Went out before dawn to Grand to confirm that it had erupted. I estimated that it was about one to 1-1/2 hours since the eruption based on the sound of boiling down deep in Grand's vent.
After a late morning Beehive eruption, went out to Grand around the 7-1/2 hour mark. An hour and a half later we got a West Triplet eruption. I expected that this would trigger a Rift eruption, but it turned out instead that after West Triplet quit, we got a Turban Delay interval. The durations of both Turban's intervals and its eruption durations immediately shortened. One of the Turban eruptions lasted just under 2-1/2 minutes.
Grand erupted on a Turban interval of less than 13 minutes, which is about as short as I've ever seen. The One Burst Grand lasted less than nine minutes, and Grand made no attempt at even trying to have a second burst. At least Vent & Turban continued.
After that long wait, went to the Lower Basin to catch an eruption of Fountain, and possibly Great Fountain. Morning's Thief boiled up a few minutes before Fountain started. The last visible water in the Thief about ten minutes into Fountain's eruption, which lasted over 33 minutes.
Great Fountain began to erupt as we were walking back to the parking lot, so make no attempt to bike into there.
With nothing much going on, went down basin to do some watching. Went to the Bijou Cage where everything seemed dull and normal. Shortly after I arrived, I noticed that one of the vents on the platform was now filled with water and pulsating. It's been so long that I thought I was seeing Feather, and reported it as such. As the time went by, this vent would alternate every ten to twelve minutes between full and with no water visible. Upon further thought, I decided I was probably wrong in my identification, and a check on the map when I got back to the cabin confirmed that all I was seeing was Emerald. I know it's been full of water in years past, but I wasn't aware that it fluctuated like that. In any case, time to take the map out on the iPad for my next wait so I can get things right.
After that, went out to Grand for a mid-day eruption. The past few days the afternoons have been warm with very little to no air movement, making it almost uncomfortable waiting out there. A couple of Turban eruption intervals after arrival, West Triplet started to erupt. Since Rift had been observed during the night, it wasn't the start of a major delay, and I hoped that it might indicate Grand would erupt soon.
Turned out that instead it took a couple of Turban eruption intervals after West Triplet ended before we got the eruption. Two burst, and the pause between the two burst features the pool sloshing about for most of that time. It looked like it should have the second, but experience said that it could drop any time. As it was, the first burst was during a calm period, and quite high, while the second burst was cut off and shorter due to a burst of wind.
Beehive had a short eruption interval preceded by a long Indicator duration. This morning the indicator lasted about twelve minutes, just long enough for me to get to Anemone for the start. This time the duration was well over 25 minutes, approaching thirty.
After that it was time for another sit at Giant. On the way past Economic, I noticed that it was overflowing strongly, with runoff under the walkway and about ten meters beyond. When I returned about an hour later, Economic was well below overflow, with the water in the inner rim, and all the evidence of the runoff under the walkway was no longer visible.
It was at that point that we thought we were seeing Turban start, but instead it was Grand, with a 7h12m interval. Was almost disappointed, as had expected and planned on the eruption taking place in the dark. But instead there were a few high sunset rainbows. The first burst was long enough to be the only one, but instead, like earlier today, the pool filled quickly and then sloshed around for close to a minute before finally erupting again. This time it was nice and tall.
West Triplet started during the first burst. Waited around for the expected eruption of Rift, which occurred about 37 minutes after West Triplet started. Also while waiting Uncertain erupted. West Triplet was still erupting as we left the area after seeing Rift's runoff reach the boardwalk.
Went out in the dark to Grand near the nine hour mark. Walked up onto the end of an eruption of Rift. Water was still steaming away along the whole runoff channel. A little over an hour later there was a Turban Delay eruption interval.
During that Delay, Castle erupted with a minor eruption lasting less than three minutes. Finally five Turban eruption intervals later, right after eruptions of Daisy and Oblong. The One Burst Eruption lasted just over eleven minutes. Vent & Turban quit and restarted less than six minutes later.
Went over to Geyser Hill to get a video of Slot Geyser erupting. After that success, waited a bit for the call for Beehive's Indicator to start erupting. Considered waiting near Plume for the possiblities for rainbows, but despite the dead calm, decided not to risk that location. A good move, as about halfway through the Beehive eruption that area got rained upon.
