Geyser Notes

Nothing much happening with New Crater. Spent an hour and a half there and did see some strong surges, but they were separated by minutes of nothing happening.

It was after we left that things got fun. It was snowing heavily, but I thought things were okay until we got to the cutoff that rises up on the hillside where Tanker Curve used to be. There was a line of cars stuck there, unable to get up the slope. It was a mess, and we ended up spending an hour waiting because we had no idea if this was a local problem, or the end of a long line.

Tried to get past once, and some foreign idiot in a rental cut in front of us and immediately lost traction. Once we got past, it was clear all the way to Madison. There we talked our way past the barricade crew by saying that we had a cabin at Old Faithful and all our stuff was there. I think they were there more to keep the idiots from getting in deeper, and by the way I was dressed, and the vehicle I was driving, I showed that I might know what I was doing.

So it took the better part of two hours to get back. By then it was time for Grand.

Unlike the rest of the week, it was windy. Which, despite the temperature being just at freezing, made it the most unpleasant time we've had this trip. And the wind kept shifting during the One Burst Grand eruption. Often we could see the tops of the jets above the mass off steam coming off the runoff and Vent, other times it was just a mass of steam.

Again it appears that there are changes in the Sawmill Group. For the first time in two years that I can remember, I saw Churn below overflow. Again there appeared to be gaps in the snowcover where Sawmill's runoff channels used to be.

Despite it being mid-afternoon on what was now a sunny day, we just weren't in the mood to be out in the weather any more. So tomorrow it's back to Norris, unless something happens overnight there.