto Fountain and was glad to see
it was starting to splash. I decided to wait for the eruption.
Depression 1033 and then Lion 1107i.e. came over the radio.
Finally, Grotto Fountain 1108 and then Grotto 1113. I checked Giant's
platform and found that it must have had a hot period during the start of
Grotto Fountain, because the platform was now wet. I headed for
Grand, but paused at Oblong hoping for an eruption. The water levels
sank and Carolyn radioed from the Visitor Center that they "were
seeing a lot of steam from Castle and was it erupting"? I said I'd hike up
above Oblong to check. I called Daisy at 1135 near start and confirmed
Castle at 1138 (in eruption) and later I confirmed that it was
a major. I continued on to Grand, since the electronic overnight time
was 0428. Sawmill started at 1145. There were Turbans at 1154, 1217,
1236, 1254, 1313, and 1331. During my Turban vigil, Oblong chose
to erupt at 1223 i.e. (near start) although I never saw water, I could hear
every burst which stayed hidden inside its steam cloud. (I believe Dave G.
was there for the eruption, since he was downloading the monitors.)
Uncertain also caught my attention at 1302 (as it joined Sawmill's eruption),
but the snow made for slow going and I had to satisfy myself with a distant view
of its eruption. At 1317, Riverside's huge steamcloud burst forth along
the treeline. It had been several days since an eruption at Riverside
had been reported to the Visitor Center, so they were glad to hear the radio
call. At 1349, I noticed Grand's pool looked excellent and
then "BOOM" Grand at 1350. It was a G2Q approximately 11
minutes. (Life was good. Two days and so far, two Grands with two bursts
each. The weather was almost balmy by this time. I believe we were
actually above zero.) </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2> I headed toward The
Hill, calling Daisy en route at 1407 near start. I
took my chances and headed for Aurum. I wanted to see the newly
built fence and take photos. The ice bowl wasn't as bad as I had
seen it in previous years, but it still was treacherous and icy. I
appreciated the firm railing to hang on to as I made my way past Aurum, which
looked ready. :o) Some visitors were over at Doublet Pool talking
about the thumps, and I went over to enjoy the reverberations. Dave G.
called me on the radio and asked where I was. I said that I was in the
Aurum "suck zone". He called to tell me that Giant had had a 13+ minute
hot period that he had actually thought might lead to an eruption. (I
figured that meant it would erupt next Saturday, at which time I would be back
in the land of spring (Worland that is, where preschoolers come dressed
with only a light sweater or sweatshirt and the temperature is in the 40's and
50's). I told Dave that I would keep my eyes on the area. He
asked how Aurum looked and I said, "Ooh, it's ready. I need to switch
back." I switched and radioed Aurum at 1447 and took some photos.
Then I realized that I was on 6.5 and switched to the correct
channel. Carolyn was on the radio asking if Aurum was erupting.
I said yes and explained what I had done. She had called Plume
at 1444, so I headed around by way of Lion (which was icy from earlier
eruptions) to Plume. I enjoyed an Old Faithful eruption at 1533
followed by a close up of Plume at 1552. Several visitors and I waited
nervously as 4 bison decided to work their way across the
boardwalk. The cows went first and the two calves (yearlings)
hesitated. The last thing I wanted to do was get between these animals and
their babies. Finally the babies crossed the boardwalk and caught up with
their moms. We headed toward the bridge to get back over to the Old
Faithful side. It had been a long day and after checking the log book, I
headed for the Geyser Grill to grab a hamburger before they closed at
5 PM. After eating, both Karen and I returned to our
lodging. I read my book for several hours and then slept the sleep of
exhaustion. </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2> Sunday arrived much
to early. This was my last day and I wanted to see as much as I
could. It was a little warmer than Saturday, but it would become more
breezy as the day progressed (making it feel colder). I stowed my gear and
headed out into the basin. I saw a huge steamcloud at 0740 (could it
be Riverside?) I headed for Grand. At 0807, I saw Old
Faithful, Tardy, and Sawmill in eruption. It took me a moment to decipher
what (Old F, Tar_y & S____ )meant. My pen didn't want to write in the
chilly temperatures. I figured it was too early for Grand, but I
liked walking the scenic route. I had checked out Riverside which was
puffing, but no over flow. (Maybe it had been Riverside's steam cloud
earlier. I will never know.) I returned to Giant, since it had
benches that I could sit on. I was keeping an eye out for Daisy and
watching Oblong which had looked full when I left it to check Riverside. I
was enjoying a bagel and cheese when I noticed a huge steam cloud coming from
Oblong. Rats! I gathered my pack and poles and hurried to
Oblong. Yes, it was erupting 0911 i.e. (near start), and I was in front of
it, but I still didn't see any water. The thumping was great though.
Carolyn had checked Daisy and said the left vent was splashing, so I headed up
there on the North side hoping to see an eruption. I watched a nice
eruption of Old Faithful from Daisy at 1118 and then the breeze picked up and
shifted toward the north. Daisy 1120. Now, I wished that I was
watching from my usual side, but the breeze had constantly been blowing to the
south for the past couple of days, which is why I had chosen the northern
side. It was a nice eruption, although not very photogenic. After
Daisy was done, I headed up the path and over to Grand. West Triplet was
erupting as I came into view at 1155 i.e. At 1203, Turban erupted. I
was hoping that Grand wouldn't wait until 2 PM, since I was headed home
(and needed to start in by 1 PM). (Grand's overnight was 0438 E.) At
1216, Rift made its presence know. Our small group which included Jim
and Doug Holstein groaned. Then Turban and Yippee, Grand 1222! It
was a T1C, but I had seen 3 Grands in 3 days and I was able to leave the
basin with a feeling of accomplishment as I headed for my ride home. I saw
one last Plume at 1240 and noticed that Little Squirt was i.e. at 1255. I
said my farewells and headed for my ride
home. </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2> One of the
snowcoaches broke down before Madison and the Prenoth (the luggage coach) had to
shuttle the occupants to Madison, while a replacement coach drove down from
Mammoth to retrieve the passengers. This delayed our return, but it also
let us see a gorgeous spectacle after we passed Norris Geyser Basin. The
sun was setting and a spike of red shot toward the sky from the horizon. I
have seen photos of this, but I had never seen it happen before. It was
beautiful. As darkness, closed in on Mammoth, we made it to the hotel,
where I gathered up my belongings and returned to my vehicle. My Suburban
started right up, but the partially filled gallon water jug (that had
stayed in the car while I was gone) took several days to thaw. I had a
wonderful trip and would like to thank all of you who made my trip a
success. (You know who you are.) :o) As for the rest of
the gazers, there's only a few more months until spring. See you on the
boardwalks. Kitt Barger </FONT></FONT></DIV>
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