Greetings and Salutations, I have to do something to my e-mail, I was typing out my trip report when it timed me out and the entire report was lost.  Grump.  Well, here we go again.  Yellowstone was great, even if the weather was not.  <defanged_meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><defanged_meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><defanged_meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><defanged_meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link style="font-family: Arial;" rel="File-List" target="_blank" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CSteve%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: Arial;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: Arial;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype>Most of the times I have have already been reported so ratherthan reporting geyser times I thought I would talk about the activity of thegeysers I saw during my visit.  <st1:place style="font-family: Arial;" w:st="on"> Old Faithful</st1:place> appears to be just like last year, mostlylong 4 minute eruptions with a rare short 2 minute thrown in now and then  <style></style><o:p>   </o:p>On the main hill, Bronze Spring appears to have its own runoff but I did not see any periodic boiling or increased overflows.  It has algae growing in it<st1:place w:st="on"> Silver Spring</st1:place> and Little Squirt are normal, I had one interval of just over four days (ie toie) which is what Ralph' s data shows.  There is a patch of gravel by the board walk in line with <st1:place w:st="on">Silver Spring</st1:place> and Little Squirt that bubbles up or sometimes sizzl es  when  Little Squirt erupts.  Big and Little Anemone are both active, seemingly independent of each other.  Improbable continues to boil with no real eruptions.  Plume has been having intervals of one hour to one hour twenty minutes.  It is mostly five bursts although I did see one six burst eruption.  Beehive erupted on just under 24 hour intervals, then after an early morning eruption follows with a late evening eruption usually.  On 4-27 Beehive erupted at 0704 wc and later it was seen at 2020 wc. All the eruptions I saw had at least one of the bubblers on for several hours prior to the eruption.  When I was around to see it, Beehive Indicator started before Beehive.  Sometimes it stopped as soon as Beehive started, other times it continued well into Beehive's eruption.  Close to Cone started just after Beehive fortwo of the eruptions I saw.  Scissor Springs are like last year.  Depression was active; someone usually saw it about every other day.  In the GHG-3 area I think the Red Dwarf isinactive, but a new vent a few feet to the northwest is doing most of the erupting.  It has started to fill in the old vent for    the Red Dwarf but since the new vent has red iron stains in its run off channels you may not notice the difference. It will likely be the new Red Dwarf. Uphill Geyser above the boardwalk has been active and was ie a bout half  the time.  It now has a small round  splash zone and the vent has been enlarged somewhat.  It still is only about a foot high.  Arrowhead Spring was full or just below fullwhenever I looked at it.  Little Cub was usually normal, although I did see one of those weak, one foot high eruptions that were happening occasionally lastyear.  Lion is normal (and on a cold morning with no breeze quite a spectacular performer).  Goggles Spring and North Goggles Geyser haveintact algae mats so I doubt there have been any recent eruptions.  Ear Spring is normal as is Beach Spring.  Aurum is in spring mode, and Ralph Taylor's electronic data will likely give you the best interval  (3.5 to 5 hours).  I did not catch Doublet Pool doing any thumping, but I was not in the area often. Sponge is normal.  I did catch two eruptions from  Plate on one day, but it was quiet all other days.  The vent tha sprang up a few years back about 15 feet to the left of Sponge was quiet, no water, no steam.  Model was normal.  I did watch Giantess for a while, but not long.  North face boils were over ten minutes apart.  Infant Geyser was  very full, within an inch or two of over flow and it was clearer than usual, still murky, but not as murky.  Nothing was seed of Butterfly or Dome.  <o:p> </o:p>In the Sawmill group Sawmill was usually in control but themarker on Penta was washed on 5-1-09 between 1200 and 1940.  It was again washed overnight between 5-2 and5-3.  On 4-27 I was watching a Tardy cycle (the second in a row) while everyone else was watching Grand with Oval Pool full and doing wave functions aboutevery twenty minutes.  The main vent onPenta started to boil, then rose up boiling to a bout two to three feet forabout 5-10 seconds, long enough for me to call Penta and write it in my book,then it just died.  