Spent three more hours at Norris, confirming that nothing much has changed with New Crater/Steamboat. Just as we were about to leave, of course there was a nice minor. We waited another ten, just in case there was a followup, but nothing happened.
We took our time in the parking lot, putting things away and getting organized. I had just backed out of the parking space and was weaving my way among the people waiting for others to leave when we heard a radio call for another good minor. Made the executive decision that there was no way we were circling around and parking and heading back out. Was the right decision, in that after a couple more nice events over the next hour, nothing much happened.
On the way back from doing laundry and grocery restocking in West Yellowstone, decided to stop in at Great Fountain. It appears it started just after we'd passed that spot on the road where it and White Dome are visible, and by the time we arrived at the parking area. Miraculously, there was a parking spot right across from the walkway. So watched the rest of the first series, and the next two. The second was poor, while the third was adequate.
But the most pathetic thing about that eruption that several hours later, I noticed that no one had reported anything about the eruption, so I had to add in our arrival time to GeyserTimes.
A bit later on, went down to check on East Sentinel, which hasn't changed in activity since the major activity earlier in the week. Still cycling every 19 to 20 minutes with all the activity along the North Rim.
Returning from there, I noticed that the Frying Pan was steaming at Fan & Mortar, and there was the appearance of the end of a normal cycle. So I headed off to Grand.
Walked up on another deep drain the the Sawmill Group, with even Slurp quiet. Saw Old Tardy start, and saw Percolator and Sput D erupting. Then Sawmill started.
Twenty minutes after I had passed by Fan & Mortar, Suzanne was doing the same when she saw splashing in the Main Vent. Even though it was a little over two days in the interval, I left Grand because I know Fan & Mortar can have intervals that short, and it's been doing strange things this year. Turns out the Main Vent splashing went on for a long time, and during that time Lower Mortar was showing the first "fuzz ball" activity in several intervals. The Frying Pans and East Vent were also steaming slightly. Bottom Mortar had a series of eruptions, but when the Fan vents started, they didn't look encouraging, and by the time the Frying Pan started, it was obvious that there was not going to be an eruption.