I shared winter photos from North Oaks, Minnesota during the last two weeks. This and next week, I will share summer photos from Phoenix, Arizona, primarily in South Mountain Park only about half a mile from my townhouse. Talk about extreme differences — this is it!

The plan was for my newfound photographer friend, Woody, and I to hike together — so I began by walking to his home just a short distance from mine. Along the way, I spotted my favorite wall of bougainvillea — with multicolored bracts that look spectacular against the cloudless blue sky.

I joke that it almost seems mandatory for residents to own a dog and to walk them twice daily. I often walk the Community (dogless, of course) and 90% of my fellow walkers have a dog on a leash (as required by Phoenix law).

Woody and I started our hike from the Vantage Pool which was originally built to lure customers to our Community, with the hope that they would purchase a home here. Many did — beginning approximately 40 years ago and continuing until about 1996 when my townhouse was completed and I moved in.

There are paths on either side of the pool leading up to the trails that crisscross the park.

These trails were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) between 1933 and 1940. If you recall from American History classes, at that time the United States was in a horrible depression with a large portion of the working-age population unable to find employment.

Franklin D. Roosevelt promoted a plan which was approved and implemented for the U.S. government to be the employer of last resort. In 1933, the CCC took on the project of organizing the workers and managing their efforts.

I feel grateful that they did so — just a few minutes walk from my front door, I can enjoy the view of Phoenix on the flat valley floor — unfortunately, this day with a mild amount of dust and air pollution.

South Mountain Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the country and runs east and west just south of the city of Phoenix. We should all appreciate the preservation of this wonderful area.

The park contains many rock formations that occur here naturally. Some suggest mythical beasts — such as the huge crocodile head that I see atop this rock pile.

Some rock piles became palettes for Native American artists to create petroglyphs — etchings in the rocks' outer layers — that had meaning for those folks but whose significance is a mystery to us. I have shared photos of these petroglyphs before — come hiking with me and I'll be happy to show you more.

Of course, what desert landscape would be complete without cactus? This is a fishhook cactus. Look carefully at the spines and you will note that they are curved like a fishhook — thus the name of this type of cactus. You might also note the yellow emerging flower at the top of the plant. If I went back there today, the set of flowers would probably be spectacular.

From this vantage point, we can see the many trails that crisscross the park as we continue our hike. Most visitors are on foot but a small percentage bring their bikes. One does have to pay attention to the approach of bikers so you can get out of their way — it is actually difficult for them to avoid you if you are walking in your sleep, so to speak.

Hmm, this rock formation looks like a small army tank coming over the hill. Yes, I do have a vivid imagination — I hope that helps me find interesting things to photograph.

Here we see the star of the Sonoran Desert — the Saguro Cactus. They are large, tree-like columnar cacti that develop branches (or arms) as they age (although some never grow arms). These arms generally bend upward and can number over 25. Saguaros are covered with protective spines, white flowers in the late spring, and red fruit in summer.

This beauty has recently begun adding branches at the top, some of which still have the residue of their flowers (that season has just passed).

Here's a closer photo of that same saguaro so you can savor the detail that is not visible in the photo from a more distant vantage point.

Here's a good spot to stop and take a drink of water (there are reminder signs at the main entrances to the park). On this day, the forecast high was about 104°F. Water was a necessity.