June 19, 2008
 The air was crisp and the sky clear as we gathered for our early morning walk through the Upper Geyser Basin. Having walked the area last night under a full moon, we knew that Beehive Geyser was Melissa’s (our alpha female leader's) favorite. But since Beehive erupts only every 12 hours it was doubtful we would witness an eruption. As we were headed out of the Basin we overheard a “geyser gazer” (one who watches geysers like “wolf watchers” observe wolves). The gazer said to run to Beehive as it was about to erupt. As we approached we saw the small “indicator” geyser erupting (this was a good sign as it usually erupts just before Beehive). Suddenly there was a percolating, gurgling sound as the steam and water rushed through Beehive’s 4-foot wide cone exploding into the air sounding like a rocket taking off. The water and steam shot skyward for 200 feet. Then, in the background, Old Faithful erupted. What a treat! After 20 minutes of explosive display Beehive slowed to just steam, but even that was amazing as it spiraled out of the cone like a mini tornado. Melissa had her wish and she high-fived all around.
Educators out in nature sometimes do unusual things and today was no exception. During a stop at Firehole River we all simultaneously dunked our heads in the frigid waters. Very refreshing!
Q & A for June 19 |