Did another wait for Grand's first overflow. Once again, that occurred nearly five hours after the previous eruption, and again during a Turban Delay eruption interval. This time the overflow came early in the interval, and by the twenty-five minute mark Grand's pool looked full, as it does before an eruption. Then it quickly dropped before Turban finally erupted for a 32 minute interval.
Grand 1st Ovfl_2025-Aug-22_1219
---------------
2025-Aug-22
12:15 Start Observations Other Event
12:22:55 >>>Eruption : d=05m04s Turban
12:40:49 >>>Eruption : d=04m04s Turban
12:58:10 >>>Eruption : d=03m53s Turban
13:02:03 End eruption Turban
13:09:13 1st ovfl Grand
13:26:21 >>>Eruption Daisy
13:30:01 >>>Eruption : d=05m13s Turban
13:35:14 End eruption Turban
13:36:47 Water ring visible West Triplet
13:37:22 End Observations Other Event
Since this was the non-Rift interval for Grand, went out a little early. There were a few unintersting Turban eruptions where the intervals got progessively shorter. Finally an interval under 17 minutes that had an explosive start by Turban. Grand took its time getting the One Burst Eruption started. As I've noticed with several other eruptions this trip, the pause before Vent & Turban restart was around six minutes. In the last few years, that has tended to be longer, well over 20 minutes long.
Went out to Grand based on a double interval, and got to see West Triplet in eruption from the bikerack (Seem to see a fair number of events from there.) Fifteen minutes later Rift joined in just as West Triplet quit.
That eruption lasted under two hours, and during that time Grand never looked like an eruption was possible. On the first Turban eruption after Rift ended, Grand had nice waves on the pool which ended just as Turban started. So not surprised that the next Turban eruption was similar to those of the previous two hours.
Well before the time the next Turban eruption was expected Grand started having strong waves. Grand booped for quite a bit before the One Burst Eruption finally started. That eruption lasted well over twelve minutes, with the last minute or two consisting of splashing intended to just prolong the wait for the end.
For the first time in several years, I was accosted by a golden mantled ground tree rat looking for garbage. I guess the predators have easier picking elsewhere this year.
Finally got down basin beyond the Castle bikerack and caught a Daisy eruption. Looked typical and normal with a duration of 3m27s.
After that went out for another first overflow from Grand. This time it took place only 4h24m from the Grand eruption, but once again took place during a Turban Delay interval, one lasting 30m29s.
With another Rift eruption extremely unlikely, not sure what that overflow behavior could mean, so went out to Grand a bit earlier than necessary. Did get to see an eruption of Uncertain start just as I passed by Scalloped Spring. At Grand, West Triplet had visible water, and Percolator was quiet.
An hour later, West Triplet started erupting, lasting almost 34 minutes. The first Turban interval after the start of West Triplet had Grand showing the first attempt at an eruption with some nice low pool waves.
We got the One burst Grand eruption two Turban eruption intervals after West Triplet's eruption ended. Unlike this morning, this one burst eruption didn't reach ten minutes.
One thing I've noticed with the Rift eruptions the last few days is that Belgian Pool and Crystal Spring have low water levels before the eruption, but by the time Grand has erupted after Rift ends, they are both near their full levels. They then drop back down by the next time I see them, including the times I've gone out for first overflow about four hours later. This behavior is different from my experience with Rift in the past, where both would be at a high level when Rift starts, and be low afterwards.
It seemed to be calm for the pre-dawn eruption of Beehive, but there was just enough air movement to cause the spray to thoroughly wet down the walkway along the railing.
Decided the night before that there was no reason to get out to Grand before it got light. Didn't set an alarm, expecting to get out when I did wake up. Arrived out there at the 8-1/2 hour mark and found a full pool. Two Turban eruption intervals later, there was heavy overflow signaling that the eruption was about to start. The One Burst eruption at least lasted well over eleven minutes. By the end the tops of the highest jet were illuminated by the sunlight coming over the trees.
Percolator was quiet the short time we were waiting out there, and during the Grand eruption West Triplet went from empty to starting to erupt shortly after Grand ended.
Went out again for Grand's first overflow. This time it took place at 4h35m, which is a bit more like what I'm used to seeing. But it also took place during a Turban Delay interval of nearly 32 minutes. Just after the previous Turban eruption the pool was extremely low, and by the 15 minute mark it appeared that first overflow was not going to happen that Turban interval. But because of the Delay, the pool kept on filling instead of the expected drop, and the overflow started a the 24 minute mark.
