Summer 2022

Chris spent February in Yuma, Arizona on a flight test to prepare for an overseas demonstration of the UAV.  Chris and Tami spent four weeks overseas in Qatar, Jordan, and Egypt in March and April.  The overseas demonstration took place for two weeks in Qatar, and then Chris and Tami spent two more weeks in Jordan and Egypt on vacation.  Chris was home for April and May, then had business travel from June through December all over the United States.

He spent two weeks in New Orleans in June supporting Textron's common unmanned surface vehicle (CUSV) boat program, was home for a week, then spent three weeks in Yuma in July as senior engineer on a flight test program for an unmanned aerial system.  He was then home for another week before going to Panama City, Florida to support the CUSV for two weeks in August.  He was home for three weeks and then returned to Panama City, Florida for two more weeks in September.

During the three weeks at home between the trips to Florida, Tami and Chris drove to the Finger Lakes in New York state for the Labor Day weekend, visiting wineries on Seneca and Cayuga Lakes and hiking to many waterfalls on Cayuga Lake.  Tami went with Chris for the trip to New Orleans and the first trip to Panama City, and Nathan went with Chris for the second trip to Panama City.  Tami and Chris and Nathan all went to West Virginia for Tami's sister's wedding in the middle of October.  While in West Virginia, Chris went to Bridge Day at the New River Gorge Bridge.  Chris flew back to New Orleans to support the CUSV program for two more weeks at the end of October.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Yuma, Arizona + California + Grand Canyon : 6 - 20 February
Qatar + Jordan + Egypt : 12 March - 9 April
Rock State Park, MD : 13 May / Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA : 15 May / Harpers Ferry, MD + VA + WV : 20 May RCMB: 21 May, 30 May, 4 June, 5 June / Gunpowder Falls State Park, MD : 4 & 10 June
New Orleans, Louisiana
19 June Fly BWI à New Orleans	20 CUSV	21 CUSV	22 CUSV	23 CUSV	24 CUSV	25 Oak Alley Plantation Jean Lafitte NHPP, LA
26 New Orleans	27 CUSV	28 CUSV	29 CUSV	30 CUSV	1 July Fly New Orleans à BWI	2 Home
Home
3 Home	4 July Home Gunpowder Falls SP, MD	5 Home Work	6 Home Work	7 Home Work	8 Home Gunpowder Falls SP, MD	9 Home
Yuma, Arizona + California + Nevada + Utah
10 Fly BWI à Phoenix Drive Phoenix à Yuma	11 Flight Test	12 Flight Test	13 Flight Test	14 Flight Test	15 Flight Test	16 Joshua Tree NP, CA
17 Yuma Picacho Slot Canyons, CA	18 Flight Test	19 Flight Test	20 Flight Test	21 Flight Test	22 Flight Test	23 Palomar Mountain SP, CA Anza-Borrego Desert SP, CA
24 Yuma	25 Flight Test	26 Flight Test	27 Flight Test Drive à Lake Havasu à Lake Meade à Las Vegas à St George, camp	28 Yant Flats, UT Zion NP, UT Virgin Hotel	29 Zion NP, UT Toadstool Hoodoos, UT White Pocket, AZ, camp	30 White Pocket, AZ Lee's Ferry, AZ Drive à Phoenix Hotel
Home
31 Fly Phoenix à BWI	1 August Home Work	2 Home Work	3 Home Work	4 Home Work	5 Home	6 Drive Home à NC
Panama City Beach, Florida
7 Drive NC à Panama City	8 CUSV	9 CUSV	10 CUSV St Andrews SP, FL	11 CUSV	12 CUSV Margaritaville	13 CUSV
14 Panama City	15 CUSV Seaside	16 CUSV	17 CUSV	18 CUSV	19 CUSV Drive à GA	20 Drive GA à TN
Home + Finger Lakes, New York
21 Soddy-Daisy, TN	22 Drive à Home	23 Home Work	24 Home Work	25 Home Work	26 Home Work	27 Home RCMB Gunpowder Falls SP, MD
28 Home	29 Home Work	30 Home Work	31 Home Work	1 September Home Work	2 Drive à Geneva, NY	3 Geneva, Seneca Lake Wineries
4 Drive à Ithaca, NY Wineries Taughannock Falls SP, NY	5 Sep - Labor Day Ithaca, Cayuga Lake Cascadilla Gorge, NY Ithaca Falls, NY Wineries	6 Robert Treman SP, NY Drive à Home	7 Home Work	8 Home Work	9 Home + Annapolis Sandy Point SP, MD John Cafferty Concert	10 Home
Panama City Beach, Florida + Home
11 Fly BWI à Panama City	12 CUSV	13 CUSV	14 CUSV	15 CUSV	16 CUSV	17 CUSV
18 Panama City Seaside Grayton Beach SP, FL	19 CUSV	20 CUSV Fly Panama City à BWI	21 Home Work	22 Home Work	23 Home Work	24 Home + Annapolis Work - Family Day Yardbirds Concert
30 September : Gunpowder Falls State Park, MD / RCMB: 11 Oct, 22 Oct
Bridge Day - New River Gorge Bridge, West Virginia : 15 October Kanawha Falls, Cathedral Falls, Hawks Nest State Park, New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, Babcock State Park, West Virginia : 17 October
New Orleans, Louisiana
23 October Fly BWI à New Orleans	24 CUSV	25 CUSV	26 CUSV	27 CUSV	28 CUSV	29 New Orleans Swamp Tour National WWII Museum
30 New Orleans	31 CUSV Halloween	1 November CUSV	2 Ft Polk, LA	3 CUSV	4 CUSV Fly New Orleans à BWI	5 Home
Arizona + California + Utah : December 2022 - February 2023

