<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" 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)"> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"/>  <style>  </style> </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=blue id="role_body" bottomMargin=7 leftmargin=7 topmargin=7 rightMargin=7> <div class=Section1> Whoever replaced the road over <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Teton</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Pass</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> with that ice rink Friday night should get a severe reprimand.  Three miles – 90 minutes.  Sheesh.  <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Grizzly Bear city.  We saw a big one saunter down the hill at Grand and head north.  A few hours later there was a movable bear jam – actually a very well behaved bear jam – from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Biscuit</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Basin</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> all the way to Whiskey flat.  We saw the same griz near Circle Pool.  People were a bit too close.  I thought them insane.  On the way out of the park (not in the park) we saw a Griz sow and three cubs. Very cool.  <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Chromatic is in overflow.  This isn’t exactly earth-shattering, but the overflow is probably the most voluminous I’ve ever seen from Chromatic.  You could even see the upwelling of water in the reflection.  Beauty is, as one would assume, down to the point that the newly forming sinter rim is out of the water.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Giant/Grotto are not behaving like last year.  Not to say they’re dormant or anything – far from it. But two 11-12 hour marathons, followed by an eruption of estimated D of about 4 hours isn’t as much fun as 2006 activity.  The Saturday marathon ended around 1600, and the recovery hot period was 1909.  You can’t have 10-hour delays from Marathon Q to hot period when the <st1:place w:st="on">Marathon</st1:place>’s only 11 hours long. Interestingly, the hot period at 1909 was actually pretty good – over 9 minutes, decent surging 1-3 feet for nearly the whole of the hot period. No, I never got to excited, but it wasn’t a pitiful little 2 minute one.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> FM markers in place.  Oblong strong.  We saw a Penta steam eruption on Saturday, no big deal.  <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> In fact, most of the geysers were no big deal.  There’s nothing wrong with that, of course.  But as of now there isn’t that “thing” that makes one believe 2007 might be awesome or intriguing, what with Giant uncertain, Beehive dormant, Grand having lotsa 1 burst eruptions… fortunately, others among us will figure all this stuff out before we return Memorial Day.  <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> If it matters, the weather was much better than the forecasts suggested.  About 3” of snow on the ground Saturday morning (it all fell after 3 am) that completely melted away by afternoon, a few snow squalls, but definitely as much sun as clouds.  A little cloudier Sunday, but again not bad.  Just that sheet of ice over <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Teton</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Pass</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> made it less than stellar.  <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Paul Strasser<o:p></o:p> </div> </body> </html>