Travel to Spain: Sierra Nevada

Photographs of the Alhambra often show snowy mountains in the background. They're the Sierra Nevada, the highest mountains in Europe outside the Alps. In summer and from the perspective of anyone 20 miles away in Granada, the mountains are sadly lost in smog.  You can drive up to take a look, though.

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Along the way, a band of sheep.  Grazed for thousands of years, and excepting a few forest plantations like the ones here, the Sierra Nevada are nothing short of scalped.

For example, consider this view, taken from an elevation of about 10,000 feet and looking along the crest of the range. 

There's a thin herbaceous cover.  See anything else that's alive?

Aha!

Shy is the word.

The near-sterile slopes are a plus for skiing.  The "city" below is nothing of the sort; it's a congery of winter resorts, more or less deserted in summer.