A Moment Inside a Snow Globe

Watching wildlife graze, snowflakes fall, and exploring Yellowstone National Park  in pure white snow remains the highlight of this crazy year. There were moments when it felt like I was inside a big, beautiful, and magical snow globe.

The only road in the park that is plowed is the stretch from Gardiner to Cook City, the gateway to the Lamar Valley.  In February, the ground was covered in hip-high snow, I know because I couldn’t resist testing out my waterproof pants and snow boots.  Several times we drove through a whiteout.  The feeling of not being able to  see in front of you is unnerving, exhilarating, and you catch yourself holding your breath more than you realize.

The same road was taken days in a row and eventually I began to recognize markers and became familiar with the route.  I began to look down towards the Lamar River before we reached the bridge hoping to spot an otter at the water’s edge; my eyes stayed glued to the top of a ridge line because I had seen Bighorn sheep there our first day; and I tried not to blink as we passed the Willows in case a moose was bedding underneath them.  

The hope of spotting wildlife kept me diligent as my eyes scanned the landscape searching for something that might be looking back at me.  Many times the excitement of seeing a bushy tail or something with an amazing rack made my heart race and with my finger on the shutter I’d fire away.  My photo catalog is full of many beautiful moments.  I have images that no one else got on that trip even though I was traveling with two other photographers.  Sometimes standing shoulder to shoulder with the same subject before us yet there are no two images that are exactly alike.  That’s the thing about photography everyone has a different story to tell and no two people experience something the same way.  

My love for trees goes back to childhood when I found myself fascinated by a neighbor’s Willow tree.  I’ve been known to u-turn when I pass an interesting one.   From the skinny ones that bend in the wind to ones with big thick trunks that are so big a grown man cannot wrap his arms around.  Even dead ones are beautiful, I really do like them all.

Leaves come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors and I’ve picked up my share of perfect ones.  Pressed between pages of the book I had with me at the time they are usually forgotten until they are found again and a memory of that place rushes back to mind.  Every tree serves a purpose even if it just provides us with shade and a spot to lean against for a few moments. 

As we rolled through Lamar Valley, the forest of pines clustered together in great masses and dusted with snow cover the base to the tops of the mountains.  They are undeniably beautiful and serene. The postcard perfect view is exactly what I came to see and are the reasons I plan to return. But as we drove past this tree, standing alone in a field of snow and with white skies overhead I knew that it would be the image for my holiday greeting.  

Its branches covered in piles of delicate snowflakes begged to be photographed.  Nature's fury -- wind, rain, and snow has caused it to lean but it continues to hold its ground.  It braces itself against what has been put in its path, but it has not broken from all the weight of what it has faced.  Neither shall we —- 2020 has been challenging, unrelenting, and at times heartbreaking but I know that a better tomorrow is ahead. 

I hope that this holiday season fills your heart with hope, peace, optimism, and kindness.