2019 Summer Road Trip, Day 7

The day started with an appointment for an oil change and tire rotation at Crossroads Hyundai here in Loveland. Wow, but is that dealership huge! It reminds me a lot of the Lexus dealer near me, particularly regarding the customer waiting area. Nice chairs, a huge viewing window into the service area, free coffee/tea/hot chocolate/sodas, and even snacks!

Following that, I spent some time researching spots where I could fly the drone. Colorado tends to be pretty restrictive in that regard, but I found a place back in Estes Park, at Marys Lake (yes, there is no apostrophe in the name), within sight of Rocky Mountain National Park. How perfect, I thought – water and mountains!

The forecast was for relatively calm winds, perfect for the drone. Off I headed, and an hour later, I arrived to find that the winds were gusting well over 30mph at ground level. That usually means much higher winds aloft – and I can fly up to 400′ above the ground – but the ground-level winds alone killed my plans to fly as the drone can only withstand winds up to 22mph. Anything above that, and the motors aren’t strong enough to allow the drone to hold position, much less make headway against the wind.

I did get a couple of pictures at Marys Lake before heading back to Loveland and then Fort Collins (for another sunglasses adjustment at LensCrafters followed by Second Meal™ at Black Bottle Brewing. As you can see, there was definitely a storm brewing over the mountains!