Observations for 2020 August 19
When the NPS says they are going to open an area at a given time, they mean it, even if the press release implies that they might open early. So we arrived into the Norris Basinat 10:00 instead of the usual dawn. Waiting for the lot to open was mildly entertaining, watching how people behaved to suddenly finding they needed to make a decision on what to do instead. As for the closure, it didn't matter, as New Crater/Steamboat didn't do much for most of the day.
Late, as the thunderstorms were starting, we did get the first strong minor that I've seen this summer. That was followed at about one hour intervals with other strong surges, but no actual attempt at erupting.
In my decades of coming here, I've seen a lot of geyser gazers who have disappeared or drifted away over those years. I do wish that Dave Leeking was one of them.
A while back I wrote up some advice and hints and observations for newer gazers. Here's something new to add, based on what I observed yesterday-- Don't go around telling vistiors you just met about the wonders to be found in areas closed by the NPS. Especially then don't go and give them detailed instructions on how to get into those areas and how to get around the NPS closure signs.