Don Poggensee has just completed one of the most exciting, challenging and sometimes unnerving photography expeditions of his career, and for a veteran of the art like himself, that's saying something!

From January 22 to the 30th, he was part of a group of six men from Iowa and Nebraska who went on an adventure to Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming, including six days of taking photos in and around the snow-bound park. Others in the group were the trip's organizer Stan Buman of Carroll, Steve Scholer from Omaha, Bob Gillespie from Sioux City, John Schmidt from Ocheyedan (Iowa), and Jack Holmes, who, like Poggensee, is from Ida Grove in northwest Iowa.

Poggensee came home with 723 images, which he has edited down to about 50 that we will be sharing here at Offenburger.com in three groups.

"It was a great trip, with plenty of snow out there and great winter scenics," Poggensee said. "While we were there, we had snow off and on. The temperatures were mild -- from morning temperatures near zero to daytime highs of 20 to 25 degrees. And there were light earthquakes each and every day."

Uh, earthquakes?

"We had one quake that was just over 3 on the Richter Scale, and it rattled the doors where we were staying," he said. "We were told that they'd had over 500 light quakes in the past week, and called it a 'quake storm.' That's not unusual there."

They stayed three of the nights, January 24-26, in Gardiner, Montana, which is just north of the north entrance to the national park.

"On the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, we drove and photographed along the only open and cleared road in Yellowstone, a loop from the community of Mammoth, Wyoming, to Cooke City, Montana, a distance of about 50 miles," Poggensee reported.

"Then Wednesday morning, we met a snowcoach, and used that the next three days to travel and take photos in the interior of Yellowstone," Poggensee continued. "We overnighted near Old Faithful in cabins, and those are close to the Snow Lodge, where we could get evening meals."

He said the group "saw lots of wildlife, including maybe 10 wolves, although none of them very close."

Now, as we publish the last group of Poggensee's photos from Yellowstone, we asked him if he has previously experienced Yellowstone in warm weather, and how different it seemed to be there in the wintertime?

"I have been there in the summertime with thousands of other people," he answered. "This winter trip was special, as if you were the only one in the park, and also maybe like being an early explorer seeing for the first time the wonders that no one else had ever seen before.

"The park in the winter is nothing like what you would see in the summertime. It was quiet and at peace now. Also, you knew you had to be prepared to survive out there, with the harsh weather that could strike most any time. People have cross-county skied by themselves out there, but they have to know where they are, where they are going and have to heed the weather. That is one of the big reasons for the warming huts scattered through the park, usually a small cabin with a stove for winter use and often with an outdoor bathroom close by. We found two huts that had a warm stove going but were unattended. We added a little wood for whoever would come behind us. The park ranger would start the fires each day and leave a good supply of wood."

And now, what will Poggensee's next adventure be?

"I have been asked to lead a group to Alaska, but we will see," he said. "Also, I have extended family in Germany who keep telling me I'm overdue for a Germany visit."

Here is his final group of Yellowstone photos.