Two minutes later Sawmill started.  Which leads me to my firstquestion.  The Penta starts I have seen  (I think six) have all started with the side vents and then the main vent joined in.  But three times in the last two years I have seen the main vent boil up to 2-4 feet for several seconds,only to drop out of sight.  So, for those of you who have seen Penta starts, do all Penta eruptions start with the side vents, or does it occasionally start with boiling in the main vent?  <st1:placename w:st="on"> </st1:placename><st1:placename w:st="on"> </st1:placename><st1:placename w:st="on">Crystal </st1:placename><st1:placename w:st="on">Springs</st1:placename> was often erupting every oneto three minutes, or I should say <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Crystal</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Springs had heavy overflow and the satelight vents to the north erupted  six inches to a foot.</st1:placename></st1:place>  Which brings me to my second question, should I be calling this an eruption of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Crystal</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Springs</st1:placename></st1:place>,or should it be reported in some other manner? Bulger was active in both minor and major eruptions.  It appeared to have a couple of hours of minors about every ten minutes which led to a major eruption followed by more major eruptions at one to two hour intervals. However I must  note that I only watched Bulger when it was time for Grand or Penta.  Hmmm, last year Bulger and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Crystal</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Spring </st1:placename></st1:place>were both active at the same time.  Is this usual, or a coincidence? <o:p> </o:p>Grand appears to still have an interval between 6.5 and 10.5hours.  I saw more two bursts  than one bursts but not by much.  West Triplet is acting like it did last spring, it sits full of water and intermittently overflows.  This does appear to effect Rift also, the only day I saw Rift was on 4-27 when Rift was ie at 0725 and later ie at 1151.  I do not know if this was one long eruption or two eruptions with a short interval.  I never saw Percolator during my visit.  I suspect the Sputniks are dormant again, when it snowed they never generated enough heat to melt the snow.  Topsoil spring is normal. <o:p> </o:p>Economic continues to have periodic overflow, but it is colder and algae is growing in the vent. Wave spring is unchanged. Chromatic Pool has the overflow, and it appears to have more overflowthan I have seen in years.  <o:p> </o:p>Oblong seemed to be erupting on longer intervals but that is just a guess on my part, I didn't stay on it long enough to be sure.  The only time Bijou shut off was during a Grotto Marathon.  I miss calling giant hot periods.  <o:p> </o:p>Grotto had both normal (short) eruptions and marathons.  On 5-2 I noticed the Central Vents were on at1215 ie just as I was waiting for Grotto Fountain to start resulting in a delay.  You know, one of the Central Vents can crackle in such a way that it sounds like someone is walking in the gravel in front of Grotto.  That is  what brought my attention to the Central vents.  Grotto started about 1313, it was hard to say exactly when it started, the splashing became stronger and stronger and at 1313 it was over the top of the cone and out the back vent although it looked more like it was eight hours into a marathon than at the start of an eruption.  Grotto fountain was trying to start at the same time, but finally gave up.  Then at 1322 Grotto finally acted like it was a normal start with high water and strong erupting.  Later at 1732 ie I came by and watched Spa erupt for a while.  I did not catch any Rocket Majors.  <o:p> </o:p>Daisy intervals were in the 2 hour to 2 hour 30 minute intervals.  Once it sets an interval it usually keeps the same interval throughout the day.  On 4-26 the temp monitor looked like Daisy erupted at 0933 and then at 1037. After that I saw an eruption at 1153 so I went up the hill to sit on Daisy.  The next eruption was at 1401 andI left the hill in a blowing snowstorm at 1550 with Daisy about 15-20 minutes to eruption.  Later talking to Butch and looking at the download from the temp monitor we decided the 1037 eruption was likely a glitch in the monitor and not an eruption.  I do look forward to seeing the data from Ralph's monitor however.  At Daisy, when you first see any activity on the left shoulder vent (next to Comet) you have about 20-30 minutes until the eruption.  When you see activity in both the right and left should vents you are 15-20 minutes from the eruption.  