The summer this year has started off rather strangely, with cool temperatures and, on the 15th, a torrential downpour of rain. On the 16th, there were still scattered showers, but for most of the Valley, all that remained were beautiful skies.

Here are some shots I took up in North Scottsdale, where I was at the Penske Cars and Coffee event (coverage of that coming soon). The weather was indescribably beautiful, and the scenery was wonderful.

When I got home, I decided to go for a hike in the mountains by my house to get some pictures of the beautiful sky and enjoy the air. It was the type of day where it didn't matter what you were doing, you just wanted to be outside.

I took photos as I went up the mountain, as well as at the top. The hike up is not difficult, nor very long, making this a nice spot to go to for nature and landscape photos. The photos below are ones I took on the way up.

The path I take is great because the closest way to access it is through a neighborhood rather than a park, so there were not too many people by me. It's a great place to sit and think.

At the top, I was met with a wonderful view. Blue skies, white clouds, a beautiful breeze of fresh-smelling air; I wanted to remain up there for the entire day. The skies were wonderfully clear, except for over downtown, where a pollution cloud was already forming. Still, the clouds and blue skies allowed for some wonderful photos. I loved how the clouds cast shadows on the ground, creating pockets of light, which for some reason centered for a while on the several houses built on the mountain.

The clouds moved fast; in fact, I tried taking some time-lapse photos of the sky (about 5 seconds worth according to my calculations), which I will play around with after all the photos I have are edited.

Enough of me talking. Enjoy the beauty of nature, and how such a place can exist in the middle of a sprawling city.