<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16441" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV>First of all, more about The Grotto and Giant activity of yesterday. Since the Grotto mini-marathon that ended sometime pre-dawn on Tuesday, Grotto had had three short, normal eruptions: Tuesday 5/8 1730ie and off at 2008; overnight 5/8-9, and then Wednesday start 1112, off 1310.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>When I first got out to Giant and Grotto Wednesday, I found Bijou strong and Grotto long off (runoff channels essentially dry at 0730). Almost immediately I realized that some "weirdness" was taking place, as Grotto Fountain would rise and boil, then South Grotto Fountain would erupt as Grotto Fountain dropped. Throughout all of this, too, Spa was full, boiling a little (boiling, not just bubbling), and pulsating, discharging a good stream of water. It was doing so at 0745, and it was doing so after Grotto started, as late as about 1130.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The cycles repeated roughly every 10 minutes; each was accompanied by attempts to erupt by Startling, and one time it did play briefly to about 10 feet. Specifically, I saw South Grotto Fountain at 0758, (Startling 0806), SGF 0808, 1818, 0829, 0838, (break in observations), 1036, 1047, and 1102. Finally, at 1110 Grotto Fountain came up very quickly, erupted and had Grotto follow at 1112.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Meanwhile, it had been obvious since Tuesday that Giant wanted to erupt. Although I don't have the specifics, suffice to say that that day's hot periods were uniformly "better than average", especially later in the day when (apparently, as I was not there) there were back-to-back hot periods of 10 minutes and one of about 15 minutes including a Feather restart. All in all, we were really surprised when Giant had not erupted overnight.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So Wednesday morning, the first observed hot period started at 0847. Part 1 lasted 8 minutes, during which there was moderate overflow from Mastiff that occasionally surged to 3 or 4 feet, Feather was as tall as the cone, Cave reached a foot or so high, and etc. Then Mastiff dropped, everything else dropped, and 2 minutes later, Feather ans Satellite restarted. The restart lasted about 5 1/2 minutes, during which there was strong surging in Giant (pretty much filling the cone several times). Shucks, but in retrospect we had far better viewing that afternoon.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Subsequent hot periods were quite weak and hourly: 0956 (d < 1 min), 1057 (d = 2m 18s), 1159 (D = 3m 52s), and 1256 (d < 2 min but with remarkably strong surging in Giant).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Then, of course, Giant at 1413, about 9 minutes into a hot period that itself did not start until about 6 minutes after water was first seen rising in Mastiff, and which had Feather and Feather Satellite continue for 6 minutes after Mastiff dropped and for 2 minutes after Bijou came back on.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Gorgeous and fun, but we did see some other things, too.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Daisy back to longs: 0704ns, 1030, and 1337.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Riverside 0759 and 1359.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Artemisia 1005ie. (Jim had called it as 0904, but he was with a group of 8th graders from Florida, and we think he must have seen a steam puff from some distance -- but is it possible that it had an hour-plus long eruption as an effect of Tuesday's magnitude 4.6 earthquake near Sheridan, MT? [probably not])</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Oblong 0904 and 1348.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Grand started at the same time as the morning's first, big hot period, 0847, and though seen from afar, it had 3 bursts. The next Grand was at 1526, during Giant, and it apparently had 2 bursts.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As had happened the day before, Castle had a minor eruption in the night, at 0109E. The major restart was at 0800, so again a rather long minor interval of 6h 51m.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Lion had a series of at least 2 eruptions, 0709 ini and 0840.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Never saw Aurum; never saw Depression; heard only one Plume called; Beehive's Indicator and surroundings remain orange.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Scott Bryan</DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">See what's free at <A title="http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000503" href="http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000503" target="_blank">AOL.com</A>. </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>