Chris and Tami flew to New Orleans on 19 June. While Chris worked each day at the shipyard on the unmanned boat, Tami tele-worked from the hotel in downtown New Orleans.  They visited around New Orleans in the evenings, including spending time on Bourbon Street.  They had two great evenings at Pat O’Briens, drinking too much one night, and then singing in the piano bar and drinking way too much another evening. 

                       

On the weekend, they drove west out of town and visited Oak Alley Plantation, a famous plantation built in 1837 that has been used for many movies, including “Interview With The Vampire”.  The main pathway is surrounded by 22 giant live oak trees that were planted in the 1830's.  On the way back to New Orleans, they visited the Bataria Preserve within the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve, and walked a trail there through the bayou.  The signs warned of alligators, but they did not see any.  There were lots of spiders and other big bugs though.

                     

Chris was home for a week, then flew to Phoenix and drove to Yuma to help run a flight test at Yuma Proving Grounds.  He visited parks in Arizona and California on the weekends.  When the flight test was completed, he spent four more days visiting parks in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. 

     
Yuma Proving Grounds Flight Testing, 10 - 27 July 2022 + Park Tour Route 27 - 30 July 2022

For the first weekend in Yuma, Chris visited Lake Havasu on Friday evening, and drove to Joshua Tree National Park on Saturday using the route shown here. Chris stayed stayed near Yuma on Sunday, visiting some slot canyons just north of Yuma, just off the road to Picacho State Recreation Area in California.  As Chris was hiking through one of the slot canyons taking a series of five photos, a big horn sheep jumped down in front of him in the middle of the photos.

                                   
Lake Havasu, Arizona / Joshua Tree National Park, California

                           
Picacho Slot Canyons, California - just north of Yuma + big horn sheep

McPhaul Bridge Aerial Video, 4K, Yuma, Arizona, 20 July 2022

On Saturday of the second weekend in Yuma, Chris drove west to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Palomar Mountain State Park, both in California just west of the Salton Sea.  He was going to visit Palomar Observatory, but it was closed.  Instead he hiked a few trails at Palomar Mountain State Park, which is just north of Lake Henshaw.  Chris used his 4WD rental truck to drive on some off-road routes in Anza-Borrego, including Inspiration Wash, Font's Point, and to the South Fork of the Palm Wash slot canyon.  Chris stayed in Yuma on Sunday to support some flight testing needs.

   
Palomar Mountain State Park, California

Palomar Mountain State Park - All-Trails Pro

Palomar Mountain State Park in 3D - All-Trails Pro

Lake Henshaw, California

Montezuma Valley Road Lookout, dropping down out of the mountains to Borrego Springs

                         
Borrego Springs Sculptures & Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California – Inspiration Wash & Font’s Point

Inspiration Wash Aerial Video, 4K, Borrego Springs, California, 23 July 2022	Inspiration Wash Drive, GoPro10 4K, 5x speed, 23 July 2022
Font's Point Drive, Round trip, GoPro10 4K, 5x speed, 23 July 2022	South Fork Palm Wash Slot Canyon Drive, Round trip, GoPro10 4K, 5x speed, 23 July 2022

                       
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California - South Fork Palm Wash Slot Canyon + Sunset

Yuma Crossing Aerial Video, 4K, Yuma, Arizona, 25 July 2022

Hoover Dam Drive, Arizona to Nevada, GoPro10 4K, 3x speed, 27 July 2022   Route

Flight testing finished on Wednesday, 27 July 2022.  Chris then started a 4-day tour of parks north through Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, and then back south through Arizona to fly home.  On Wednesday he headed north after all the equipment had been loaded to the truck for transport home.  He drove through Lake Havasu, stopped at Hoover Dam on Lake Meade, and then spent a few hours in Las Vegas.  He drove north from Las Vegas and camped in the Virgin River Gorge just south of St George, Utah. On Thursday, Chris visited the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area and Zion National Park, both in Utah.  He continued on through Zion National Park to Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument and Vermillion Cliffs National Monument on Friday.  On Saturday, he was in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Glenn Canyon National Recreation Area, and Grand Canyon National Park, before driving to Phoenix that evening.  He flew home from Phoenix on Sunday morning.

