A change in the weather...

That has been a song, a movie, and a work of fiction, all having that title... so, no bonus points on this one.

"You talk about the weather a lot, don'tcha?"  Thanks for asking.  Yes, I do.  Seems that a lot of the things we enjoy are weather dependent.  Plus, I am a known weather nerd.

It has been warmer than usual the whole time we've been in South Dakota this summer.  And now, at the end of August, we had to turn heat on in the coach last night.  It got down to 49º here, very early this morning.  After so many days over 90º, that is downright chilly.  On the bright side, the howling wind has given us a break: over the past two days, the gusts exceeded 50mph.  We pulled the slides in yesterday afternoon, as a precaution to protect the awning that comes out over the slides when they are extended.  The folks in the motorhome next to us didn't do that, now they have a tear in that awning, right where it attaches to the coach.

Today, the morning weather weasel said, "Mother Nature is telling us that summer is winding down, and fall and winter aren't far away."  Except this is South Dakota, and we've seen snow in September as well as days in the 90s.  Spearfish (where we used to live, an hour or so north of here) holds the world record for fastest recorded temperature change: on January 22, 1943, at about 7:30 a.m. MST, the temperature in Spearfish was −4 °F (−20 °C).  The Chinook wind picked up speed rapidly, and two minutes later (7:32 a.m.) the temperature was +45 °F (7 °C).

People from all over will tell you: "If you don't like the weather here, just wait 5 minutes."  This area laughs at your 5 minutes.  ;-) 

I took Rufus outside for a walk after I got back from a bike ride (wearing a sweater jacket).  Ruf did not want to stay out more than about 3 minutes.  I get that.

We went into Rapid City to run a couple errands and Joan suggested a stop at the new Fleet Farm store.  It is like a combination of Tractor Supply, Manards, and Cabela's.  It also had more people in there than all three of those other stores combined.  Most not wearing masks.  Or making any attempt to stay 6' apart.  I am not agoraphobic, but I wasn't comfortable in there.  People were packed in the line to pay, even though there were "stay 6' apart" signs on the floor.  Fortunately for us, they didn't have the camp chairs we were considering... because I would have had to wait in the car.  But, they do have camp chairs.  And guns.  And candy.  Fence posts.  Carhart clothing.  Building supplies.  Garden supplies.  Sports and outdoor stuff.  Shoes.  Seasonal decor.  And all kinds of other stuff that I wouldn't stand in line for.  Friday was their Grand Opening.  Yeah, this was too soon.

We made a compromise that we finalized this morning.  Joan was ready to go home as soon as our last reservation is up on September 14th.  I would be ready to go back when the weather there cools off and when people learn how to use a mask and not try to cram 300 people into a house party.  So, we extended our time here for another 12 days.  See - we know how to compromise.  Wish it was that easy with Mother Nature... but I am convinced that she and 2020 are having a contest to see who can screw with us the most.

Second Flight...

A beautiful Black Hills morning: mid-60s to start the day, sunshine, low humidity, and no wind.  I was able to take Rufus for a walk, then get out on my bike (bicycle).  When I got back from my ride, Joan and Rufus were sitting out on the patio...

Yes, he's a good boy.  ;-)

With the calm wind conditions (forecast to be gusting above 30mph by noon), I decided to get in a second flight with the Mavic Mini.  I set the flight maneuvering to normal (up from the slowest setting I first used), then tried out the QuickShot maneuvers built into this model: circle (around a selected spot or subject), helix (circle and climb), dronie (pull away and climb), and rocket (straight overhead, climbing)... yep, they all worked  like they were supposed to.  I flew higher and further today, tried the "Return to Home" function (worked fine, but I did turn it off when it got close and landed by hand), and then intentionally ran the battery down to where the "low battery warning" comes on (it isn't quiet) and let the drone bring itself back.  It all works slick!

