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Woke up just in time to head out for the morning Grand eruption. Arrived in time to see the start of a Turban Delay Interval. That was the entire wait for a One Burst Eruption.

The midday eruption was similar, no Delay interval but a couple of Turban eruption intervals before another One Burst Grand eruption. But this time the rain started as Grand was quitting, so once again had to bicycle back while getting wet.

Went out at sunset for the final eruption of the day. This time it was early, so when there was Turban Delay Interval with a Grand Boop. By then, it was getting dark, although a nearly full moon had already risen. It was also cold and a bit breezy. The delay meant that we had to wait for two more Turban intervals before the eruption. It started suddenly, and Turban started almost immediately afterward. The wind of course died down, so the area to the north, where one would go to see the moon and Grand together, got soaked. Despite the long first burst lasting just over 9-1/2 minutes, we did get a nice second burst.

During today's eruptions it seems that West Triplet would come to overflow, but not eruption. For the last eruption, it was already overflowing heavily before the eruption.

Another wet day where it was better to be elsewhere. Did get back in time to head out for the evening One Burst Grand Eruption. The weather felt more like October than August-- damp and windy. No boops this time. The eruption started with a single, sudden surge from Grand at least 5 meters high, and built from there.

It was a wet, cold day, and there wasn't much reason to go out into it.

I did head over to Geyser Hill during a break in the early afternoon to check on Little Squirt's frying pans. Little Squirt had obviously quit quite a while ago, but the steaming area was about the same as last night.

While out there, I also got to see the start of Castle, and watched it until it went into the steam phase. Also kept an eye on Beehive's Indicator, but it didn't do anything.

Later went out to Grand. At the time there hadn't been a report on the midday eruption. But when I arrived there was a Turban Delay interval, and the electronic time finally got posted. It was a bit early in the interval. While waiting, I heard Beehive erupting, a situation almost identical to last night. Grand erupted two Turban Intervals later, for a One Burst Eruption at almost exactly 10 minutes. West Triplet overflowed during the eruption, but I didn't see an eruption, and it was down by the end.

Since the weather map showed a band of rain coming, I headed out, but as usual, the rains started as I got on my bike at Castle.

The day started with a notification of Beehive's Indicator in eruption. I got no farther than the path from the cabins when Beehive started erupting.

The report from Fan & Mortar was no eruption overnight. At that point, it was time for Grand. Saw Turban from the bike rack, which was fortunate, as Grand started 30 minutes later. It was a Turban initiated, and it took Grand about twenty seconds to get going. Just over ten minutes in there was a significant false pause, then Grand continued for well over another minute.

The webcam operators reported a Bulger eruption during the Grand eruption, but I saw no evidence of any activity. The runoff channel was dry both before and after, while Bulger was having it's low boils every so often. They've been reporting a lot of activity from Bulger that I think did not happen.

With Fan & Mortar not doing much, I went over to Daisy to catch what for this year was a long eruption, lasting well over 3-1/2 minutes. Afterwards, the vents on Splendid started quickly, alternating between the Main Vent and the Side Boiler.

The mid-afternoon Grand wait had something special. I had just got there when there was a call of large Upper Mortar splashing. Left Grand and headed toward Castle, just in case. Since there wasn't a follow up, headed back to wait for Grand. Sawmill was erupting all during this time, and the group was well into a deep drain. About a half hour later, got a radio call of Uncertain in eruption. I was able to capture some video over the crowd. This is the third eruption observed of the year, and I've seen all three, the last two while waiting for Grand.

Grand erupted about an hour later, and never had a delay during this time. It was another One Burst Eruption lasting about 11 minutes.

Towards evening, there was a report of Little Squirt in eruption. I went over about an hour later, to check on the frying pans I'd seen active back in May. Little Squirt was still erupting, but the only hint of activity was some slight steaming from one of the frying pan depressions. It might take a while for them to get going at the strength I'd seen before.

