Posted on

Observations for 2021 May 15


A day that was supposed to be wet turned out actually be fairly nice.

Started by just missing the start of Rift. Saw a Bulger minor from the bike rack, and by the time I got to the bridge, Rift was going. That Bulger turned into a series of minor eruptions, until we not only got a major eruption, but Bulger's Hole also erupted a just over the rim. Then it was back to Bulger minor eruptions. The One Burst Grand eruption was under acceptible conditions.

Went over to Geyser Hill since we were well over 21 hours for Beehive. It was splashing a bit, but otherwise pretty quiet. It took a couple of hours of waiting, and for once, it was actually a pleasant wait. There was no wind, and it was partly cloudy. Would not have seen the Beehive eruption if we hadn't actually been on Geyser Hill, as the Indicator only lasted about 3-1/2 minutes. And of course, the slight wind shifted during the eruption so to douse the walkway up to the benches.

For the afternoon Grand, we got a Turban Delay, then had to wait for Turban intervals for the One Burst Grand eruption. As usual, there was little overflow from Grand on the next Turban eruption, and it was a short interval. The third Turban eruption was similar, which was interesting. The Grand eruption again featured about three minutes of Big Sawmill mode at the end, stretching the eruption duration to over twelve minutes. There were times when the splashing was only a few minutes high, then suddenly there would be a rocket out of the crater. Just like Sawmill used to do during it's Deep Drain eruptions.

It turns out there has been a well consumed carcass near Dome Geyser. Shortly before that Grand eruption an Imported Canadian Wolf appeared there and showed some interest in the carcass for a few minutes, then left. The bison themselves were wandering about the area between Churn and Grand around the same time.