Ben

I was convinced “#2s” had something to do with pencils. Got there in the end tho.

Big ol yikes

Though STEAM is a byproduct a geyser, in geologic terms geysers erupt water. A thermal feature that produces steam is called a fumerole. This is very nit-picky, I know, and I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle, but I’ve spent too long teaching in and about Yellowstone not to say something… :-)

That SW corner, phew! Fun puzzle.

Small point, but cacti have spines, not needles. Interestingly, fir trees do have needles.

I enjoyed this one. Also, I find it interesting that I solved Wednesday and Tuesday this week more than five minutes faster than Monday. I realize it’s all subjective to the solver, but as one relatively new to the NYT crosswords and their vagaries, I was surprised.

Love that Emmet Otter was an inspiration for a puzzle, and, wow this was a weird and tough crossword. Felt very obscure and contrived to me. More like a Friday that happened to have a theme.

Yeesh