Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone presents a much different face in winter than in any other season. It is not just that there are fewer tourists. Only a few species of the wildlife are active. The animals are just trying to survive until spring and their annual renewal. Plants are dormant and the forests are quiet. Buffalo and elk brush the snow aside with sweeps of their muzzles to reveal husks of grass and weeds underneath. Wolves hunt for weakened buffalo and elk that will not survive the winter. The occasional eagle will take a duck from the Firehole or Yellowstone rivers. The ground is frozen and covered with a thick blanket of snow. Of course the thermal features are unaffected by the weather. But in the cold winter air the steam is at its maximum. And the steam condenses and freezes on any vegetation near the thermal features creating ice sculptures of all the trees.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Lower Geyser Basin
The Lower Geyser Basin at Yellowstone
Mammoth to Cooke City Montana
Along the scenic northern loop of Yellowstone through the Lamar Valley and on the the mining town of Cooke City Montana.
Mammoth to Snow Lodge
Pictures taken along the way from Mammoth Hot Springs at the northern entrance to Yellowstone NP to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge in the center of the park.
Midway Geyser Basin
The Midway Geyser Basin at Yellowstone
Upper Geyser Basin
The upper geyser basin at Yellowstone contains the largest concentration of geysers in the world. It includes Old Faithful
West Thumb Geyser Basin
The West Thumb Geyser Basin at Yellowstone