At that point the clouds to the west looked like rain, and I headed back in, just in case.
Went back out to Grand around the seven hour mark, with the weather radar map showing most of the showers were streaming past to the south and east. The Turban durations were short, between 3m15s and 2m30s. After an hour, West Triplet began to erupt. Twenty-four minutes in, Rift also began to erupt. West Triplet continued to erupt, finally ending with a duration of 54 minutes.
At about an 1-1/2 hours into the Rift eruption, Grand had a Turban Delay interval. Shortly after Turban ended, so did Rift.
The Delay ended up being only two Turban eruption intervals, and we got a One Burst Eruption which started after about 8-10 seconds of booping.
Decided to check on the status of Grand in order to try and figure out what happened over night. Around 07:00 saw that Grand's crater was empty with a vigorous Turban eruption in progress. Nothing from Vent, but West Triplet was completely dry and Percolator was splashing away. I put the eruption at at least two to two-and-a-half hours earlier.
Spent about an hour at Lion trying to catch the first of a series, but without success. Left with the intention of heading out to Grand based on the NPS prediction putting the eruption much earlier than my estimate. As I passed Heart Spring, I saw Beehive's Indicator in full eruption. So stuck around for a nice mid-morning eruption. Too late for rainbows, but there was no wind so the eruption did not get any part of the walkway wet and quite tall. Got back to the cabin just in time to hear a radio report of Grand in eruption, so no reason to head back out.
Shortly after that there was some entertaining radio traffic. It seems there was a family hanging around the boardwalk at Old Faithful in front of the Lodge with several dogs off leash. They were told that's not acceptable, by visitors and a Lodge employee. The response was that the dogs were well trained and didn't need leashes. So the employee contacted NPS Law Enforcement. It took them a while to arrive, and by that time the family could not be found. About fifteen minutes the family reappeared at the porch at the Lodge, and this time NPS-LE was there in a timely manner.
Within a few minutes came a radio call that there was "one being detained." Later, as the woman from British Columbia was being transported to Mammoth to her new accomodations I heard that she was charged with "interference". I thought I also heard at least one other person received a "mandatory appearance", but not for what. I'm hoping there's video posted on YouTube of this, to see how something can escalate so quickly. Also, this has a good chance of being her last visit to the US.
Finally did go out at around the four hour mark in order to check on the time of Grand's first overflow, and to hang around the Sawmill area. Sawmill was in eruption and a Deep Drain was in progress. It stopped shortly after I arrived, then a few minutes later erupted for about ten minutes. I never saw any splashing or heard any noise from Uncertain the whole time I was out there.
At Grand Percolator was in eruption, and Grand was well below overflow. The first overflow finally occurred at 4h53m, which is definitely longer than what's been seen. Percolator was in eruption for the whole hour I was out there, which is also different from what I've seen the last few years. And I saw a few seconds of splashing from Sput D at around the time of the first overflow.
While out there, I got to listen in on another person who received a complimentary trip to the Mammoth detention facility. This started as a satellite text report from the Fairy Falls parking area of a "road rage" resulting in one person pulling another from a car. Once again, when Law Enforcement arrived, they wasted little time in detaining someone. I may need to revive my logging of radio calls and posting them that I did a few years ago.
I figured it would be a long interval at Grand, but after missing one eruption I wasn't going to miss two in a row. Saw Turban from the bikerack, and then West Triplet in eruption as I walked toward Crested. I saw the West Triplet eruption end 24 minutes later, and then Rift start four minutes after that. It seemed like it took a long time for the Rift runoff to reach the boardwalk.
The Rift eruption lasted almost two hours, during which time Grand showed no signs of even trying to erupt. This state of affairs continued for another hour, until finally the intervals and durations started to get shorter. At the eleven hour mark in the Grand eruption interval Turban finally had a strong start to an eruption, but even then it took nearly a minute for Grand to join in.
The burst lasted just under 8-1/2 minutes and the second was just under a minute long. The whole eruption lasted just over ten minutes, and Vent & Turban quit. During the whole wait Percolator was in eruption, with some occasional activity by Sput D.
