The Stunning Sierra Nevada

My husband and I backpacked up to Mt. Whitney last week. We've done it before (4 times for him, 2 times for me), but it never ceases to be an awe-inspiring trip. We take four days to do it so that we can truly enjoy ourselves.

Two of my favorite photos are the sunset and sunrise we experienced at Trail Camp. The trail to the summit of Whitney winds along the back side of the ridgeline in these shots - Whitney itself is the right-most peak in the first one.

Argiope aurantia

The latest addition to our "family" is this beautiful spider. We ignored her presence from afar for a while, thinking she was one of the more "ordinary" spiders we get this time of year, but upon closer inspection she turned out to be quite a beauty. Her common names are Golden Orb-weaver (California), Yellow Garden Orbweaver, Writing Spider (due to the zig-zag part of her web), or Black & Yellow Argiope.
Wrapping up breakfast.