Geyser Notes

Have really gotten used to coming here in July and early August. Was a bit surprised when I came out for the early Grand and it was still dark, without a hint of dawn to the east. A month ago I probably wouldn't have needed a light to take notes. The crescent moon had a slight reddish color, and the stars seemed to be not a prominent as a few hours earlier, too.

As it was, Grand was fairly cooperative this time. While it did wait a bit, by the time it did erupt, it was light enough to see the eruption. Unfortunately, that eruption as a short, single burst.

Since I had no excuse, I went out to Fountain on the off chance that Morning might try to do something. An hour's wait, and Morning didn't erupt, so it was time to come back in and have something to eat.

Middle of the day brought another Grand eruption. Like last night, the difference between now and July was noticeable. A month ago the clear sky would have been unbearably hot. This time it was just bright, and the breeze made it comfortable. In the lead up, Turban had a series of intervals where each of the durations were about 30 seconds shorter than the previous, going from about six minutes to just under four. The intervals also decreased from about 22 minutes to 18. Then Grand made what looked like a feeble attempt to erupt, finally going two Turban eruptions later.

The eruption itself was another one burst, at least it was a full ten minutes this time.

Went out for the next Grand eruption at sunset, which was earlier than necessary, but I had nothing better to do. Turned out to be useful, as it was almost 25 minutes from the time I arrived until Turban finally erupted. The duration of the Turban eruption itself was almost 7 minutes. Since this delay was so early in Grand's interval, I figured that it would not have a great effect on Grand, and even if it did, Grand still could erupt well before the middle of the prediction window.

I also learned, too late to take photos, that there were a nice series of fresh grizzly bear footprints between Economic and the boardwalk. Not the kind of news that I wanted to hear, as previous reports of bear sightings this summer had been well away from the Grand complex.Will try to take pictures in daylight tomorrow. (This is not the first time I've seen grizzly bear prints at that particular spot. Years ago in mid-May I saw a nice fresh print on the boardwalk during a snowfall.)

As it turned out, the delay was only for three Turban intervals. It was again one of those cases where Turban started, and suddenly one could hear the intensity of the eruption pick up. At the same time, the grayish glow of the steam in the dark seemed to pick up, and within 90 seconds Grand started.

The first burst was short enough, well under ten minutes, that there seemed a good chance for another burst. The pause itself was so short, and the burst duration also short, that I hoped for a third, but no such luck.