Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Here's a nice shot of Megaweapon in the Reese River Valley, NV:
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Adventures of Megaweapon!
- Thread starter Ray Dunakin
- Start date
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Today I got a photo of Megaweapon in front of a cool mural, a few blocks from my brother's apartment:
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
A couple detail shots of Megaweapon from my Nevada trip, in the Rainbow Hills area:
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Not exactly a mod, but here's something I came up with recently. My wife Cris has some trouble getting into Megaweapon, even when using the sliders as a step. So I needed something portable she could step onto first. This in-ground irrigation control box does the trick:
I just added a bolt to hold the lid in place, and an old camera strap makes picking it up a little easier.
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I just added a bolt to hold the lid in place, and an old camera strap makes picking it up a little easier.
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BrianSD_42
New member
Subscribed!
Great vidz. I need to get out to Nevada more.
Great vidz. I need to get out to Nevada more.
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Thanks!
BTW, it looks like I might finally get to take a brief trip out to the local desert Sunday night, staying 'til Monday afternoon. First chance I've had to do anything fun with Megaweapon (or the drone) since my Nevada trip.
Ron4RNevada
New member
Looking forward to more drone adventures.
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Well, I finally got a chance to take a brief trip out to the desert Sunday night! First chance I've had to do anything since my Nevada trip in July. This was just a "out and back" trip, staying overnight and returning Monday afternoon. Didn't do any major off-roading, just some mild trails, but it sure felt good to get off the pavement and immerse myself in the desert.
I got out there late, sometime after midnight. Tried some night sky photos but wasn't pleased with the results. I picked out a couple of the better ones here...
Megaweapon lurking in the dark:
My campsite in the morning:
In the morning I had some fun flying my drone and got a lot of great footage. It'll take me a while to get it edited and post some of it on YouTube. In the meantime here are a couple stills:
A couple more shots of Megaweapon on the trail:
That's all for now -- enjoy!
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I got out there late, sometime after midnight. Tried some night sky photos but wasn't pleased with the results. I picked out a couple of the better ones here...
Megaweapon lurking in the dark:
My campsite in the morning:
In the morning I had some fun flying my drone and got a lot of great footage. It'll take me a while to get it edited and post some of it on YouTube. In the meantime here are a couple stills:
A couple more shots of Megaweapon on the trail:
That's all for now -- enjoy!
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Here's the first video from my recent trip to the rugged Badlands area of the desert east of San Diego. This main focus of this video is the scenery:
<iframe width="750" height="580" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KRsQJRtB5tA" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Enjoy!
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<iframe width="750" height="580" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KRsQJRtB5tA" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Enjoy!
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Here's another video from my Nov. 2017 trip to the Badlands area of the local desert. This one has more
of a "road trip" feel to it while also showing some different shots of the great scenery. Featuring Megaweapon,
my Toyota 4Runner...
<iframe width="750" height="580" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SM1pd6G9Zeg" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Music:
"Ghosts of California"
by Wes Hutchinson
YouTube Audio Library
of a "road trip" feel to it while also showing some different shots of the great scenery. Featuring Megaweapon,
my Toyota 4Runner...
<iframe width="750" height="580" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SM1pd6G9Zeg" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Music:
"Ghosts of California"
by Wes Hutchinson
YouTube Audio Library
Ron4RNevada
New member
They just keep getting better Ray!
JohnTheLuck
Member
Awesome scenery and video. This region is very high in my next trips. Where is it precisely, if your don't mind sharing the coordinates?
I keep thinking that if you ever loose your drone in that kind of lansscape, forget about finding it !!!
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
This is the general area:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/3...0x0!7e2!8m2!3d32.9141108!4d-116.1813171?hl=en
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Last Monday Cris and I took a little trip up to the local mountains, to the town of Julian, for a 34th wedding anniversary getaway. (A little early -- the actual date is this Sunday.) Last year we stayed at the historic Julian Gold Rush Hotel, and enjoyed it so much we stayed there again this year. Except this time, instead of a room, we got the "patio cottage", a cozy little cabin tucked behind the hotel. Really nice, and the extra seclusion and privacy was a bonus. Here are a few pics from the trip...
It had been foggy and raining on the way up there, but the rain stopped just as we got to the hotel:
The cottage overlooks a stone patio:
The cottage interior. The gas fireplace operates on a thermostat, just like a furnace. Kept the temperature right where we wanted it:
Of course our first stop after checking in at the hotel, was Mom's Pies for the best apple pie in town!
Here we are by the Christmas tree in the hotel lobby:
The other end of the lobby:
I was able to do a little bit of night photography... here's Megaweapon parked on the side street next to the hotel:
Some more night scenes:
The next day we had lunch at the Julian Grille:
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It had been foggy and raining on the way up there, but the rain stopped just as we got to the hotel:
The cottage overlooks a stone patio:
The cottage interior. The gas fireplace operates on a thermostat, just like a furnace. Kept the temperature right where we wanted it:
Of course our first stop after checking in at the hotel, was Mom's Pies for the best apple pie in town!
Here we are by the Christmas tree in the hotel lobby:
The other end of the lobby:
I was able to do a little bit of night photography... here's Megaweapon parked on the side street next to the hotel:
Some more night scenes:
The next day we had lunch at the Julian Grille:
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
While we were in the area, I also had the opportunity to make a few brief drone flights in the mountains. Here's a little video I put together from that footage:
<iframe width="720" height="580" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1S_xxtUygWE" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<iframe width="720" height="580" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1S_xxtUygWE" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
I gave Megaweapon some Christmas lights today. I decided to use battery powered lights again this year, that way I can keep them on when the vehicle is parked if I want to:
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
My wife and I recently took another overnight trip to the small, former mining town of Julian, CA to
celebrate my birthday. It was raining and windy much of the time but I managed to get in a couple brief
flights of my Mavic drone.