Headed out for the nighttime Grand, finding West Triplet, Percolator and Sput D active. Also arrived for a Turban Delay Interval. Shortly after West Triplet quit, I saw my first Bulger major eruption of this trip, thanks in part to some headlights from the Inn parking lot illuminating the area. Got down there just in time to see the eruption end. It was quite obvious that there had been an eruption, with water still flowing down the runoff channel.

Then there was this strange noise that seemed to be coming from the area of the sputs. Finally realized that what we were hearing was Beehive. Maybe the smoky haze was having an effect on the sound.

Two Turban eruption intervals after the Delay eruption, we got another strong Turban eruption that either goes into a Grand eruption, or results in a further delay. Grand didn't erupt. By then, we were seeing flashes of lightning and hearing thunder getting closer. A check of the radar weather maps showed that the odds were we'd get soaked before Grand erupted, so it was time to go. Got back to the cabin just in time for the heavy rain to start.

Going out after midnight to see the end of a Fan & Mortar event was probably not the most productive use of the time, but it did mean we didn't have to get up at dawn to see what what going on down there.

Throughout the day there were splashes from Upper Mortar during the ending of the cycle when the Mortar Frying Pans start to erupt and put out steam. The ones I saw never much looked like they would result in an eruption.

The mid-day Grand had a short interval and a short duration. At 8m10s, a second burst was a near certainty. The pool even rose up afterwards and for about five second, it looked like a third was possible.

Immediately afterward, as I was approaching the bike rack, there was a call for Beehive's Indicator, so for the first time this trip I watched Beehive from across the river. Probably for the best, as it was windy with shifting directions, so people were scattering from Scissors to Plume. Also because of the wind, it seemed like one of the shorter eruptions that I can remember.

Spent too much time at Fan & Mortar seeing nothing much happen. Went out for Grand at sunset, and caught the start of a Turban Delay interval. That's when another call of something happening at Fan & Mortar came through. Remembering the fiasco early in the trip, I decided I had to abandon Grand. As it turned out, nothing much happened at Fan & Mortar, and Grand erupted on the Delay and had at least two bursts. Oh, well.

Got up before dawn in order to check out Fan & Mortar. It was cold and dreary from the overcast smoke. Turns out that going down there wasn't the wrong thing to do. They had a strong event shortly after dawn, with some decent Upper Mortar activity at the end, but nothing really exciting.

From there, it was time to go to Grand. Castle started as we rounded the curve, the proceeded to go into one of its sloppy, pausing eruptions. It finally went into the major steam phase with one of the pauses well over four minutes.

Grand didn't make us wait, and it had a nice two burst eruption. The sun was red, but it nicely backlit the activity.

As we left Grand, we saw Penta splashing from the Top Vent. It was starting a steam phase eruption that lasted about ten minutes. Just as the activity died down, we got the call for Beehive's Indicator, so it was off to Geyser Hill. There was no wind, so once again it was a tall, impressive eruption. I didn't see any activity from the Base Vent. Also caught a secondary Lion eruption as I was leaving Geyser Hill.

In the afternoon we got another, weaker event down at Fan & Mortar, one that died down fast enough so that we were able to got back to see another two burst Grand eruption.

There was a third Fan & Mortar event in the evening, about the same strength as the previous two. Then at sunset, went out for a One Burst Grand. Rift was in eruption, but as it seems to do quite often, ended sometime during Grand. Sawmill was also in a long eruption during our entire wait.

Since were out for the early nighttime Grand last night, decided to skip the next one. Turned out we might've got out in time as it had a long interval.

Got out to Grand in time to see the Turban eruption that started the Turban Delay Interval. Grand really didn't fill until about 23 minutes. At around the 30 minute mark, we got strong boils on Grand over the next few minutes, then the pool dropped. It was three more Turban intervals before Grand finally erupted, but we were rewarded with a second burst.

