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Stopped at West Thumb on the way home. In terms of thermal activity, nothing to report. Lots of craters with opaque hot water at the bottom, more deep holes discharging boiling water, and nothing even splashing or sputtering or even sizzling.

What was noteworthy were the number of elk. Saw at least five or six hanging around in the thermal area and parking lot, including a mother and fawn right next to the boardwalk blocking southern access to the lakeshore, requiring a lot of backtracking. Then I heard one bugle off beyond the parking lot.

Was thinking about going out to Grand in the night, but while the moon was bright, it looked like the clouds were coming. Decided to not go out. I woke up again about the time of the eruption, and that proved correct. And the interval was closer to seven hours, which would have made for a long wait.

It was a short wait at Grand. The eruption was perhaps the best of the trip, with what little wind there was pushing the steam up the hillside, so all the vents were visible and the water column and jets were nicely backlit. In addition, there was a second burst.

I couldn't go up on the south side of Daisy as there were five bison bedded down in the area near the trail between Bank Geyser and Bonita Pool. After the Daisy eruption, I watch Splendid for a while. After about four minutes from the end of Daisy, the Side Boiler finally started small. With twenty seconds or so, the activity shifed to Main Vent and stayed there. After a few minutes there were even a few strong surges to about a meter.

The best Grand eruption of the trip had to be followed by the worst. It was still partly sunny when we got out there, but we could see the clouds building to the west and north. It got progressively cooler and windier until we could hear some thunder.
By that time Beehive's Indicator started. By the time Beehive erupted, Turban had some sort of delay eruption. It was hard to tell through the steam, but it was probably a Vent Overflow delay. Turban started strong and vigorous, but lasted less than 3-1/2 minutes. Grand's pool level dropped more than normal.

By then, the rain started, and the wind really picked up. It was two Turban intervals later that Grand finally did erupt. A One Burst Grand lasting 8m53s. It was around that time that the wind died down and the rain slowed to a shower.

With Grand having an over eight hour interval overnight, there was nothing to do in the morning. So visited the Lower Basin again. A Fumarole was back to being a fumarole, and the Fountain Paint Pots had thickened up enough to make some nice mud cones. There was still a slightly bluish pool over some of the white mud area in the center.

Great Fountain overflowed sometime during the half hour we went to the Paint Pots, so there wasn't much of a wait. And the "Big Boil" lead directly into a decent eruption. I tarped my truck just in case, so there wasn't any target for a superburst.

Back in the Upper Basin we had a short wait for the next One Burst Grand Eruption. There was almost a delay, with a Turban eruption interval of 24m59s. But Grand erupted on the next Turban. During that eruption Castle started, and had another major. I haven't seen a minor this trip.

The Firehole River is still high, with water well over the step at the base of Sawmill's unused runoff channel.

The evening was pleasant, although a bit windy, and would have been a great sunset eruption of Grand. But instead we got Rift starting (with Belgian down about 1-2 cm) and a Turban Delay. Grand showed no desire to erupt until after the sun finally disappeared behind a thick cloudbank above the ridge. Then our D4 One Burst Grand eruption happened. Rift quit at about the same time as Grand, with a duration close to two hours.

During the Rift eruption Belgian had risen back to the rim, and at some point Slurp had also risen and was discharging water along with occasional spits. I'm pretty sure this was not Crystal Spring runoff, too.

Riding out in the morning I had to follow a coyote up the hill to Castle. I was headed out in the morning to enjoy what I expected would be the last quiet morning of the spring. The roads in from Montana were opening at 10:00, and figured there'd a fair amount of pent up demand to visit the park, especially today.

So first went to see an eruption of Daisy. Over by Pyramid were 8 bison bedded down. It was a nice, normal Daisy. I didn't stick around to watch Splendid as usual, because I wanted to get over to Castle to catch the next eruption after the one we saw the previous night. I saw Castle start just as I got onto the main bike trail. There was one long pause about four minutes later, and then continuous activity leading into the steam phase.

From there I saw that Rift and West Triplet were erupting. When I arrived in the area, West Triplet had quit, and Belgian looked full and normal. Bulger was having a series of minors. While waiting on Grand, did see a huge eruption of Rocket, well above the trees. Also saw Percolator for a while.

The One Burst Grand came after a Turban delay. Rift continued to erupt during the eruption. Percolator had quit, but Sput D was active. Then Bulger finally had a major eruption. It only lasted a bit over six minutes, but the Hole showed water twice-- at about three and five minutes. The first time there was even a splash or two but the water level never rose higher than about 40cm below the surface.