Our first stop was near the ruins at Buckman Springs. Mineral water from the springs was bottled here
many years ago:
Here's an aerial view of the trees in the canyon near Buckman Springs:
These next three shots are screen captures from 4k video. (I haven't had time to edit the video yet). These
are aerial views of Julian. The Mavic handled the wind and light rain remarkably well:
We stayed in the "patio cottage" at the historic Julian Hotel:
Relaxing on the cottage's porch:
We had an early dinner at Romano's, an Italian/Sicilian restaurant:
Late that evening there was a lull in the storm... no rain, no wind. I took the opportunity to fly my drone
up and down the deserted main street of the town:
Sometime after midnight the main storm moved in, bringing powerful winds and heavy rain. We could hear
small branches cracking and things bouncing off the roof of the cottage. The wind and rain was still going
when we got up in the morning. Here's the view from the cottage porch, and from the hotel's front porch:
Megaweapon in the rain:
We had lunch at the Julian Grille before heading home. Here's the view from our table in the sunroom at
the restaurant:
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celebrate my birthday. It was raining and windy much of the time but I managed to get in a couple brief
flights of my Mavic drone.
Our first stop was near the ruins at Buckman Springs. Mineral water from the springs was bottled here
many years ago:
Here's an aerial view of the trees in the canyon near Buckman Springs:
These next three shots are screen captures from 4k video. (I haven't had time to edit the video yet). These
are aerial views of Julian. The Mavic handled the wind and light rain remarkably well:
We stayed in the "patio cottage" at the historic Julian Hotel:
Relaxing on the cottage's porch:
We had an early dinner at Romano's, an Italian/Sicilian restaurant:
Late that evening there was a lull in the storm... no rain, no wind. I took the opportunity to fly my drone
up and down the deserted main street of the town:
Sometime after midnight the main storm moved in, bringing powerful winds and heavy rain. We could hear
small branches cracking and things bouncing off the roof of the cottage. The wind and rain was still going
when we got up in the morning. Here's the view from the cottage porch, and from the hotel's front porch:
Megaweapon in the rain:
We had lunch at the Julian Grille before heading home. Here's the view from our table in the sunroom at
the restaurant:
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Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Here's the video...
It's early January in the former mining town of Julian, CA. A light rain is beginning to fall as my Mavic Pro
drone flies over this peaceful mountain village. Later that night there's a lull in the weather, as we drift above
deserted streets. By morning the town is hit with high winds and heavy rain.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/odT-M4n6QOE" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Enjoy!
It's early January in the former mining town of Julian, CA. A light rain is beginning to fall as my Mavic Pro
drone flies over this peaceful mountain village. Later that night there's a lull in the weather, as we drift above
deserted streets. By morning the town is hit with high winds and heavy rain.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/odT-M4n6QOE" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Enjoy!
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Wednesday night I went out to the desert east of San Diego, camped out over night near the tracks of the former San Diego & Arizona Railroad. Got a few night photos:
I got up right around sunrise and hiked along the tracks, which pass through an incredible area known as Carrizo Gorge. I was hoping to make it to the famous Goat Canyon Trestle (roughly 700 feet long and 200 feet high), however I didn't get that far. Still got some neat pics though.
Here I am standing in a culvert made from large blocks of local granite:
Here's Tunnel #21, the last tunnel on the line but the first one you'll come to when entering the gorge from the north:
The tracks still have the original rails from when the line was first built. This rail is dated 1913:
I flew my drone a few times and got some interesting shots:
Some aerial views of Tunnel #20:
Looking south from above Tunnel #20:
Looking east from above Tunnel #20. This area contains traces of the old railroad construction camp:
On the ground, looking south towards Tunnel #20:
The other end of the tunnel:
This was as far as I got. Unfortunately I crashed my drone pretty badly when I tried to fly it through the tunnel. When it lost the GPS signal, it started to drift. I tried to back it out but it drifted into the side of the tunnel. Good thing I paid for the first year insurance on it.
On the way back out I shot a few pics of Megaweapon on the trail:
I still have to edit the video, so I'll post that later.
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I got up right around sunrise and hiked along the tracks, which pass through an incredible area known as Carrizo Gorge. I was hoping to make it to the famous Goat Canyon Trestle (roughly 700 feet long and 200 feet high), however I didn't get that far. Still got some neat pics though.
Here I am standing in a culvert made from large blocks of local granite:
Here's Tunnel #21, the last tunnel on the line but the first one you'll come to when entering the gorge from the north:
The tracks still have the original rails from when the line was first built. This rail is dated 1913:
I flew my drone a few times and got some interesting shots:
Some aerial views of Tunnel #20:
Looking south from above Tunnel #20:
Looking east from above Tunnel #20. This area contains traces of the old railroad construction camp:
On the ground, looking south towards Tunnel #20:
The other end of the tunnel:
This was as far as I got. Unfortunately I crashed my drone pretty badly when I tried to fly it through the tunnel. When it lost the GPS signal, it started to drift. I tried to back it out but it drifted into the side of the tunnel. Good thing I paid for the first year insurance on it.
On the way back out I shot a few pics of Megaweapon on the trail:
I still have to edit the video, so I'll post that later.
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