With nothing much happening, it was back out to Grand in the evening. Once again, we got a Turban Delay. This time the One Burst Grand eruption only took two Turban eruption intervals.

Other than that, it was a day to do other things.

In the dark last night I noticed some blue flashes under the boardwalks at several locations. It would appear that the research group has never heard of something called "electrical tape" and how it can be used to cover small lights and not make something so obvious. Also, the sensor for Sawmill is located in Scalloped Spring's runoff area, which isn't where I'd put it.

This morning the call for Beehive's Indicator interrupted our breakfast, but fortunately we were able to shove things into the refrigerator and get out in plenty of time. It was a windless morning, and warm, so the water column looked nicely tall. Also, I saw the Base Vent splashing around the time the Indicator quit.

From there it was time to rush out to Grand. Got out there just in time. Had just passed Rift when the water column started to rise. Was also able to see that Turban had yet to start. This One Burst Grand eruption had an interval of less than six hours.

The midday Grand arrived right when Turban started. So I got to get the interval duration for the Turban Delay, over 36 minutes. At around the 30 minute mark, Grand had a couple of strong boops, then proceeded to drop. Fortunately, the Turban Delay was only two short intervals, and we even got a second burst after an initial burst duration of nine minutes. The second burst lasted well over two minutes and was followed by the start of West Triplet.

Headed out for the nighttime Grand and Sawmill started just as we walked by. That was kind of the highlight of the evening, as we didn't light up the One Burst Grand because there were others out there and they weren't using lights either. But the moon will headed toward full, so the best time for nighttime Grand eruptions is starting.

Here's a rule of thumb I use for Grand bursts-- If the first burst is under 8m15s, a second burst is nearly certain. Between 8m15s and 9m00s, a second is likely, but not guaranteed. From 9m00s to 10m00s, a second is possible, but decreasinly unlikely. After ten minutes, start seeing how long it can continue, usually in Big Sawmill mode.

Started out the day with warm morning and a One Burst Grand Eruption. Right afterward, got the call for an event down at Fan & Mortar. Nothing much, but a good sign that it seemed more than the continuous Angle events of a few days earlier. It really did seem like with a little more push from Upper Mortar, we'd have had an eruption.

In the afternoon, arrived to what was probably a Turban Delay interval. If so then we had to wait five more intervals, including an eruption of West Triplet followed by the start of Rift, before we got the One Burst Grand Eruption. Like earlier in the day, we got a call to go down to Fan & Mortar just as Grand ended.

Unlike the earlier activity, this progressed slowly. At one point, when the frying pans and steaming vents near Lower Mortar began, Fan's vents suddenly picked up. High vent was fluctuating, but pretty much erupting continuously. After we'd been there an hour, Upper Mortar started splashing. On the third try, it died down, only to have Fan's East and Main Vents lift up, immediately followed by the two main Mortar vents.

This wasn't a strong eruption, as only a few surges hit the walkway. But it was hot and dry and the wind pushed most of the spray away from the walkway. With an interval at well under three days, this was the second shortest one of the summer, and a nice sign of many more opportunities to see eruptions this month.

Made a quick visit to Geyser Hill to see Giantess and Infant Geysers erupting. Infant was going well over a meter high at times, and seeing a superheated boil in an opaque brown pool is definitely something different. (And it didn't smell offensive, just a bit too sweet.)

Finally went out after sunset for a Grand eruption. It was another one of those 30-plus minute Turban intervals where Turban starts slowly, then gets stronger as the eruption progresses. Finally, after about a minute, Grand started the third One Burst Eruption of the day. It was a short eruption, but at the end of the burst, Vent started blasting away. It was a steam-phase that was perhaps stronger than the one Giantess put on the day before. It took awhile to reload and leave, so I got to hear the quick Vent & Turban restart.

It was a good day to visit Norris. Arrived several hours later than would have if we were expecting a New Crater/Steamboat eruption. There were plenty of spaces, and we didn't bother with the car cover.

