Geyser Notes

Like the night before, the possibility of an eruption of Grand just as it was getting dark turned into an after-midnight eruption. I arrived just as West Triplet started, and Rift joined right in a half hour later. Unlike the night before, this time it was mostly clear (just the usual clouds far to the north and south) and calm.

The predicted aurora never materialized. As the sky darkened, the area to the north seemed to remain bright, but as midnight approached, it too finally became dark, and then the eastern sky began to lighten slightly as the moon rose. There was a little light on the top of Grand's steam column during the eruption, but it really didn't help make anything more visible.

In the morning, we had yet another long interval at Grand. At least we were rewarded with the second three burst eruption in two days. Was a long pause between the second and third, so it didn't surprise me when Vent and Turban quit after.

With the next Fan & Mortar window approaching, I spent an hour down there, watching garbage, although there was some Upper Mortar rumbling with water visible down in the vent, and steaming from the Frying Pan. (It's amazing how large that vent has become. No way that water would have been visible even ten years ago.)

Grand was set up for a sunset eruption, but when West Triplet's eruption led into the start of Rift, I figured I'd be seeing it in the dark. So it was a pleasant surprise to have it start on the last possible Turban eruption, just as Rift was ending. The only drawback was that there wasn't a second burst, but the lighting during the eruption, along with a breeze out of the north, gave us full arc rainbows which ended in Sawmill on the right end.

Beehive's Indicator was announced just before the Grand eruption, and thanks to the long Indicators we've had lately, I was able to seen the entire Grand eruption, and leisurely walk all the way to the overlook at Crested Pool. Too bad the sun had already set by then.

Along the ways I noticed that the Sawmill Group was again full, and in Tardy Mode. It had been that way when I came out to Grand, but after about 20 minutes, Spasmodic shut off and the system drained. I probably should have stuck around, but getting some sleep seemed a higher priority.