I flew higher, further, and faster than my first flight; still in the learning stages.  If you engage one of the QuickShot modes, the Mini automatically shoots a video of that; then, turns off the video camera and returns to where it started.  Not as automated as other larger, more expensive drones, but the fun of this little aircraft is in hand flying.  It is also much quieter than its larger siblings.  At 50 feet high and 100 feet away, I could barely hear it.  Joan was listening intently from about 100 yards away and said she could hear it "most of the time."  With any background noise at all, I can't imagine the sound would offend anyone.

The video it shoots is 2.7k maximum, and 12mp still photos; again, not state of the art, but very capable...

Weather dependent...

You've heard that (weather dependent) on many outdoor activities.  And goodness knows that Mother Nature has been harsh in 2020: blizzards, drought, inundating rain, hurricanes, storms, tornadoes, floods, fires, straight line winds... climate change of all kinds.

The local news/weather here in the Black Hills keeps reminding us that this summer has been much hotter than usual.  And we have first hand experience with the hail storms.

We woke up this morning to cool (as in: 53º) and calm winds.  Joan wanted to go to the store early, to avoid the weekend crowds.  One hour later, the wind was blowing a consistent 20mph, gusting higher.  Back in the motorhome, it felt much higher.  The weather forcast for today was "breezy"... tomorrow, it is supposed to be "windy", with gusts around 30.

Two things I'd like to do today: get out on the scoots and practice some flying with the new small drone.  Not gonna happen.  One other thing on my today's to-do list: get a couple music tracks recorded.  Mark sent me some tracks last night on another project.  "So, why don't you stay inside and record today, Jim?"  Thanks for asking, and I will explain: we are on the south perimeter of the resort.  This gusty wind is coming from the south.  The trees are rustling and the wind blowing past the slide-outs and the awnings above that make for a low rumble.

I wanted to give a couple tracks a try, so I set up my gear in the bedroom of the motorhome.  No issue with recording a guitar track - even with an acoustic guitar, I can go directly into the Spire Studio with the pickup on the guitar.  Or, in the case of my X10: the pickups.  With that track done, I started working on the vocal track.  The microphone was picking up some of the rumble from the wind; I set a frequency floor into the mixer, which really tones down that "below the voice" frequency.  That, and some patience to not record as the gusts built, let me get the vocals done today, as well.  Not quite the same as being in a quiet setting like my music room at home, but we like being out and about.

I took Rufus outside for a walk... he felt the wind, said, "No thanks," and turned around to go back inside.  "I think this is a good time for a nap."

I think the furry boy is onto something.  ;-)

Getting video of the ride...

A breezy day here in the Black Hills, and cool enough (in the 70s) that we could get out on the scoots in our jackets.  I was pumped: Joan and I haven't ridden together in over a week.  Oh, I've been out solo, but I like riding together.

Today would be the culmination of what I have learned on those solo rides with the 360 camera (Insta360 One R).  Each time out, I have mounted the camera in different places on the bike, figuring out the result.

I have to say that I wish I had known more about these 360 cameras; I would have skipped buying that last GoPro camera.  This Insta360 One R with the 360 and 4k lens modules takes the place of two GoPro cameras (the Hero 8 Black, and the Max, their 360 model).

I started out taking some still photos - another adventure with 360 stills.  But, my goal for today was to get some different video.  It is hard to get a photo of yourself while riding your bike.  Even more so getting a video; you have to have some help.  Oh, the 360 camera mounted on a selfie stick extended from your bike gives you an interesting perspective.  Mount that same 360 on the back of your riding partner's bike and it is suddenly easy to coordinate getting riding video...

I took a bunch of still 360 photos and a couple dozen short videos.  I will play with them this evening; may even add something here.  But, this video was an easy, fun preview of our riding today.

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I was asked on my favorite scooter forum how I mount the camera on the scoots - mostly RAM mounts, some GoPro attachments, and a selfie stick.  Like this...

Each gives a different perspective.

A few still photos from today's ride...

Realistically, it isn't necessary to take still photos with this camera, since you can pull a frame out of the video to use as a still.  Some habits stay with you, though.