Did not expect to arrive in the Old Faithful area and find that Grand had not erupted since before we left home. Was pleasantly surprised to get checked in and partially unload the truck and see that a half hour later it still had not erupted, and interval approaching twelve hours. So suspended getting the cabin set up for a wait out at Grand. Didn't bring the light, as it needed to be unpacked first.
Only waited one Turban eruption interval of just over fourteen minutes. The pool filled nicely with Vent starting to overflow before the start of Turban's eruption. Then Grand took its time getting started with a series of large boops before the surging turned into jetting.
At just over 7-1/2 minutes, the burst was so short we pretty much had to get a second burst, which we did. The total eruption duration was just over nine minutes, and Grand didn't really make an effort for a third burst. Vent and Turban slowed down as if they were stopping, then resumed normal post eruption activity.
With all the longer intervals recently, decided it was time to push back my Grand window, especially for nighttime activity. Went out at around the seven hour mark, just as the moon in a clear sky was rising above the ridge.
Still ended up waiting almost an hour for the One Burst Grand Eruption. There was a several second long False Pause at around the 8-1/2 minute mark, then the first burst continued for almost three more minutes.
It appeared that Rift erupted overnight, probably before midnight. Unlike yesterday, West Triplet did not eruption during the several hour wait at Grand, and never appeared to show wter in the vent.
Grand itself had a Turban Delay interval at our arrival. We finally got a One Burst Eruption two hours and six Turban eruptions later. The eruption was nicely backlit with what little wind pushing the steam to the north.
Afterwards went to investigate the progress on the boardwalk between Oblong and Giant. For a week, it seemed like nothing much, about 50 feet of new walkway. At least it looked like the new walkway is solidly built and won't immediately get bouncy like the old walkway.
The dumpster in front of Grotto was gone, replaced by one that gouged the paving material. Will be interested to see if there is any attempt to replair that damage.
Was surprised to see a second crew working on the Fan & Mortar walkway (the Oblong crew is on their weekend), where they were removing the old plastic walkway and replacing it with the newer boards.
Did a quick visit to East Sentinel, where it appears to be back to what I've considered its normal activity, with the murkiness gone.
In the afternoon it was a windy wait for Grand. Once again, I may have arrived during a Turban Eruption Delay. If so, this time it was six Turban eruption intervals before the One Burst Grand Eruption. We also got West Triplet ending just before the Grand eruption.
The clouds of the day had cleared out by 22:30, so despite the experience of the morning, no reason to not to head out.
Might have arrived for a Turban Delay interval, because the overflow was strong and the next Turban eruption had no overflow prior.
If that was the case, then we only had a 3 Turban Delay before the One Burst Grand eruption. While the moonlight was clear and bright, I didn't see any moonbows while standing over by West Triplet.
It wasn't until we had left Grand that we realized that Castle was in eruption. Based on the fact that it was transitioning to steam as we walked up to it, the eruption started during Grand's eruption. This time we were able to catch moonbows with a slight hint of color in the spray and mist from the steam.
In the morning, I arrived just in time to catch another Turban Delay interval. West Triplet then erupted in the middle of a series of seven Turban eruptions leading to another One Burst Grand eruption.
During the wait we saw an eruption of Oblong, and unlike most of the others that have been witnessed from there, it had a number of tall burst visible through the steam of the eruption.
With nothing much going in the Upper Basin, decided to try for a mid-afternoon Great Fountain eruption. Arrived at noon to find a low Great Fountain crater.
So took a side trip to check out the road damage at the bridges. It doesn't look good, and I'll be surprised if the road reopens any time soon, because the repairs are more like replace.
The Great Fountain overflow started about 1-1/2 hour later, lasting about 85 minutes. It was windy, so the best observations were from the boardwalk benches. There were some bursts with good height at the beginning, but the first burst sort of gradually turned into the second.
Got back into the Upper Basin where Grand had not erupted and the interval was over seven hours. From the bike rack I saw an eruption of Turban that was so large that at first I thought I was seeing Grand in the late Big Sawmill phase. But no jetting, so I knew that couldn't be it.
A half hour later West Triplet erupted, followed a few minutes later by the One Burst Grand eruption, lasting 9-1/2 minutes. West Triplet ended after that, with no Rift eruption.
