This is typical as you look at Old Faithful in July.  People 5 or 6 deep waiting for her to blow.  (Please note, I always refer to this geyser as “she”–but many folks think of it as a “he”–I’ll leave it to you to decide).  I try to get out to watch an eruption every other day or so.  Each eruption is different and unique.

I enjoy watching the crowd reactions as eruption time approaches.  Old Faithful is really almost like a strip-tease artist.  There are these little hints of whats to come; that the crowd reacts and then says “that was it?” not knowing that the real show is yet to come.  For about 10 minutes before an eruption, OF giggles and burbles. The rangers call it “pre-play” but I frequently forget their term and call it fore-play instead.

During this time I love talking to folks in the crowd helping them understand what they are about to see.  22 feet down from the opening that they can see there’s a constriction in the “pipe” that’s only 4″ wide.  It’s that constriction that causes the pressure to build and eventually burst.

When it finally goes, for a lot of the crowd there’s an almost roller coaster like squeal; at the end most of the crowd usually bursts into applause.   One  little girl even called it “fireworks” and another young gentleman speculated what would happen if you put a hollow rocket on top of the water stream.  Even the bored and tired never fail to be amazed…my one recommendation is that you put down your cameras and just watch.  The water and steam interact as if dancing and the sound is dynamic.  The camera reduces that experience to just a picture.  If you want pictures, it will go off again in about 90 minutes.  Take your photos then.

I am surprised at how few people bother to pick up the 50 cent brochure that explains all about the entire geyser field and individual geysers.  They just walk and look without understanding.  Once you know the “how” the entire thing is even more fascinating.  I really think all parents should be required to take a course in “how to engage your children and activate their thinking”.  Some parents do it naturally; most that I see here don’t seem to know how to begin to encourage their children to think about what they are seeing.

So, a little bit of a rant, and a wish for a great week for each of you.