Some video while riding behind Joan today...

Keep movin', movin', movin'...

Though they're disapprovin'... if you said, "The theme to the TV show Rawhide," you get 25 bonus points.

Another big move today - almost two blocks.  This will likely be our last move here at Hart Ranch, as it will be time to head for home in the next three weeks or so.  Weather and virus dependent, of course.  The word we're getting from back home is that people still haven't figured out how to socially distance.  The numbers continue to rise, mostly coming from indoor gatherings where no safety precautions are taken.  I am not keen on going back into that situation.

Back to the move: the weasels were forecasting a chance of thunderstorms overnight, between 2:00 and 4:00.  Close; about 4:15 the light pitter-patter of friendly rainfall on the roof turned into the entire Broadway cast of Stomp! pounding on the coach.  I had to get up to turn on the patio light to see if it was hail... it wasn't; just the rain pounding hard.  I turned on the TV to see what local weather warnings might be in effect: thunderstorms, wind, chance of hail.  Looking at radar, it looked like the hail would pass just north and south of us.

I knew it would be a somewhat soggy move.  After Joan got up, we formulated our plan and started the move.  It took just over an hour to get everything on the new site, and another half hour to get set up again.  I think we will like this site - it is on the perimeter once again, so Rufus will have acres of grass to wander through, and no neighbors behind us.  A bit of shade from trees.

After breakfast, I took Rufus for a walk so he could check out the new site... he found a lush patch of grass just off our patio, so he is a happy boy.

We got some sunshine and wind late morning and into the early afternoon.  More thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon and evening, so we won't be going out and about.  But, tomorrow is supposed to be breezy, cooler, and 0% chance of precip.  Joan said she is ready for a ride; I have done several solo rides to play with the 360 camera, where she took that time off.  But, I'm always ready for a ride.  ;-)

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After getting settled in, I took the Mavic Mini out for the first real test flight.  This site is out on the perimeter, so I can walk out away from everyone to learn the flight characteristics of this small drone.  A few photos...

And a short video...

This flight was very tentative - it has been over a year since I used my bigger drone; the flying skills are beyond rusty.  Anything I make after this will be more than just "pans back and forth"... really.  The instructions say you should try your first flight on a nice no-wind day, but it was blowing 12mph and higher today.  I did get one "high wind warning" while practicing (20mph gust).  I flew for about an hour, ran through two batteries, just getting a feel for how this reacts to the controls.  Even flying slow, I found myself just a wee bit "behind" the movements.  But, I didn't crash it - I'm calling that a successful outing.  ;-)

Testing...

1... 2... 3.  Well, maybe it should be: 3... 2... 1... liftoff.

I have really been enjoying the 360 camera - so many different perspectives from one shutter press.  I have been trying different techniques with it, to move on up the learning curve.  One of those techniques is called a "drone look": you start with the camera down low on a selfie stick or monopod, then raise it quickly over your head (and look out for any nearby tree branches).  Rufus was my subject, and it really did look like a drone pulling away.

That got me thinking.  I have a drone at home, but it is HUGE.  I'm talking the case that holds it is the size of a foot locker.  Not an easy thing to bring along, but it is very stable when flying.  It has about a 10 minute flight time on a battery, so you aren't going far with it.  A small drone would be a lot less hassle.

Research led me away from the toy drones and to the DJI Mavic Mini.  I watched a bunch of videos and read a lot of reviews.  In my research, I found that the technology has gotten much better and the flying is easier.  And, this Mavic Mini, when folded, has the footprint of a typical cell phone.  But, thicker.  Surprisingly, it can be flown in winds stronger than my large drone.  More range, both distance and time; the battery is good for up to 30 minutes flying time.  Well, that's the "advertised time," but real world is more like 25 minutes.  Still, more than enough time to launch, take some photos or videos, and get back to a landing site.