               
Hoover Dam, Arizona & Nevada  / Lake Meade National Recreation Area & Las Vegas, Nevada

On Thursday morning, Chris drove up into the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area and hiked out from the Yant Flats trailhead to the Candy Cliffs, overlooking St George far below.

                           
Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, Utah – Yant Flats / Candy Cliffs

I-15 to Yant Flats Trailhead Drive, Round trip, GoPro10 4K, 5x speed, 28 July 2022

Yant Flats / Candy Cliffs Aerial Video, 4K, St George, Utah, 28 July 2022

Yant Flats / Candy Cliffs - All-Trail Pro

Yant Flats / Candy Cliffs in 3D - All-Trail Pro

On Thursday afternoon, Chris drove to Zion National Park, planning on hiking out along the Narrows at the north end of Zion Canyon.  The images below show lots of people standing around a pool of water; these were taken at Upper Emerald Pool, which is usually very quiet with few visitors.  As Chris was getting on the shuttle at the visitor's center, headed for the Narrows, the driver announced that a section of the canyon wall had fallen in on the River Walk.  This paved trail leads to the Narrows, and was suddenly closed due to the canyon collapse.  Instead of going to the Narrows, Chris took the shuttle to the Grotto and hiked along the Kayenta Trail and then up to each of the Emerald Pools.  Just a few minutes after he arrived at the top pool, lots of other people who had also changed their hiking plans arrived as well.  Chris spent the night at a hotel in Virgin, a few miles west of the park.  On Friday morning, Chris drove east through Zion, stopping to hike the Canyon Overlook trail just outside the Mt Carmel Road tunnel.  After finishing that trail, he dropped down into the Pine Creek slot canyon next to the Mt Carmel tunnel for a short hike, and was greeted by three big horn sheep.  Chris continued east to Kanab.

                                       
Zion National Park, Utah – Zion Canyon, Kayenta Trail, Emerald Pools, Canyon Overlook, Mt Carmel Road

Zion National Park, Mt Carmel Road Drive, GoPro10 4K, 5x speed, 29 July 2022   Route

Chris stopped in Kanab for lunch, gas, and food for the night.  He would be camping at White Pocket in Arizona.  He drove east to the Toadstool Hoodoos, hiked that short trail, and then drove south along House Rock Valley Road. He passed the parking area for Wire Pass and The Wave, eventually making it to White Pocket.  This was the third time that Chris had visited White Pocket, and the first time he had spent the night there.  He walked around for several hours on Friday evening, exploring and taking photos, and then spent a few hours on Saturday morning doing the same.

             
Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument, Utah – Toadstool Hoodoos / House Rock Valley Road, Arizona

Toadstool Hoodoos Aerial Video, 4K, 29 July 2022

House Rock Valley Road to White Pocket Drive, GoPro10 4K, 5x speed, 29 July 2022

Toadstool Hoodoos - All-Trails Pro

Toadstool Hoodoos in 3D - All-Trails

                                         
Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona – White Pocket

On Saturday Chris drove out of White Pocket, south along House Rock Valley Road to 89A and then east to Lee's Ferry.  He hiked Cathedral Wash down to the Colorado River and back, before driving to Paria Beach at Lee's Ferry.  He then drove south, stopping in Flagstaff for dinner, finally making it to Phoenix for the night. He stayed Saturday night at a hotel by the airport and flew home on Sunday.

                             
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area – Lee’s Ferry, Cathedral Wash  & Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona – Cathedral Wash, Colorado River @ Paria Beach

Cathedral Wash Hike, GoPro10 4K, Lee's Ferry, Arizona, 2x speed, 30 July 2022

Cathedral Wash, All-Trails Pro

Cathedral Wash in 3D, All-Trails Pro

Chris was home for a week, then he and Tami drove to Panama City, Florida. Chris spent two weeks working on the unmanned boat while Tami tele-worked from the hotel at the beach.  They visited St Andrews State Park and Seaside while staying in Panama City.  Seaside is where "The Truman Show" was filmed.  After that testing was over, they drove to Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee to spend the weekend with Chris’ sister and brother-in-law, then drove home on Monday.