Went down basin to confirm that there was no reason to pay close interest to either Fan & Mortar, or to Giant. It was near time for Riverside, so we were there when we heard the call for Beehive's Indicator via the webcam. It was a nice view from across the river.

Later it was back out to Grand. Not long to wait for another One Burst Eruption. The crowd wasn't much bigger than what we'd been seeing for the past week. The mass of people I'd expected to rush in from Montana appears to not have materialized.

The webcam people are starting to annoy me as an observer actually in the basin. They seem to be unable to have one report of activity, but must have at least three for every geyser. So many that I've had my "in the basin" reports superceded. They really need to figure out how to arbitrate their little competitions for "Level 5 Geyser Guru" and make one posting.

The other problem is that some people insist on posting useless observations like Pump Geyser. The excuse cited is that "it's to show that the geyser is active." So I decided that it's not just pump, but other features like Tortoise Shell, Comet, Spasmodic and Witches Cauldron that deserve the same treatment. Better yet, those camera watchers should actually spend some time on Geyser Hill and actually watch Pump for a while to learn what it normally does and what sort of activity is worthy of being reported. (They could at the same time see about getting 100 consecutive Sponge eruptions.)

Day started out warm and breezy. Arrived to see West Triplet and Percolator erupting, but no Rift to follow. The Grand eruption about two hours later did have a second burst, and was even so short that vent & Turban didn't quit. Belgian pool was lower when I left than when I arrived, which was interesting.

Later went over to Geyser Hill and caught Beehive eruption. By then the wind had gotten stronger, and of course, as we waited, it shifted toward our position over by Plume. As it turned out, we were right on the edge of the wet zone, and that little corner remainded dry.

Over at Grand Rift was erupting. Belgian was down even more and Slurp was making noisy, sloppering noises but not putting out any water. Bulger was having a series of minors. During the One Burst Grand eruption Rift quit, and Belgian had risen back close to its rim.

Made a quick trip out to Castle to catch an early evening eruption that I saw mostly by myself. It tried to stop once around the four minute mark, but otherwise contined a nice series of mostly major eruptions. (At least what I've seen.)

As the sun set the wind died down, so the wait for the next One Burst Grand wasn't unpleasant. But first we had to have Turban delay, which made sure that it was completely dark. With the quarter moon giving just enough light to see the eruption, that delay may have made the One Burst Eruption more interesting.

A fourth day like the third, although this time there were a couple of moments when it appears that there was going to be an eruption. But in the end, it was another day wasted.

Did get to see a bear on the drive up. It was walking up the road toward Gibbon Falls. I saw this dark lump there, and wondered if it was a small bison. Then it started running and was obviously not a bison. It kept running as we approached, then jumped over the rock wall and was running up the fenced in path. Last we saw of it, it was still running on that walkway.

A third day of things looking better at Norris, but not looking good enough. At 13:28 there was an unexpected push that sure looked like New Crater/Steamboat was starting, but after about 30 seconds, it died down. Nothing much the rest of the day other than a couple of vertical episoded early and a couple near the time we were leaving.

The bison were really out in force. Near Tuff Cliff was a herd of about a dozen cows, each it seemed with a calf. Several other places along the way we had to slow down or stop for bison on or near the road.

A second day at Norris pretty much like the first. The activity was a bit stronger, especially from the South vent where there were numerous bursts to 10meters putting out lots of water. But until 1903, nothing much out of the North vent. Then there was the usual increase in activity just as we were leaving. This time there was a sustained minor with some North vent vertical. Then nothing much for 20 minutes.

The drive back was amusing. Between Madison Jct and Biscuit Basin, encounter a bison in the exact center of the road. Then beyond Midway were flashing lights and someone talking to a ranger. Around the curve were more flashing lights, and a semi-tractor trailer. Then just before Biscuit, just as the sun was about to set, were two bicyclists headed north. And it looks the the one lane restriction on the overpass at Old Faithful is about to start.

A day spent at Norris, where nothing much happened. Steamboat/New Crater looked pretty much the same when we left at 19:20 as when we arrived at 05:50. Seemed like good water coming from the South vent, but North vent was initiating most of the activity, and only once, in the middle of the day, did we see anything approaching vertical.

Had decided to not come out for the pre-dawn Grand eruption, so it was a bit of a surprise to find it erupting shortly ater 08:00. That meant that most likely that there were two long intervals overnight. It also meant that I wouldn't be getting out until later.

Did go out after noon, and watched a series of similar Turban eruption intervals. Unlike previous days, there was no hint of any sort of delay. So it was nice to also be rewarded with a second burst, although the eruption was just under ten minutes long and Vent & Turban did quit.