Emerald was well below overflow, with what little water going down the runoff coming from the sputs in the trees.

Spent a half hour on the platform. It looked like New Crater/Steamboat had erupted about three days earlier (and not 33) with water just coming back into the system. Were some impressive vertical jets from North Vent, but nothing from the South Vent. The dampness in its runoff channel seemed to be coming from somwhere in the channel, as it was obvious that next to the vent, the channel was dry.

Cistern was just at overflow, with water only coming over parts of the rim.

Watched Crater Spring for a while. Just strong boiling back in the vent area, and some splashing in the side vent. Then it was on around the rest of the Back Basin. Saw frequent activity in Orby, and caught several eruptions of Vixen. Or it could have been just one long eruption with some pauses. After the last eruption, the vent drained, and did not have the gurgling sounds of between previous eruptions.

Back in the Upper Basin just in time for the ending of a recovery event at Fan & Mortar. I was hoping it would go directly into continuous Angle mode, as that seems to be better than seeing Bottom Vent erupt for half an hour.

After a typical One Burst Grand eruption, returned to the cabin to prepare something to eat, only to have to head out to Geyser Hill because Giantess had started. Arrived there just as the thumping was dying down.

After about 20 minutes of the preliminary activity, there was a short pause before water jetting bgan again. For the next couple of hours, this unimpressive activity continued. I decided to walk around the rest of Geyser Hill to see if anything else of interest was triggered. Nothing much, but as I approached Anemone from the north, I noted that Giantess' jetting was becoming more frequent.

It quickly turned into fairly weak, continuous jetting, not much stronger than Castle, and not as loud. It also didn't last very long before there were water jets visible. Probably the worst Giantess eruption I've seen since 1983 when it was having the Aborted type, where the activity quit after a few hours.

Instead of sticking around (the boardwalk was jammed with GeyserGamers and hangers-on and tourons), I decided to see a sunset Grand. The Sawmill Group was fairly high. While Belgian was down several centimeters, and Crystal not overflowing, Slurp was quiet. The first time I've seen that in a while. Spasmodic was maybe 30cm below overflow, and water was easily visible in Sawmill. Sawmill started about 15 minutes later.

Right at sunset, Grand was in the middle of a Turban Delay when it booped a couple of times. It took several minutes before Turban started, and by that time the sun was completely set. I turned away, only to be surprised 1-1/2 minutes into Turban to have Grand start. Like the afternoon, it was otherwise a typical One Burst Grand.

With Fan & Mortar erupting before midnight, this was another good day to be elsewhere. But did manage to see a couple of Grand eruptions, neither with much of a wait.

The first was at dawn, with ice starting to form on the boardwalk. Got there early in a Turban Delay interval that lasted almost 30 minutes. In the middle of that, Castle started, and actually had a major eruption. The One Burst Grand eruption started out wetter than I would have liked, but was mostly visible from the north end.

The second Grand eruption was early evening, with the sun low, but behind clouds. Only waited one full Turban interval, and towards the end, the clouds cleared so that we got a nice sunlit eruption with rainbows. The first burst was only 8-3/4 minutes, and when the pool continued to slosh around, it became apparent that we were getting a second. A tall, wide second burst that developed into a a second burst that lasted well over two minutes.

Had a long wait for Grand that did not have a Turban Interval Delay. The day was cool, and got windy. Just a series of fairly ordinary Turban eruptions. During the latter part of the wait, Sput D was active. The Grand eruption did have two bursts, although Vent & Turban quit despite the whole eruption duration only being just over ten minutes. Right afterwards, West Triplet started.

While waiting, we did get to witness a coyote harvest a marmot. It came out of the trees at the top of the hill and grabbed one from the rocks up there. The coyote (or another one) hung around for a while, but no other successes.

