FIRST PLACE Frost clings to silhouettes Yellowstone National Park Cali O'Hare | Rawlins, Wyoming iPhone 11: 1/2398 sec, f/2.4, ISO 20 t was 13 below zero on a December morning when I went to photograph these lost pioneers along the Fountain Paint Pot Trail. Only the creaking of dead lodgepole pines and the crunching of snow beneath my boots dared to disturb the deafening silence. Perhaps these pines would have borne a forest had they not drowned in the shifting waters of nearby hot springs. Hardened by silica, the snags still stand tall as frost crystals cling to their blackened branches. Ice water cuts between the pillows of snow before them. A reminder of the azure blue-sky peeks through the white wisps that have just blown into the Lower Geyser Basin. Later, I watched snowflakes fight with pillars of steam for the same ethereal airspace. The careful balance of the natural world and the juxtaposition of all her powerful forces are perhaps best displayed when winter descends upon Yellowstone National Park. My partner and I spent two days exploring the park on our own once it closed to all but oversnow traffic. We encountered few other people during our time there, and even had the Grand Prismatic Spring to ourselves on Christmas morning. It was a transformative and otherworldly experience, and we have already finalized our plans to return this winter. I Wyoming Wildlife | 25