Went on over to Geyser Hill again, to check on Beehive but not stay. It was having minor splashes, but nothing that looked imminent. Over by Aurum and watched and felt a episode of thumping by Doublet Pool. With few people on the boardwalks, it was easy to feel them. Then Aurum erupted just as I was getting ready to leave. Better behaved than in my previous attempt at seeing an eruption.

The day ended with a report of Beehive's Indicator starting. It was a long one, giving us plenty of time to get within view. And again, the area was far quieter than usual. Old Faithful had just erupted, so there were a few families wandering about

The weather was finally clear and sunny. So went down basin to watch and wait for something. Ended up being Daisy, where it was the middle of the interval. Splendid was calm for the hour or so I waited there. I did see a couple of Pyramid eruptions, too. The duration of the Daisy eruption was only 3m10s, which seems to be continuing the trend of shorter durations. In years past it seemed like Daisy was regularly 3m40s.

After that, it was to Castle, since it was well over 13 hours since the major eruption last night. Only waited about five minutes for a start. It was strong the whole time, except for a series of pauses between four and six minutes.

Then it was over to Grand. Arrived to a full, steamy pool that slowly dropped. The Turban duration was well over six minutes, which makes me suspect we missed a Delay. That the next Turban interval had almost no overflow tends to confirm that.

Grand erupted on the next opportunity, with Turban taking almost a minute to join in. After yesterday, we couldn't be sure what would happen when Grand quit after 9-1/4 minutes, but through the steam we could see the water over the vent, and we were finally, on the tenth try, rewarded with a second burst. Of course that meant that Vent & Turban had to quit.

West Triplet was overflowing heavily by then, and I did catch weak eruption, with lots of thumps, that lasted five minutes. Then it was a Bulger major eruption, and by the time that finished, it was only a few minutes until Vent & Turban restarted.

So because of that, I ended up seeing Beehive start as I passed by Sawmill. I didn't notice any steam to the left as Beehive was climbing in height, so I'm almost certain there was no Indicator. What isn't know is was that really an interval pushing four days, or were there some missed nighttime eruptions? In any case, the days of multiple Beehive eruptions in a day seem to gone for a while.

It was pointed out to us yesterday by Rebecca Roland that one of the vents at Spasmodic had a strange purple color to it. In the bright sunlight of this morning, this coloration was obvious. I think I walked past there once during the last few gray days, and I don't remember seeing anything like this. It looks like some sort of dye. It might be from some trash, as there is what appears to be paper right up next to the vent. In any case, I doubt it is natural, as that pool is intermittent, and when not empty, it's near boiling.

The wait for the next Grand eruption was similiar to the morning. Arrived to a heavily overflowing pool and the subsequent Turban eruption was a long one. The next Turban eruption had no overflow. Unfortunately, the One Burst Grand eruption lasted just under 10 minutes.

No new snow overnight, and since it didn't clear, the temperature stayed just below freezing. So the snow on the walkway out to Grand was mushy and sloppy from all the footsteps from yesterday, most of them being ours.

For the first time it appeared that the water level in Belgian was at the rim, instead of being just below it (or even lower). West Triplet was in intermittent overflow. No delays, but we did end up waiting an hour for a double interval of just under 12-1/2 hours, which isn't at all bad.

The eruption of Grand ended at 8m36s, and didn't even try for a second burst, so that made for the eighth consecutive One Burst Grand of the trip. As we left, West Triplet started to actually burst, but weakly. Then as we passed Bulger, Churn started. I managed to get the rest of the eruption on video. It was a nice solid, typical Churn that resulted in the pool dropping about 5cm or so. It took about fifteen minutes to get back to overflow, and we finally left after twentyfive when the occasion boils didn't result in anything looking like an eruption.

Since was early and nice, for once, decided to visit the Lower Geyser Basin. The Firehole Lake Drive was two grooves of pavement in the snow much of the way. Great Fountain wasn't anywhere near overflow, and Fountain didn't look interested either.

At Fountain Paint Pots there were two sets of footprints leading out and back. A Fumarole was completely drown by a large pool, and just bubbling, and not vigorously. Red Spouter was impressively throwing brown soupy mud all over the place. The Paint Pots themselves were so wet that there were bluish pools over some of the area where the mudpots would normally be active.

There were people at the next eruption of Grand, along with some of the Naturalist staff.The wait started out nice, then the snow showers began. They ended well before another One Burst Eruption.

Afterwards another walk around Geyser Hill showed that Beehive was a bit noiser than yesterday, and that there was some slopping, but it just didn't look interested in erupting. Infant Pool being well above the rim was about the only other interesting thing noticed.

