<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)"> <style>  </style> </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple id="role_body" bottomMargin=7 leftmargin=7 topmargin=7 rightMargin=7> <div class=Section1> Part 2 of 3.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Saturday.  Mike went out and verified Grotto was still i.e. at 0212, so we were reasonably safe til daylight.  Suzanne and I got out a bit before 7, and I saw that Grotto had quit very recently, within the last 20 minutes or so.  I relayed this to Mike and anyone else who was interested, and we began our vigil.  Four, six, eight hours passed, and more gazers arrived in the basin.  When they heard what was going on at Giant, they headed there.  During this time the GIP, which started out higher than the previous day - only 30 minutes after the end of a 19-hour marathon - rose and rose.  By noon we began seeing water deep in Mastiff on occasion.  These occasions got closer and closer together, and the water kept rising and rising.  At first, you'd have to stand on the railing to see the top of the high water.  By 4 you could sit on the bench and see the water at its low point.  Several fills came within an inch or two of overflow.  Those with some experience in matters of a Giant persuasion thought these signs were for the most part very ,very good.  But this was beyond what most of us had seen. "Good signs" were morphing into truly unknown territory. And the GIP?  Ridiculous.  A nice pool, maybe 8 inches below overflow.  Easily seen by the smallest person standing on the boardwalk hour after hour.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Finally, a minute after 5, another high rise in Mastiff and resulting boil was sufficient. Feather turned on, and within moments Feather's Satellite.  And that was all. Nothing from the SW vents, or Turtle, or anything else on the platform.  Mastiff surged a bit, then dropped.  Bijou turned on.  Damn.  10 hours after a marathon and all we get is a puny 2-minute cheesy hot period?<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Bijou roared.  Feather and Feather's satellite kept playing, with no reduction in their strength, for minute after minute.  Occasionally, Giant would splash a bit.  The platform crowd got oddly silent.  We had no idea what this was that we were looking at. 10 minutes in, and still no change.  Then, Mastiff started splashing, at first low in the crater but increasing in strength - somebody said they saw water.  Confusion turned to giddiness as we saw the water level rise even higher and Bijou slow down and stop - all the while, Feather and its satellite continued.  <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Things got hectic.  The SW vents turned on, and Mastiff surged quickly - 1, 2, 4 feet.  Then 6 feet and equally wide - and suddenly the height of the cone.  Cheers and joy were running amok. Mastiff started bursting ("booming," we call it) and the more pyramid-shaped back vent surged to 20-25 feet. The sun illuminated the surging double-water column beautifully. I yelled "we got it!"  <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Well, we didn't got it.  I ran back to the boardwalk to get the big, overall view and shortly Mastiff quit.  Nothing at all.  I asked Mike if this is what happened that time he saw Mastiff quit and then come back before a Giant eruption.  Yep, he replied - about 3 minutes or so. We waited a few minutes and sure enough - Mastiff began filling again and surging to 2 feet or so, and enthusiasm grew (albeit with a tinge of suspicion in the crowd, but maybe I was projecting).  I ran yet again back to the boardwalk, turned around, and Mastiff was boiling to maybe a foot.  Bijou turned on, Mastiff quit. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> This looked like a real end of a hot period.  Bijou was in steam (7th time I saw that in 2 days).  The conversation among the assembled was multiple variations on "What the $#^# did we just see?"<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> This huge hot period/Mastiff solo did give Suzanne and me a reprieve from the cage, and we partook of "normal" geyser gazing, including Grand, Fountain, and a nice sunset Castle.  (We'd heard KC's call of Grotto's start at 1830, 19 minutes after the start of Grotto Fountain). Around 2015 we decided to go down to the Giant platform because a hot period was at least possible.  I asked KC if Bijou had ever quieted down - No, he said, not while he saw it.  Sure enough, when Giant was in sight Bijou was still playing heavily.  At 2028 there was the most normal hot period we'd seen in two days, lasting 4m 0s.  It seemed peculiar to see such normal activity on the platform.  As we left the area I noticed that Grotto was still on, and Spa was rising.  That's kind of long for a recovery Grotto, but not unprecedented.  It was still on at 2100, though, and thoughts of double marathons (and a second opportunity for a recovery hot period) went through our heads.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> --<o:p></o:p> Paul S.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> </div> </body> </html>