Wednesday around the campground

We had noticed that the campground prohibits flying drones within the campground, but that they have an RC field for remote controlled aircraft and drones. 

When Carl had tried his drone when we were in Indiana (https://journeyinamazinggrace.blogspot.com/2021/03/a-walk-and-new-toy.html), he found that the component that should connect via WiFi to his phone was not working. He contacted the manufacturer, and after a number of back-and-forth messages (overnight each time as the support and the manufacturer are in China), the support person agreed that his unit was defective and agreed to send a new camera. The connection to the phone is important as that is the way you can "see" what the drone is seeing, and one of Carl's goals is to take pictures of our rig or campsite from a viewpoint that we'd otherwise not be able to see.

So, we cannot "see" what the drone is seeing until that camera arrives (it has been on its way for a couple of weeks -- we wonder if it is on one of those container ships that have been stuck in or stuck behind at the Suez Canal!) - but we decided to try flying it to see if Carl could at least take some pictures with it, guessing what it was pointing at.

At the RC airfield, getting the GPS calibrated so he can control the drone's flight.

Take off

Hovering -- can we take a picture?

You might think it is a speck of dust on your computer screen, but the drone is pretty far up in the air and on its way back to us.

When Carl got back to the rig, he took out the memory card to see what pictures he had gotten. Unfortunately, the picture-taking component of the camera is not working either. We are hoping that the replacement camera will fix both the WiFi connection to the phone and the picture-taking ability... if the replacement ever gets here!

After "flying" we decided to take another walk/hike around the campground, this time down to the Verde River that flows just below the campground. We walked down to another section of the campground and out a gate to access a trail that took us to the river.

It was really pretty...

...very peaceful.

Looking back up the hill toward the RVs in the section we had walked through to get to the gate.

Looking downstream.

Most of the trail was in an area that must frequently flood (seasonal flooding) -- this part of it had a lot of vegetation, but a lot of it was sandy and stony.

After walking downstream a ways, we walked back up the hill into another section of the campground, and, after one wrong path choice, got on one of the paths that we had hiked on Tuesday to get back up the hill to the part of the campground where Gracie is parked.

An additional note: Carl had emailed our service advisor at NIRVC to see if she has had success in getting the awning parts that are needed, and asking if we could come in next week to get the slide topper and awning installed. He had not heard anything from her, so called, only to be told when he asked to be connected to her that she no longer worked there... uh oh... so, Carl left a message with the manager with whom he had talked a couple of weeks ago. The good news is, when the manager called Carl back, he seemed to say that all the parts are there to install both the slide topper and the awning!!!! And, that we can come in on Monday afternoon to have the service done on Tuesday to install both!!!!

At this point, we're, uhm, doubtful... but we haven't lost all hope... could it be that by a few days from now, we will finally have the awning that has been missing for so long (since October, 2019)? That we could be free to leave the Phoenix area without a need to return to get the awning installed in the future? Is it possible?