We play the hand we're dealt...

This was one of those 'Chasing sunspots' days. Windy, with big, thick clouds casting dark shadows. So, the trick as always was to find a good spot and pray that eventually a sunspot would hit it.

First to the Valley of the Gods, a smaller and (on weekends) far less crowded park than Monument Valley. The broadband here is about the same speed  as in Page, so I'll only put up tiny video clips and use mostly stills.

The road in Valley of the Gods runs past small and larger buttes:

 

This is one we old westerners would call 'Tard' (Tired) Butte.

 

 

On the saddleback between the two buttes is a (very tiny) car sitting on an ideal drone launch site if the wind goes down.

 

 

Then off to Monument Valley. Since I have a huge gallery of stills on my web site http://www.divexprt.com/HDRphotography/MonumentValley/MonumentVly.html   , I shot a lot of GoPro videos on the road. This is the entry view past the most familiar buttes--Mittens, Elephant and Merrick).

 

 

I found a safe place to fly the drone at Camel Butte. It acted as a massive wind barrier for the flight:

 

 

I didn't realize it from the ground, but the drone's camera saw the Three Sisters formation in the distance through the slot as it gained altitude. A Navajo merchant is also setting up for the onslaught of afternoon trucks full of tourists (the sunlight is on the faces of the main formations in the afternoon) :

 

 

Then I turned the drone toward the North Window, through which we can see Mittens and Merrick Buttes. There was a road to the window, but the wind was whipping through it:

 

 

Here's a still of that view: 

 

 

I have found a lot of new targets during the windy days, so I'm looking forward to flying over them when the wind goes down. Note the optimism...

 

More adventures to come!