I did check on Splendid, but the runoff channel was only about six inches wide and the algae mats were intact so there were no recent Splendid eruptions.  <o:p> </o:p><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Riverside </st1:place></st1:city>continues to be the steady performer with a mixture of long and short intervals.  <o:p> </o:p>At  Fan and Mortar a marker was placed the morning of 4-25 and it was still in place when I left on 5-3.  There was just one good event cycle, but I did notice on two other event cycles when they ended the frying pan vent was active with visible water. The one good event cycle was on 5-1-09. River came on at 1512 with Gold weakly steaming.  A minute or two later Gold was spitting a bit of water out with the steam.  River turned off at 1521.  Main vent splashed at 1524 and continued to splash about every two minutes until 1600.  One splash was big enough to put water into East Vent.  About 1525 Bottom vent started doing a series of minor eruptions however the water never did quite reach the river.  River turned on at1531, then turned off again at 1551. River was back on at 1554.  Gold and High did occasion spits of water from 1555 on, but finally Gold turned onat 1609 and High at 1610 with good water output.  Angle came on at 1615.  However they never went into lock or were much higher than three to four feet.  By 1630 the levels dropped and it was over.  Just as it ended, Frying pan came on for a couple of minutes.  I am afraid Fan and Mortar are in their spring doldrums.  <o:p> </o:p>There was still too much snow to make a trip to Artimesia seem like a good idea from either Morning Glory or from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Biscuit</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Basin</st1:placetype></st1:place>.  <o:p> </o:p>Black Sand basin was about the same as last year.  The new perpetual spouter beyond Ragged andJagged geysers continues to be active to about a foot.  BSB-2 is still active but I did not watch itlong enough to record an interval or duration. Green Spring just boiled gently for me, but the splash zone around thespring is clear of any buffalo droppings which cannot be said for the area outsideof the splash zone.  I don't know if itis doing anything.  The spring on the way to Emerald pool just boils to a few inches, not enough that I would even call it a perpetual spouter.  Sunlight Geyser just splashes now and then from 1-2 feet high. The newer vent a bit closer to the parking lot continues to be active with occasional splashing to a foot or less every few minutes.  In the area beyond Sunlight geyser about twice a far out is another small geyser erupting to 1-2 feet also.  <o:p> </o:p>At Biscuit Basin Salt and Pepper continue to be perpetual spouters to 3-4 feet.  Black Diamond appears to be bigger and less murky than last year.  Jewel had intervals of 7-9 minutes as did East Mustard Spring.  Avoca spring is not as active, it sounds like it is perpetually boiling.  Silver Globe beside it is erupting every twoto ten seconds to about thee feet, striking the sinter overhanging thepool.  It is a very firehole like eruption.  No other activity was seen inthe Silver Globe complex  but I was only in the are for about 40 minutes.  <o:p> </o:p>Mercury Geyser has changed, the upper pool that did the erupting the last few years now is cooler with algae growing in it.  There is occasion inflow from what looks to be a small vent on the trail side of the edge of Mercury's pool.  The lower pool of Mercury continues to be hot and algae free and has period overflow ofwater.  It did not erupt while I watched several overflows, but I cannot rule that out. <o:p> </o:p>Once I finally stopped to watch I noticed Little Brother was active with eruptions about twice a minute, durations of one to five secondsand heights of one to perhaps fifteen feet. I saw eruptions from 4-27 until I left on 5-3-09 whenever I stopped to watch.  I also saw one eruption from White Geyser.  <o:p> </o:p>Sorry, no info on Fountain group.  Grumble Grumble Grump Grump.  I will gladly help with any campaign (legalat least) to prevent this from happening in the future.  I did hear the closer for the boardwalk replacement will likely keep the Fountain group closed until early in June.   <o:p> </o:p>Sunrises were about 0620 to 0615, sunsets were at about 2020.  <o:p> </o:p>By the way, there will be many new rangers in the Visitor's Center this year.  Megan, Carolyn, and Kelly are off to other posts.  Tom and Butch are back.  So may I ask everyone tocut them a little slack, they will be trying to learn everything at once and are sure to slip up now and then.  <o:p> </o:p>Back after Memorial Day weekend.<o:p> </o:p>Stephen Eide.  </defanged_meta></defanged_meta></defanged_meta></defanged_meta> <hr>Msg sent via CableONE.net MyMail - http://www.cableone.net