We got up, took our showers and then went to breakfast. After breakfast we gathered our gear and headed out to the gift shop to see Matthew (Funkygeyserman). We talked to Matthew for a while and then headed over to the Visitor Center to see what their predictions were and to read “the book” to see when the other geysers last erupted.

Riverside was predicted to erupt at 11:30 and Grand and Castle were predicted to erupt at 11:00. There were no predictions for Beehive but it wasn’t doing anything interesting. The “winter” vents were quiet which indicated an eruption had probably taken place within the last 12 hours. We didn’t think we could make it to Riverside, but if we went to Castle we could also watch Grand.

It was another balmy day and the sun was peaking out so I removed my jacket before we headed out for Castle. Riverside was called at 11:25. Grotto was also called at this time. While we were waiting for the Castle eruption Grand went off. This was a G1C eruption. Deb got some pictures of the eruption. About 15 minutes later Castle started. I called this in to the Visitor Center. About 2 minutes later Castle stopped but it continued with some rather healthy surges. Deb was hoping this was just a delayed start but it was not. I called in the minor. Now there was a lot of interest in Beehive but nothing substantial.

Since Grand and Riverside had already erupted and Castle had a minor there was not much else to see. We could go back to Beehive and see whether anything developed or to a viewing area along the bicycle path for Oblong. From that area we would be able to watch Oblong, Giant and Daisy. We could also watch for the Grotto stop. We would also be close to Fan and Mortar. Fan and Mortar had not erupted for several days and was due. We decided to go to Oblong as it had erupted at 1:30 yesterday and I needed some decent pictures of Oblong.

We had just arrived at the viewing area and started to eat lunch when Michael (Mic L) came up. He had just been down to Fan and Mortar. He said the markers had been moved and the bridge was wet. That indicated the Fan and Mortar had erupted last night, probably since midnight. So much for a Fan and Mortar eruption.

We chatted for a while. We heard the call for Beehive’s Indicator. Michael said he may be able to get back to Castle before Beehive erupted so he left. We knew we would not be able to get there. Before Michael got to the bend in the trail Beehive was called. Michael came back and we continued our discussions. Soon we noticed the Grotto stop. A Giant hot period usually follows a Grotto stop so we watched Giant. Sure enough Giant had a hot period. We could not observe all the vents from the bicycle path but soon the hot period ended.

It was time to head up the hill towards Daisy. We got there in time to watch the Daisy eruption. We took some pictures of the colored sparkles in the snow. While we were there someone called Castle again. We could see the steam but it did not appear to be enough for a full eruption. After the Daisy eruption completed Pyramid erupted. We watched that and then decided to go back towards the Visitor Center. Michael left and headed towards Castle. Deb and I stopped by Oblong and watched for a while. Deb finally decided to remove her jacket.

We left Oblong and headed down the path towards Castle. We heard Michael inform the Visitor Center that Castle was not i.e. and did not appear to have been in eruption. We stopped along the path and Deb made a snow angel for Albee and Ceri. The snow was crusted so the snow angel did not come out too well. We continued on to Castle where we stopped to check out Geyser Hill. All was quiet.

It was getting late so we went on to Old Faithful. We have decided that all trips in the geyser basin should end with an Old Faithful eruption. The viewing platform at Old Faithful was crowded. There was a photo class of about 20 people. While we were waiting for Old Faithful to erupt we saw Plume and Lion erupt. After Old Faithful erupted we went to the Visitor Center and talked to the ranger.

After that we went back to the room and had a box lunch for supper. We had to pack as we were leaving Old Faithful to go back to Mammoth and Gardiner.