                   

 
Margaritaville + Beach at our hotel

     
Seaside - Truman's street + down-town area

Chris was home for three weeks in between trips to Panama City, Florida. He and Tami drove to the Finger Lakes in New York for Labor Day weekend.  They spent two nights at the north end of Seneca Lake in Geneva, New York and two nights at the south end of Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, New York.  They visited many wineries and saw lots of waterfalls.  They went to Taughannock Falls State Park, Cascadilla Gorge, Ithaca Falls, and the Lucifer Falls gorge at Robert H Treman State Park.

                                                           

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Sheldrake Winery, Cayuga Lake, New York, 4K, 4 Sep 2022

During the next weekend, Chris and Tami went to a John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band concert in Annapolis on Friday night.  After the concert, Chris and Tami met Michael 'Tunes' Antunes, the saxophone player for the band.  He had also acted as Wendell Newton, the saxophone player for the band in the movie Eddie And The Cruisers.  He was incredibly nice to all the fans, signing autographs, posing for photos, talking with everyone and enjoying the moment very much; a great guy!  Chris walked around the Naval Academy grounds and visited Thomas Point Park, Quiet Waters Park, and Sandy Point State Park earlier in the day.

                       

United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland

Sandy Point State Park Aerial Video, Maryland, 4K, 9 Sep 2022

On Sunday of that same weekend spent in Annapolis, Chris and Nathan flew to Florida.  Chris was back in Panama City Beach to support the unmanned boat.  Brian, a friend of Chris, had retired to Panama City Beach with his wife Gabriella less than a year earlier.  Brian and Chris had flown the Shadow UAV together for almost 20 years all over the US at many military installations.  While in Panama City Beach, Chris and Nathan visited with Brian and his wife at their home in Panama City Beach on Thursday evening.  On Sunday, Chris and Nathan visited Seaside and Grayton Beach State Park before having dinner at Brian's home. 

               

Panama City Beach Aerial Video, Florida, 4K, 19 Sep 2022

They flew home on Tuesday so Chris could be back in the office for the rest of the week for duties there.  Saturday was Family Day at Chris' work, and he was manning the unmanned aircraft systems booth.  After Family Day activities, Chris and Tami drove to Annapolis for dinner and a Yardbirds concert at the same venue, Rams Head On Stage in Annapolis, where they had seen John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band two weeks earlier.  They had the same seats, right at the stage.  After the concert, they met several members of the band, who were all friendly and very approachable.  That included Jim McCarty, the drummer and only remaining original band member from 1963.

 

Bridge Day, New River Gorge Bridge, Fayetteville, West Virginia - 15 October 2022

                                                                                                                                                                                           

Kanawha Falls, Cathedral Falls, Hawks Nest State Park, New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, Babcock State Park, West Virginia - 17 October 2022

Kanawha Falls

Cathedral Falls

                                                                                                                                                                         

Hawks Nest State Park

Hawks Nest State Park

New River Gorge Bridge

New River Gorge Bridge

Falls on Laurel Creek, just west of Lawton, West Virginia

Kanawha Falls, Hubsan Zino Pro+, Aerial, 4K

New Orleans 23 October - 4 November 2022

Chris flew back to New Orleans on 23 October 2022 to spend two more weeks working on the unmanned boat.  He walked around the French Quarter almost every evening, including visiting Jackson Square.  A new version of Anne Rice's "Interview With A Vampire" was recently released on television, and parts of season one were filmed in New Orleans.  After work on Thursday, 27 October, Chris visited the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge Ridge Trail & Boardwalk on Chef Menteur Highway, east of New Orleans.  On Saturday, 29 October, he drove to Slidell, Louisiana for a swamp tour along the Pearl River and also visited the National World War II Museum in downtown New Orleans.  He enjoyed Halloween on Bourbon Street, which was a huge party that went on for several days. 

Interview With A Vampire, Jackson Square

Jackson Square, 28 October 2022

     
Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge Boardwalk & Jackson Square

                         
Cajun Encounters Pearl River Swamp Tour

                                                                                               
National World War II Museum

                     
New Orleans, 30 October 2022 

While in New Orleans, he flew his camera quadcopter at Fort Pike State Historic Site and Fort Macomb, and at Woldenberg Park on the Mississippi River waterfront.  Fort Pike and Fort Macomb were built after the War of 1812 to guard the entrances to Lake Pontchartrain, one avenue of naval attack into New Orleans. Five forts were built around 1816 to protect New Orleans against possible future attacks: Fort Pike, Fort Macomb, Fort Jackson, Fort St. Phillip, and Fort Livingston.

Fort Pike State Historic Site, Louisiana, 26 October 2022

Fort Macomb, Louisiana, 28 October 2022