Today I finally got a custom filler plate made and installed, to fit between the MetalTech bumper and the RCI front skid plate:






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This is a very cool thread, thanks for sharing it! I am inspired to venture into Northern Michigan!

Thanks for the kind words!

A word of warning for anyone who orders parts from a manufacturer, and takes them to a shop to be installed:

Make sure you open everything and compare the components to the parts list in the instructions!

I learned this the hard way with my bumper. The various large pieces were wrapped up in at least 3 individual bundles. These were strapped to a pallet along with a box of smaller parts. I removed everything from the pallet but did not unwrap the bundles nor go through everything in the box. I just loaded these items as-is and took them to the shop.

Weeks after the bumper was installed, I contacted the manufacturer to ask if they had a filler plate. I included a photo showing the area between the bumper and skid plate, where I needed a filler. The manufacturer pointed out that my installed bumper was missing a couple of brackets!

I relayed this info to the shop, who claimed the parts "must not have been sent". I suspect otherwise, but since I didn't inventory everything prior to handing it over to them, I have no way to prove anything one way or another.

The manufacturer did send me replacement parts at no cost, and I had them installed yesterday at the same time I got the filler plate. So... a happy ending to this story. But if I had taken the time to inventory the parts and go over the instructions, I would have been in a much better position in this situation.

Here's the first video from my recent trip, shot using the Mavic Pro drone. It's a really nice tracking shot through a winding, desert canyon:



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Stupid question? How does the drone know which corners it can cut, and which it cannot?

I kept expecting it to run into a wall =)

Are you piloting both the drone and the 4Runner? My guess is you wife might be handling one of them. Great shot.

Thanks guys! That video was shot entirely with the Mavic's "active tracking" feature. I just set it up, then drove and let the drone do all the work. You can set it to track a vehicle or person, and it has various sensors to help it avoid obstacles. It's an incredibly sophisticated piece of tech!

Here's another video I just finished. This has some more tracking shots, plus a brief clip from a manual flight, and a few regular, non-drone clips:




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One more video from that desert trip:




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On Tuesday my wife and I took a little drive up the mountains. Was pretty foggy most of the time we were there. I didn't get to do any off-road driving, but I did fly my drone a little bit. Here's a brief video:




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And here are some still shots:























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Sunday night I drove out to the desert again for another brief overnight campout and a chance to get some more practice with my Mavic Pro camera drone. Also experimented a bit with some night photography -- still need to work on that some more.

My campsite, illuminated by a pocket-size LED flashlight:




Attempted shot of the Milky Way:




Some aerial photos of my campsite:






On the trail:






This part of the desert has an isolated stretch of old Highway 80 that was cut off and abandoned when the freeway was built:






Crash-landed my drone on some rocks, when a call came in on my phone during a crucial moment and interrupted the landing. I have to remember to switch my phone to "Do Not Disturb" mode when flying the drone. Surprisingly, the Mavic survived with only a few tiny scuffs on the blades:




After leaving the desert, I made a couple stops in the mountains to do some more flying. First stop was near a pair of long, tall freeway bridges crossing a scenic valley:






Also got some aerial shots of forests and meadows:




And here's me and Megaweapon, in a shot taken with the Mavic:




By this time of year the desert was dried out and brown, save for the agaves and a few individual late blooming flowers. But the mountains were full of colorful blooms:










It's going to take me a while to get any of the drone's video footage edited and posted.


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Something is up with your last pictures, Ray.

Are you liking Gaia??

Nice thread. I like your mine exploration trips.

I notice you "like" a lot of stuff in the photo challenge thread but (to my recollection) you have not played. Why not? Clearly you enjoy driving, exploring, and taking photos...?

The videos from the drone are getting better and better. I love the "Badlands". Where is that?

Thanks.