By then it was nearly 17 hours since we saw the Castle eruption, so decided to hang around. Over then next 1-1/2 hours the waiting crowd slowly got smaller as Castle was mostly silent with the occasional large splash. Needed time to fix a meal, so finally left around 19:00. Castle had the minor eruption about ten minutes later.
The moon was bright and the sky clear when we went out for the after midnight Grand eruption. That situation slowly deteriorated, with high, thin clouds moving in and staying.
Got out just in time for a long wait for the first Turban eruption. That was preceded by heavy overflow and it was a strong Turban eruption. The next Turban eruption had no overflow, so the Delay count began.
A couple more Turban intervals and we got an eruption of West Triplet. That's when the Turban eruption intervals and durations began to vary in length, with little pattern. At one point there was heavy overflow and an interval under 24 minutes, Another time there was a short Turban eruption and an interval below 15 minutes.
By that time it was getting light and the moon had set. After a second West Triplet eruption, the fifteenth Turban eruption had an interval under 15 minutes, and a length under three minutes. Then we got a second Delay interval of over 32 minutes. It was two more short Turban intervals before Grand finally erupted. With a duration of just over nine minutes, that could've been the only burst, but at least our long wait got a second burst.
We started to feel raindrops on the way back from that eruption.
After an attempt at catching up on sleep, went out again for Grand. West Triplet was in eruption, and about twenty minutes after that Rift joined in. No Turban Delay intervals this time, but did have to set through about twenty minutes of rain and strong wind as a line of showers passed through. Then the rain stopped, although it was still cloudy with no sun.
An hour and a half into the Rift eruption Grand had a nice steady fill on a normal Turban eruption interval. Grand still took well over a minute to begin erupting, and this time the One Burst Eruption lasted 9-1/2 minutes. On the way back got to see a distant Beehive eruption from next to Sawmill. And once again, there was a hint of rain on the way back.
Expected a Rift eruption overnight, did not expect to wake up at dawn and find that Grand had yet to erupt. It was around the nine hour mark, so I decided I could run out without much of a wait. Instead, the One Burst Grand Eruption started a few minutes later, so I need not head out.
A bit later I walked over to Geyser Hill and from there to check and confirm that Rift did erupt. Then back to Geyser Hill to wait a hour for Beehive. The winds, which had been mostly calm, picked up during the Indicator eruption, heading directly for the walkway. At first when Beehive started I retreated toward Scissors Spring, then decided it was better to run through the downpour and get behind the water column. I still ended up getting pretty wet, and it was a cool cloudy day.
Afterwards spent some time at Aurum, as it also was having what appeared to be a long interval. With multiple bison on Geyser Hill, I decided I'd rather not get trapped over there and went back to the cabin. (It was around this time that someone got knocked down by a bison over by the Inn. Later in the day it sounded like this bison charged a second touron.)
At Grand, we got a 35 minute Turban eruption interval. During this time the sky cleared and it started to feel much warmer. After that Delay, there followed three intervals later a second Delay Turban interval. At least this time Grand had the One Burst Eruption with the second Delay.
During the afternoon it got cloudy and windy, but no rain. By the time of the evening Grand eruption the sky was clearing and the sun visible between the clouds.
During the afternoon it got cloudy and windy, but no rain. For a while it looked like it might clear up a bit, but by the time of the evening Grand eruption the sky was overcast and it was windy (the latter kept the mosquitos away).
The three Turban eruptions prior to the One Burst Grand eruption had durations of either 4m18s or 4m17s, but the intervals kept getting longer. The West Triplet started to erupt. The eruption started with an explosion on a Turban Delay interval under 26 minutes long. Vent & Turban looked like they might quit but after about 1m20s Turban's activity picked up. West Triplet stopped erupting at some point late in the Grand eruption.
Seeing Grand in eruption as I approached the Inn meant there was no reason to continue onward.
Noticed that Great Fountain had been seen nine hours previously, so it made sense to do an early morning trip out there. Arrived to find it in overflow. Fifty minutes later we got an adequate eruption, since it was still calm and the steam obscuring was at a minimum.
Grand could've erupted before noon, but instead we got a pair of Turban Delay intervals that pushed eruption into the same time frame that it's been in the last few days. At least we got a nice two burst eruption. It lasted ten minutes with Vent & Turban quitting after no attempt at a third burst. West Triplet finally erupted after Grand had ended.