I convinced myself.  When this first came out, no retailers could keep them in stock.  We are beyond that first rush, and when I looked, the local Best Buy had a couple in stock.  Since we were in town on some other errands, we made a stop at Best Buy.

They are stopping you at the door to find out what you are interested in today.  Then, if a sales associate is available, they direct you to that person.  This was easy: I told the guy what I was looking for, he took us to the locked cabinet where their stock is, then directly to a register when he rung it up.  No "looking around."  Fast and easy, and other than having to touch the electronic pen at the check out, no contact.  He did give us some disinfecting spray.  Sure beats having to wander around looking for someone to open the cabinet and wait in line for lookie-loos in front of you.

I brought it home and started the charging process, then the firmware updating; seems to be the standard on electronic things that run on batteries these days.  ("You kids have it easy these days - why back in my day, we didn't have all this interweb stuff... our drones were coal and steam powered and they weighed as much as a refrigerator.")  Yeah, that's a joke.

It was dark last night by the tine I had all that stuff done.  I did turn on the controller and the drone to test out the camera (no propellers turning - no flying in the motorhome).  Today, I took the Mini outside and fired it up on our patio.  Hart Ranch supposedly has a "no drones" policy, but this thing is small and reasonably quiet and I was under our patio awning... not "going" anywhere.  Just a test to make sure it would launch, land, and rotate.  And, to try out the camera...

And, landing...

I cropped in on one of the images to see how it holds up...

You can see all my gray hairs and wrinkles - that seems plenty good on the resolution.  ;-)  And: small.  "Mini" is a good name for it.

No, I won't be flying it while riding my scooter.  There are a lot of new rules and restrictions since I last flew my other drone.  But, I may stop, get off my scooter, pull this out of the top case and get a photo or video where it is allowed.  "Allowed"?  Yeah, drones are not allowed in National Parks, which would include Mt Rushmore, since it is a National Memorial.  Some states don't allow them in State Parks.  You can't fly them around/over large groups of people, like at a stadium or ball field.  Only the FAA controls airspace, but some state and local government entities have gotten around that by saying you can't "launch, land, or operate the controls of an unmanned aircraft" in their boundaries.  Meaning: you can fly in that area, but you can't control the drone if you are standing in their jurisdiction.  I will be studying up, but the app that connects to the controller on the Mini lets you know if you are in restricted air space and won't allow you to take off. 

Custer State Park allows you to use a drone in the park, but with some restrictions: you can't fly over groups of people, can't "harass wildlife," or fly in any unsafe manner.

Unfortunately, some dumbasses with a drone have made it bad for all the safe, competent flyers.  Drones over 250 grams of weight (about 8.8 ounces) have to be registered with the FAA... this drone weighs 249 ounces.  Intentional?  Absolutely.  Still, you have to follow all the FAA rules, regardless of the weight.  There are plenty of "toy" drones out there that weigh less and are far less capable... the FAA set that weight to distinguish the "toys" and not have to deal with them.

Not a toy, the Mavic Mini seems to be a capable flyer and able to produce decent images (12meg) and videos (2.7k resolution with a 3-axis gimble).  I am sure I will get more use out of this at home and on the road, compared to my (much) larger drone.

Wingman...

"Slang. a man who helps, protects, or guides a friend or associate: the CEO's troubleshooting wingman. a man who helps a friend with romantic relationships, especially one who helps the friend attract a woman: When I walked into the bar, my wingman was already there, talking to two women."

I am not sure if I am the wingman or if Rufus is the wingman.  The boy gets a lot of attention when he is walking on his leash.  When he and I went for a walk yesterday evening, 3 woman wanted to pet him.  I feel bad saying no, but in this time of Covid... no touching.  And no getting closer than 6 feet.

When I explain why we aren't letting anyone pet Rufus currently, there is generally a moment of shock, then understanding.  It is always cat-fans - often people who don't currently have a family feline, but they have had in the past.  We get the same questions frequently: Was it hard to train him to walk on the leash?  Is he a Maine Coon?  Does he travel OK?

