Observations for 03 November 2013
It was probably a mistake to go out for one last Grand eruption, but it was still fun in its way.
The precipitation started shortly after we came in from the previous eruption. By the time to leave for the next eruption, there were several inches of snow on the ground. The snow kept coming down the whole time we were out in the basin. Grand took its time before erupting, so most of our tracks were gone for the walk back. Settled in and bundled up, though, it was quite warm despite the the buildup of snow on blankets and coats and hats.
So I got the full wintertime experience, in the dark. It was actually pretty light out, with the glow from the few lights from a few buildings around Old Faithful brightening up the area. How much became apparent when the power went off and the area became truly dark. Even then, there was enough light to make out shapes. The lights came back on, and again it was brighter.
The Grand eruption was another variation. It surprised us because the Turban interval preceding it was only 15m30s. The wind was strong enough that the steam was blown north up and onto the slope behind Grand, making the bursts visible in Suzanne's powerful light. At the same time, the wind knocked down a lot of the bursting so that it did look like a large Sawmill.
The first burst was so short that we knew we had to get a second burst. And the surges from the burst overcame any wind knockdown and was impressively high in the snow. But unlike last night, the burst also kept on going, so that the total eruption lasted almost twelve minutes.
After that, it was go in, dry out, get a bit more sleep, then hope the snow would stop so I could pack and get out.
Which it didn't, and it was from 10 to 12 inches deep, but I left anyhow. The road to Madison had seen a single plow whose blade had reduced the height of the snow by about 6 inches, along with leaving a pair of tracks. By following those tracks, I was able to make fairly good time. The road from there to the west entrance was in a bit better shape, and in all it took only an hour to get out of the park. Which is usually how long it takes to get out during the summer, when what makes for slow going is other driver's stupidity. I think I prefer snow.
So it was a crazy, stupid weekend, but it was lots of fun, and I look forward to similar opportunities in the future.