The wind had picked up during the Grand wait, so there wasn't much expectation of height in the afteroon Beehive eruption. But it died down a bit, and people at the south end only had to retreat to a little pocket of dryness near Anemone.
Went out about an hour before sunset with a pack filled with all the gear needed for a long nighttime wait. Expected to see Rift in eruption, but it wasn't. Ended up never getting any of that gear out of the pack, as the One Burst Eruption started at the last opportunity to have the sun above the ridge. The eruption ended just as the sun disappeared. This was a fair trade-off-- sunset eruption instead of full moonlight eruption.
It seems that lately we are having Vent & Turban quit even on the relatively short one burst eruption, and this was yet another case.
When I woke up at 05:30, I wasn't surprised to see that there wasn't a report for Grand in the last few hours. I was surprised to get out there just after 06:00 to find a full pool and West Triplet erupting. On over 8-1/4 hour interval, and Rift not to blame.
Before that, from the bike rack at Castle, I saw Penta in a fairly strong steam-phase eruption. By the time I got there the water in the runoff had almost reached the boardwalk. Was still going strong, so I recorded a couple of minutes of video.
West Triplet ended right after I arrived, so I expected the next Turban eruption would lead to Grand erupting too. Instead, got an hour's worth of Turban eruptions where the intervals were under 17 minutes. The One Burst Grand eruption finally started 66 seconds after Turban started.
In the Sawmill Group Uncertain was gurgling and splashing. After about 25 minutes of this, we finally got an Uncertain eruption of sorts. The start was not abrupt, but consisted of the splashing getting stronger and taller with more overflow until finally the weak jetting was continuous. The height was less than two meters, but around normal length, dying down to heavy steam. At that point, Sawmill had one of its half-minute eruptions where there wasn't any overflow.
Beehive was also having a long interval. I was there less than five minutes before water was visible in Beehive's Indicator. What little wind there was was blowing toward the river, so up by Plume we got a nice bright double half-rainbow.
Decided it was too nice to stay indoors, so went to try our luck in the Lower Basin. Got to the entrance to Firehole Lake Drive to discover that Great Fountain was already in eruption, so no point in biking out there. Continued on to Fountain Paint Pots to see quiet Fountain Group. Even Clepsydra was quiet. Didn't stick around there either.
Midday it was time for Rift. The Turban eruption interval after I arrived was at least 32 minutes long, so we also had a Turban Delay Interval to deal with. As it turned out, Rift ended first, after being active for almost two hours. Grand finally had the One Burst Eruption on the sixth Turban eruption interval, or one Turban interval after the end of Rift's eruption.
Afterwards it was interesting that Belgian and Crystal, which had been low when I arrived, were now full. Crystal was even having its pulsation heavy overflows. Bulger, however, was only having minor eruptions, so an eruption of Bulger's Hole seemed unlikely.
By the time I arrived after sunset for the next Grand eruption, Belgian and Crystal had dropped considerably, from 15cm to 20cm. Sawmill was in eruption, but soon quit. Uncertain was showing water, acting like it was going to erupt, but then Sawmill had another eruption which lasted about a half hour. It wasn't until then that Uncertain finally erupted.
The wait for Grand was only 1-1/2 hours, a series of ordinary Turban eruptions and intervals. When Grand finally erupted, it was one of those starts where Turban erupts vigorously while Grand waits about a minute before starting. The One Burst Grand eruption by moonlight was quite nice, and it lasted eleven minutes.
Grand is starting to get stuck in a mode where it erupts almost exactly three times a day, eight hours apart. Once again went out for the first eruption of the day just before sunrise. At least today there wasn't any ice on the boardwalks.
Castle was still putting out some noise at the end of a steamphase. Despite it being well over seven hours, Grand still hadn't erupted, thanks to the Rift eruption last night.
Only waited two quick Turban eruption intervals before the One Burst Grand eruption started. It lasted only 9-1/2 minutes and should've had another burst. What little breeze there was pushed the misty rain over the boardwalk from West Triplet on north.
Afterwards, I noticed that Uncertain was splashing and gurgling heavily. A short wait gave me a short Sawmill eruption where the starting water level was out of sight. As soon as it ended, Uncertain started to overflow and burst up. It took a while for those burst to build in height to a full, normal eruption.
