Every year on Independence Day we go to my sister-in-law’s house out in the country for food and fireworks (and a battle with mosquitoes). This year Marly and I took our camera gear along with the hopes of doing a little nature photography. After dinner we trekked down the narrow gravel road to look for subjects, and one of the first things I noticed was this raindrop-speckled leaf:

A few more steps down the road, I spotted this guy:

I think this might be some species of wolf spider; if you know, please post a comment.
As we walked down the road and stopped to inspect other possible subjects, a large pickup truck roared by. I remarked to Marly, “I bet they’re asking themselves, ‘What are those weirdos doing?'”
The day was winding down and we noticed that the western sky looked promising for a landscape shot. We jumped in the car and started driving, frantically looking for a photogenic foreground before the sun set. Here’s where we ended up:

Later that night back at the house, Adee told us she’d overheard someone asking, “Who were those weirdos on the road taking pictures?”
It does look like a wolf spider! Cool pics