Came back out at dawn for the next Grand eruption. The One Burst Grand lasted twelve minutes, and it finally didn't have a Turban Interval delay and erupted with a shorter interval. Otherwise it was just another cold and steamy eruption.
2025-May-31 : 06:23:13 G1Q 06:23:13 B1 --- d=12m01s 06:24:09 Turban 0m56s 06:26:56 Vent 3m43s 06:35:14 P1 12m01s 06:36:06 V&T Quit 12m53s ΣD=12m01s * * * * * 06:03:08 d=01m27s Grand: 20m05s
The day was clear and warming rapidly, and there had been no report on Aurum in over a day, so I decided to go there and record an hour or so of video with the hope of catching an eruption. About an hour later we were rewarded with just that, a nice, strong eruption that seemed to last longer than the 1m16s it actually did.
From there stopped by Beehive to kill a little time with little expectation of seeing an eruption, but didn't have to wait long for the Indicator to start. During that time, as the crowd got larger, I was assessing the winds, and trying to figure out the best place to avoid getting wet. My efforts were wrong, as I got drenched and the umbrella when deployed was of little help.
Still damp, headed out to Grand. Once again we got a short interval before the One Burst Grand eruption. At just under 8m10s there was a long false pause, followed by another 2-1/2 minutes of strong activity (not the usual Big Sawmill). Afterwards West Triplet was in heavy overflow with thumps and some small splashes.
2025-May-31 : 12:53:19 G1Q 12:53:09 Boop -0m10s 12:53:19 B1 --- d=10m46s 12:54:10 Turban 0m51s 12:57:04 Vent 3m45s 13:01:28 FP 8m09s 13:04:05 P1 10m46s 13:05:02 V&T Quit 11m43s ΣD=10m46s * * * * * 12:12:23 12:32:57 Int: 20m34s d=04m31s Grand: 20m22s
That's when Castle started to have a major eruption. Waited and watched that as it turned to steam before heading in.
Later in the afternoon it appears the bears we saw a week ago were back in the area. Heard over the NPS radio that at first they was causing a traffic backup south of Biscuit Basin. Then they were seen headed south toward Punchbowl and Black Sand Basin along the Daisy to Biscuit bike trail.
It was well before sunset, but went out for the next Grand eruption with the expectation of it happening in the dark. The second Turban of the wait not only was a Turban Delay Interval, but had several boops.
While the Delay interval was in progress, a bison appeared over between Rift and the walkway. It just stupidly stood there as only a bison can for at least fifteen minutes. Finally, just before Turban started to erupt, it began to move toward Grand and the hillside. With Turban erupting, it slowly made it way along the base of the hill. The rim of Grand's crater lies right at the base of the big rock. The bison walked in front of the walk, then ignored Turban and proceeded on until it finally encountered the grassy area to the north.
A couple of Turban intervals later two more bison appeared on the boardwalk by Belgian Pool. These two moved a bit faster, with one going behind Grand and the big rock, while the other passed in front of Percolator and crossed the runoff channel. Once again, they ignored activity from Turban.
It wasn't until the sixth Turban after the Delay that we finally got our Grand eruption. The sun had long set, but it was still bright out, and not too cold. The Turban start of the eruption was explosive, with Vent starting to overflow almost immediately. Grand booped several times before it also began to erupt. It was dead calm, so the highest jets had to clear the growing steam cloud, which then turned into a nice rolling base surge.
Eight minutes into the eruption Grand had a false pause. But it did manage to finally stop at just under 9-1/2 minutes. It was difficult to see, but it appeared there was water in Grand's vent. It was a long pause, and the second burst was just long enough to qualify for the Long designation.
2025-May-31 : 21:09:39 D6/T2*Q 21:09:13 Turban -0m26s 21:09:16 Vent Ovfl -0m23s 21:09:34 Boop -0m05s 21:09:39 B1 --- d=09m24s 21:12:13 Vent 2m34s 21:17:42 FP 8m03s 21:19:03 P1 9m24s d=52s 21:19:55 B2 10m16s d=01m18s 21:21:13 P2 11m34s 21:21:59 V&T Quit 12m20s ΣB=10m42s ΣD=11m34s * * * * * 18:50:29 d=04m36s 19:23:17 Int: 32m48s d=04m03s D0 Boop: 19:18:51 19:39:19 Int: 16m02s d=04m10s D1 19:57:24 Int: 18m05s d=04m20s D2 20:16:52 Int: 19m28s d=03m59s D3 20:35:36 Int: 18m44s d=03m48s D4 20:52:00 Int: 16m24s d=03m40s D5 Turban: 17m13s