So we left the Adirondacks of New York State and headed towards North Carolina. It was a long 12 Hour drive, especially with stopping to get drone shots and letting the boys run around for a bit. Driving Interstate 87 out of the Adirondacks it’s so obvious to see why that highway is considered one of the most scenic highways in the nation. Driving around Ticonderoga and Lake Champlain, through Lake George and Saratoga. Over hills and around mountains, it is a very beautiful drive. We got through the traffic jam that is Albany and headed down Interstate 88 to Interstate 81 and on to Interstate 77. Stopping mostly for stretch breaks, potty breaks, and gas.

The trip was mostly uneventful except for the part where I lost my drone in a tree. That was an extremely emotional event of the day. And probably was a determining factor in my slightly higher rate of speed getting to North Carolina. Each time I thought of the poor drone stuck in the tree, lights flashing, video feed, and yet no way to change its predicament, the gas pedal crept closer to the floor. It happened in a way that I always thought was the most stupidest way to lose your drone. I was trying to get a level shot of a waterfall and pan sideways while getting it. The drone will go sideways while maintaining focus on a point so that it will actually circle around an object. However there is no object avoidance to the sides of the drone. Going straight  forward there are sensors to keep you from running into things. Though I do not think they work that well on pine trees and small leafy trees. So I was just moving sideways and did not really notice the trees coming up fast and so we ran into the top of a big old hemlock tree. The tree was approximately 300 feet down a ravine about 1000 feet away from the road, and the drone was approximately 150 foot up in the tree. The tree had no branches in the first 30 or 40 feet, and where the branches started they were so thick I don’t know if any one could actually crawl through it all climbing the tree. I believe the only way to get that drone out of that tree is with a helicopter and even that would be chancy because you’re in a ravine with a pretty good breeze. So someday in the year 2220 a futuristic logger will probably find the drone. Or maybe some Eagle will carry it off to their nest thinking it’s a prospective baby bird.  If you are one of those sick people that like watching eventual death.. here is the video with the crashing drone !!

Our target for the trip out of the Adirondacks was to get to North Carolina and Pilot Mountain State Park. Pilot Mountain is a straight up bump on the earth and a place I had been to 3 years earlier. When I was there 3 years ago I thought it was pretty neat, but unfortunately it was completely engulfed in fog. It was when we were on our way to Florida in the very first 10 videos I ever did. If you want to see the difference in  my video technique you can see the original video here.  The state park is on the side of the mountain and when I say on the side, I mean on the slope of the mountain. It’s a pretty small campground, but it has very nice facilities, and a very friendly host. It is  camping without any hookups, but the bathrooms and showers are pretty nice. We enjoyed staying there and hiked around and met other people there and will probably go back several more times.  We did get a video tour in this time.. see it here.