Answers: We put him on a leash the first week we had him.  We think he is at least part Maine Coon; he has the size, look, and characteristics.  Haven't done a DNA test on him, though.  ;-)  Yes, he is a good traveler... he is just generally a good boy, in case I haven't mentioned that before.

Rufus doesn't understand why I won't let people pet him.  He is a pretty social boy, and likes the attention.  But, for now, they can adore him from a distance.  And, no touching.

This morning while sitting out on the patio...

 
 He looks a bit gruff with the sun shining in his eyes.  He isn't... he's a good boy.  :-)


 

Vanocker Canyon...

I haven't been through Vanocker Canyon since before the Rally - time to do something about that this morning.

A cool start to the day, in the mid-60s.  After a bicycle ride and a fresh cinnamon roll, I geared up to do some scooting.  Seems that I have been spending more time riding in the southern Hills - once you leave Hart Ranch heading south, you are immediately in the good riding.  Heading north to Vanocker Canyon, you have to ride a half hour of highway just to get to the good stuff.

On the road out of Rapid City, I got caught behind this dump truck hauling gravel...

I left plenty of room between us.  Out of town, you could see that there is less smoke in the air today...

Out on the Interstate...

In my opinion: not "the good riding."  But, to get to Sturgis, you have to do some Interstate; and Vanocker Canyon is right outside of Sturgis.  I did a quick pass through town to show what Main Street looks like the other 50 weeks of the year...

Into Vanocker Canyon...

I was shooting with the Insta360 One R again today, mostly using the 360 module for still photos.  Another learning curve.  Not far into the canyon, I came across two large pieces of road equipment, moving slowly...

They are chewing rumble strips into the right edge of the road.  The one pictured above was the "clean-up" equipment, but they were leaving plenty of gravel along the edge.

Interesting premise shooting 360 stills: like the video, you shoot now and decide later what view you want.

More of the Pennington County tar snakes...

After running through the Canyon, I turned around and rode it back out.  Very little traffic, and a lovely morning.  Well, until just before getting back to Sturgis: a slow moving train stopped me for about 15 minutes...

Then, back to Hart Ranch via Interstate and highway.  I gave Joan a call on the way to let her know that I was a bit behind my estimated time of arrival - and to let Rufus know that lunch would be served as soon as I got back... the boy is very aware of his meal schedule.  ;-)

And, a very short video of the ride through Vanocker Canyon...

First time in a couple weeks that it was cool enough to wear my mesh jacket while riding.  I really do prefer to wear that armored jacket, but it has just been too hot lately.  You do what you gotta do to get the riding in.

A preview...

It is another hot and smoky day here in the Black Hills.

How hot is it?  If you remember Ed McMahon asking that as a set up for a joke for Johnny Carson, you are not a whippersnapper.  Meteorologically speaking: it is damn hot.  The high today here is supposed to be 100º.  That ain't right.  Last year, there were 7 days over 90º for the entire summer here; this year, it is pushing 30 days and there is more hot weather coming.  So, yeah, it's hot.

After breakfast, I was feeling like some scooter time.  Joan doesn't care to ride when it is that hot, and I certainly understand that.  But, I have needs... the need for scooter speed.  Plus, if I ride by myself, I can stop as often as I want to mess with the camera, and I wanted to play with the 360 camera.

It was in the 80s when I left, and 95º when I got back around 1:00... the air conditioning in the coach feels great, and Joan is making Cincinnati Chili (to put on spaghetti), so it smells good, too.  But, I digress - back to the riding and the messing about with the camera.

I shot a few stills (interesting concept with a 360 camera), and about 35 video clips.  I tried mounting the camera in different positions on the bike.  Which bike?  Hey, I'm talking about the videos here, but I took Joan's Xmax because I wanted to try mounting the camera off the back of her bike with that new clamp... works great.

It is going to take me a couple hours to look through all that video and edit it down to one reasonably short clip.  In the meantime, a few still photos...