Most of the rest of the day was spent seeing a Beehive in the wind, and spending some time at Fan & Mortar. The activity there had settled back into Angle mode for the duration. Did go and check on East Sentinel. No signs of any eruptions, but the boiling and surging seemed to be even stronger than during the last visit a few days ago.

Came out to Grand with Rift in eruption. Percolator was active when I arrived, but within a minute or two had quit and was not seen again, During that time, Sput D was active, intermittently. After about an hour, Rift quit, before Grand for once. About a half hour later, we got the One Burst Grand eruption. Ten and a half minutes, and Vent & Turban quit again this time.

Not having to go down basin for Fan & Mortar, it was a good day to go elsewhere. But first, did go out for a nice One Burst Grand eruption under fairly good conditions. Once again, this had Turban starting the eruption. Until only a few days ago, all of the eruptions were Grand starts, sometimes with Turban taking a minute to get going.

In the early afternoon, after returning, it was a pleasant surprise to hear the call for Beehive's Indicator. There was a strong wind, but it didn't shift around much, and it didn't seem to do much to shorten the water column.

That evening, went out for my first nighttime eruption of the year (one where I headed out in the dark, or near dark). No one else was out there. It was windy and smoky. The Turban interval preceding the first Turban eruption I saw could have been a Delay interval, but I can't be sure. The next intervals, though, definitely was one. So I wasn't surprised when at just under sixteen minutes, Turban started without much overflow. The surprise was when a few moments later, Grand started. It was a long One Burst Grand. Near the very end of the eruption lights appeared over at Castle and headed my way, but they didn't arrive until well after the end.

In the morning, the fog was thick. Could just barely see Rift erupting while approaching Sawmill. Arrived in the middle of a Turban Delay interval, but fortunately, we got the eruption instead of having to wait. It was a long, nearly 12 minute One Burst Grand, and Rift quit at some point during the eruption.

While we were at Grand, a raven attacked my bike. It took my goggles out of the front handlebar pouch and left them on the ground. It ripped several holes on the back seat and on one of the handlebars. I didn't find what it was looking for.

It was still foggy, so decided to make a quick trip over to Daisy. It was barely visible during the eruption, so had to concentrate on the sounds it made. It was also a short eruption, barely over 3 minutes.

Still foggy at 10:00 when went over to Geyser Hill to wait around for Beehive. Fog finally started breaking about a half hour later. The eruption itself was one of the taller ones, as there was no wind to speak of. The duration also seemed to be a bit longer than usual.

Around this time Sawmill was having a series of shorter eruptions separated by only ten minutes or so. We caught the last one headed out for the midday Grand eruption. The Sawmill Group was in a deep drain. While waiting, Sawmill had one more eruption, lasting about ten minutes. This Grand eruption also took place on a long Turban Delay interval, but only lasted nine minutes. Grand made no attempt to have a second burst.

With nothing much going on, we decided to spend some time at Great Fountain. Arrived before overflow. The overflow itself lasted 82 minutes, and Great Fountain didn't really pause. Between the start of surging until the first big burst was only 61 seconds, with constant activity. The eruption had a number of good bursts during both the first and third series.

Finally returned for the sunset Grand eruption. Sawmill was in eruption, and the Group water levels were pretty high, with Slurp in its noisy wet mode. There was a series of short Turban intervals, ranging from 16 to 18 minutes long before Grand finally erupted less than five minutes after the sun set. The top of the water column was tinged a little pink, but nothing spectacular. And once again, we got a short duration that was not followed up by a second burst.

Got a late start to the day. After Grand erupted at sunrise, there was nothing much going on, other than it was raining. So it was nearly 11:00, and time for the next Grand, before heading out.

It was early, but Grand cooperated with a short interval. And it cooperated with a short first burst and the first Turban initiated eruption I've seen this trip. At a little over 8 minutes, we had to get a second burst. Then again, it took 1m24s for the second burst to start, which is way on the long side for a pause duration. Then, of course, the second burst had to last over two minutes, insuring that we would not get a third burst.