The snow started just about the time we needed to go out for the morning Grand. We trudged on out there, into the north wind. The temperature was right at freezing, so instead of bouncing off, the snow stuck and accumulated to gloves, hats, coats and packs.

The wait at Grand was uneventful. I did watch a West Triplet overflow early in the wait, then went on down to the main runoff. just before Grand started, a small bird flew up from the runoff channel and tried to land on my notebook pouch. I shooed it away.Because of the wind, the pool was easily visible. Turban Geyser's intervals were consistently about 21 minutes, and the durations just under five minutes.

Then we got a nice fill, and the 21 minute mark passed. At 24-1/2 minutes, Turban started and Grand quickly followed. Thanks to the wind, there wasn't much height to this One Burst Grand eruption which lasted about 10-1/2 minutes.

West Triplet was overflowing as we were leaving, and started to well up and burst. Didn't stay around for the duration, and what we saw of the bursts were pretty weak, so it might have been a short eruption. Bulger did nothing the whole time we were out there.

On the way out, at Castle, we encountered two other people. The guy was wearing shorts, and I overheard him say they wanted to go to Grand.

The snow continued during the day, so when we went back out for the mid-day One Burst Grand, the tracks from our previous visit (and of the other two people) were just barely visible. Again the wind was from the north, so we were able to easily see the water level in the pool.

We had a ten minute wait with a nice full pool when Grand had a boop. Then nothing for almost four minutes other than the pool slowly dropping. A long Turban eruption and this meant we were getting a delay. It was two Turban intervals, another ten minute long eruption where Vent & Turban quit. Afterward West Triplet was in heavy overflow, but all we saw was a single heavy upwelling, no eruption.

Decided that it was time to visit Geyser Hill, to see what it was like. Walk over to Lion under at least four inches of snow, and slow going as the temperature was also just at freezing, making everything mushy. When we got to Aurum, it was having a sequence of nice surges that sucked us in. It continued to do that for the next hour. At some point Castle started, but it was hard to see it. Mostly we could tell it was eruption by the sound.

I finally had enough, and left to look at the rest of Geyser Hill. Lion was quiet, as was Beehive. It was at Beehive where I turned around and saw the large Aurum eruption steamcloud. Went over to Anemone, and then returned back to the vehicle at the store lot via the Sawmill Group.

Went out in the evening and the snow was pretty much ended. There was even, once, a bright spot in the sky to the west where the sun should have been. Also arrived in time for a delay. This time, it took three Turban intervals for the One Burst Grand eruption. If the sun had been visible, it probably would have just set.

There was at least an inch of snow that needed removal from the truck before I could drive over to the morning One Burst Grand eruption. But it wasn't cold, as the snow was melting, and the wind was much less than yesterday. But the weather was getting wet as we came back in.

Belgian Pool had recovered mostly, just slightly below the rim. I've seen that variation before.

Did a survey down basin later in the morning. There are new benches at Castle, Riverside and Fan & Mortar, replacing the old ones. Thirty at Riverside, so there will be much less excuse for people sitting on the bumper logs.

Fan & Mortar looked nice at the start of a cycle, with Bottom vent splashing away, and they all quickly died down as Angle started. I doubt there's been any eruption since last year.

Giant didn't look changed much, either. Didn't spend much time there, as the weather was starting to get wet. An extended observation period will have to wait for nicer weather. Oblong has thick black slime filling much of the runoff, so I doubt it has done anything in the last few months, either.

The mid-day One Burst Grand was during a period of snowing, and had a short interval, so we got to see the start from Castle. Waited through the West Triplet activity to catch the first Rift eruption of the season. Again, things seem unchanged there from last year, as Percolator and Sput D were also active until West Triplet ended as Rift started.

The weather cleared a few hours later, so went out to see the Three Sisters activity in person, instead of on the camera. Got confused by which was which, so initially reported Mugwump for what was actually Three Crater. (I think that pool of water has the highest concentration of less than obvious names.) Saw a couple of periods of intermittent splashes to about a foot. The first lasted a bit over 7 minutes, which the second was only four minutes long.

Then it was off to Grand, where we were treated to a 35 minute delay. It was too steamy to see the pool, but on the other hand, the steam was pouring off well below the rim of the crater. Finally, 20 seconds after a couple of boops, the One Burst eruption began. The steam direction was more up the hillside, so was able to catch the starts of Vent and Turban.

Bulger had been having frequent minors before Grand, and the webcam operators had mentioned it looked different. So after Grand, we stuck around for a while to catch one, with no success. The best we got was deep rumbling.