For the wait for the mid-day Grand eruption the Turban eruption intervals varied greatly, from over 22 minutes to barely over 16. Then West Triplet started to erupt and Grand followed before West Triplet ended. The first burst only had about ten seconds of Big Sawmill before Grand paused. The second burst lasted nearly a minute, and an eruption lasting just over ten minutes had Vent & Turban quitting.
Before sunset Grand had the possibility of erupting before sunset, but it didn't happen. Instead we got a series of non-descript Turban eruptions, then a long West Triplet eruption. Grand did manage to have the One Burst Eruption right after the end of West Triplet. There was still a fair amount of light, and the moon, so it wasn't necessary to illuminate the eruption. It was still fairly warm, and the wind from earlier in the day had disappeared. The only drawback was that during the wait, we were subjected to an obnoxious family that only left two minutes before the Grand eruption.
Went out to Grand expecting the next eruption to be in the dark. Did not expect it to be well after midnight.
At around the time I would have expected the eruption we got a strong, heavy overflow from Grand and the Turban eruption interval was 24-1/2 minutes. While not a Delay as defined, Grand and Turban acted as if it was for the rest of the wait. The durations on Turban eruptions got shorter as did the intervals. The final Turban eruption interval preceeding the explosive start of the One Burst Grand eruption was less than 14 minutes, and it took Turban over a minute to finally begin its eruption. The lighting by the moon, and the obscuring steam wasn't too bad, but not bright enough for us to seen any moonbows.
Came back out after dawn, and this time there was no wait for the One Burst Grand eruption. What little air movement was toward the south, although there was a steady rain mist coming down to the northern boardwalk were there was the view.
Checked out Economic before both eruptions. For the first, Economic was low, with the water level inside the inner rim and many of the runoff channels (especially the one under the boardwalk) showed no sign of being wet recently. For the second visit, Economic was in steady overflow and the under boardwalk runoff was wet.
Went down basin to take a look at the progress (or lack thereof) in rebuilding the boardwalk south of Giant. There old walkway has only been partly removed, and from a distance I could not seen any new sections. On the way back, I did manage to get a Rocket major eruption.
Like the morning eruption, we didn't have a long wait for the One Burst Grand eruption. An otherwise undistinguished eruption at midday with weather that was nicely sunny but a bit breezy at times.
After the Grand eruption, West Triplet started to erupt. As a Rift eruption is expected by midday tomorrow, I waited around for the end. It only lasted eight minutes, so no Rift eruption for at least a few more hours. Just before I left, Grand started having some small afterplay.
Was not surprised to see Rift in eruption when I came out for the next Grand eruption. Ended up waiting through a two hour series of Turban eruptions where the durations were short (around 3-1/2 minutes) while the intervals got shorter. Once they got around 16 minutes, I noticed that Rift was dying down. Half hour later, it quit as Grand started to erupt. We got a well lit two burst eruption where the durations were reasonable and ordinary.
Just before Grand, Beehive erupted. I watched it from the Sawmill Group.
Beehive Geyser eruption 2025 Jun 06 21:57
It seems like every day over the radio I hear at least one report of a "thermal trespass" in the Biscuit Basin closure. I have yet to hear of anyone being cited for entering that closure. All that happens is that some or all of the group gets an identity check and a verbal warning. So if you are willing to risk the possibility of having a lifetime record in the national Dept. Of Interior "DOI-10 Incident Management, Analysis and Reporting System (IMARS)", you can get out there and look around and shoot your videos and selfies.
Plan ahead. Go out in the morning when the fog will help hide you. Go in from the Mystic Falls trailhead. Carry a radio that's tuned to the West Direct and West Repeater channels so you know when you've been spotted. Wear a bit of a disguise, in case you are seen. Something you would normally never wear, like a bright red MAGA ballcap, or a fluorescent orange jacket. Something that could easily be used as identification from a distance, and easily hidden when needed.
If you do get cited, have a lawyer ready so you can file a discrimination lawsuit. Just because you aren't a foreign tourist (frequent culprits) and despite your have spent years visiting this park, that doesn't mean you should not receive a verbal warning like everyone else. Enjoy!
I've been informed that 'coy' is an acronym from wildlife management jargon meaning "cub of year", a term that has escaped into the wild. I guess it's not surprising that a group that seems to enjoy using terms like "stall", or "crash", or "ernesto", or "delay" would readily adopt it.