I stopped to mount the camera and take a photo...

And, I'm off (yes, I always have been)...

I'll be back later, maybe even this evening, with a video.  It's too darn hot out to consider doing anything outside.

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The video of today's ride...

 

Couldn't be more proud...

SAE International, previously known as the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a U.S.-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries.  Through A World In Motion and General Motors, they support the Gravity Cruiser Design Challenge.  If you've read here for any length of time, you may recall that Joan and I volunteer in our daughter Stephanie's classes for this program.

Essentially, the students work in teams to design, test, and make improvements on a gravity powered small "vehicle."  For many of these kids, it is their first exposure to real teamwork.  It has been interesting to see the growth in the kids as they work their way through the process to improve their vehicles, as well as the pride they take with each incremental step.  Ultimately, they get to compete to see which team can get the most distance out of their design.

While the kids are learning, and hopefully having fun, a lot of work goes into this program.  GM provides retired staff to administer the program - as well as guidance to keep the process moving.  That has also been the role that Joan and I have done in Steph's class.

The GM guy who runs the program in this and other schools has always been impressed with the way Steph runs the program in her classes and how she challenges the students.  It has been a joy for us to be able to watch Steph at work.  Ken (the GM guy) asked if I would take photos of Steph working with the kids for a potential award... not easy to do, while not letting Steph know what was going on.  I got the photos to our son-in-law Dan, who forwarded them to Steph's principal, who sent them on to Ken.

Late this week, we found out what that was all about: Stephanie was selected to receive a national award, the 2020 Gary Dickinson Award for Teaching Excellence.  It also came with a monetary award for both Steph and her school, as well as the national recognition Steph has brought to her school district.  Steph was not aware that this was something she was in the running for until getting the word that she was being given this award.

About the award: "Established in 2001, this award recognizes an outstanding middle school teacher or a team of teachers who have made creative and exemplary use of the A World In Motion (AWIM) program to further develop students' understanding and experience in math, science and engineering."

Steph was nominated by Ken and his team, so it means even more since it came from outside the school district, and from people who have seen many other Gravity Cruiser programs in action.  We already knew what this award signifies: what a dedicated teacher Stephanie is... we could not be more proud of her.

She needed to submit a headshot photo in her acceptance of this award.  We are not there to do that for her, but Dan did a nice job with a photo, and I did the work-up of it for the specifications...

When I told Rufus about this, he said, "She's a good girl."  Yep.

Hot and Smokey...

Just the way I like my BBQ.

But, that's beside the point.  It was a hot and smokey day here in the Black Hills.  The fires in California and in the northern Big Horn Mountains have created smokey conditions here.  I decided to take my flame-adorned Vespa out, and try out the still photo capabilities of the Insta360 One R, helmet mounted.

Tar snakes...

Even with this compressed image, the jpeg files from this camera are crisp.  You can see the smokey conditions in the air...

I had a great ride on the usual twisty roads on the way to Iron Mountain Road.  I stopped to get a drink of water and set the camera for "interval" (taking photos at 3 second intervals)...

I turned Interval off, because I immediately got caught behind 3 cars having a slow-race...

When those cars turned off, I got to enjoy the clear road ahead (on one of the splits)...

I put the camera back on Interval again... and lost a great photo op: a group of about a dozen vintage Vespas went by me going the other direction...

In the 3 seconds between that solo rider and these two, I missed the bulk of the group.  There were lots of waves and thumbs-up!  A rare sighting for me!

After that, I switched the camera to video - just in case...

Alas, no more Vespa sightings.

I turned right after Iron Mountain Road for a cruise past Mt Rushmore...

I took that highway to Hill City...

It looks a bit different without all the motorcycles.

More highway riding on Hwy 16, a fuel stop (91.7mpg), and then back to Hart Ranch.  I was greeted with a delightful smell when I went into the motorhome: Joan has a pork roast in the slow cooker... and that makes for some truly fine pulled pork, so I do get my BBQ fix today.  ;-)