During Grand, West Triplet started, which is also a bit different from what I've seen so far this trip.

Since it was an overcast, cool day, decided that it would be a good time to spend a little time in the Bijou monkey cage. Spent about an hour and a half, and didn't see much. Bijou was slowing down every six to eight minutes, and that was about it.

I was considering leaving, but I finally left when another event started at Fan & Mortar. Unlike the other ones we've seen the past few days, this looked and felt like a real event. Main Vent was putting out huge splashes, and when the Fan vents started, they were strong. And Angle took its time in finally joining in.

For the better part of 15 minutes the activity built up. The Fan vents would get weaker on occasion, but High never really stopped, and each resurgence seemed a bit stronger, with more water pouring out that the prevent surge cycle. Finally, from my vantage point over by Spiteful, I could see steam pouring out of Main Vent and even the East Vent. But it still took over another minute to build into the major eruption.

I's been almost three years since I last saw Fan & Mortar erupt, but this seemed stronger than most that I've seen recently. The water from Main vent landed well beyond the walkway on several occasions, and the vertical play also seemed taller. I can't say much about Mortar, as I was not in position to see it, and it was so steam later that it was still hard to see it.

Up to this point, the day had been nice. Despite the overcast, the sun was getting through enough that at Bijou I was feeling a bit warm. At some point during the Fan & Mortar eruption, though, the wind shifted, it got cooler and worst of all, suddenly it was smoky. I noticed this especially riding the bike back. Was wondering if it was something new that started nearby by the morning's thunderstorm. It sounds like it's from something in Idaho.

During the Fan & Mortar eruption, a bear was sighted along the trail to Solitary. This caused The Bear Patrol to search the area, but the bear had wisely left the area. Still, I think I will be careful out at Grand at odd hours.

It was time for Grand, so went out there in much cooler and smokier conditions. After a couple of Turban eruptions, we got one whose interval almost qualified as a Delay. It was a strong Turban eruptions, and a long one. It was followed on the next interval by a Turban eruption without any Grand overflow. It was at that point that the rain started. Hoped that we could get the eruption on the next Turban eruption, in effect having a two Turban eruption delay. But instead Turban erupted after only 17 minutes. But it was the next interval that gave us the Grand eruption. A One Burst Eruption lasting about 10-1/2 minutes.

For once, the rain let up, instead of intensified, when we got on the bikes at Castle. We probably should have waited a little bit, as about fifteen minutes later, it had all stopped.

The call for Beehive's Indicator interrupted breakfast, but was worth it. The sun was low enough over the ridge that we got rainbows from the water column and the shower downwind to the north.

Over at Grand, there was some confusion over when the overnight eruption was recorded by the monitor, but that got straightened out before the Turban Delay occurred. This time we only had to wait for three more Turban intervals (an hour) before we got the One Burst Grand eruption.

It was at that point, approaching noon, that we got a call about possible event at Fan & Mortar. I grabbed Daisy eruption time while heading down for what turned out to be nothing much. Which pretty much describes the rest of the day. I did check out East Sentinel, which was a bit more active than yesterday.

Finally went over to Grand for the next eruption window. Got there with Percolator in eruption. A few minutes later, Sput D erupted for a couple of minutes. Every ten minutes or so, it erupted again. Percolator never stopped,. This is the first time I've seen them active independent of West Triplet. So it was no surprise that about 50 minutes later West Triplet started.

It was then that there was another call from Fan & Mortar. And this time, it actually sounded like there was something that could build into an eruption. So abandoned Grand. Over at the bike rack at Castle, I noted that Rift was now in eruption, which helps explain the prior activity over there. And of course, just as I left Castle, Grand started. It was another One Burst Eruption, so it wasn't so bad.

The event at Fan & Mortar turned into another dud, although for the first time in several days, we saw part of the Bottom Vent runoff channel wet. Headed in for dinner and to avoid the incoming rain.