Waiting For Krampus Or Somebody Like Him

December 2, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

First off, December 4th is the Feast Day Of St Barbara. She is the patron saint of armourers; architects; artillerymen; firemen; firework makers; mathematicians; miners; tunnelers; lightning; chemical engineers; and prisoners. I think I might fit in there somewhere. Secondly, December 5th is the Feast Day Of St Krampus. St Krampus would accompany St Nicholas and punish all bad children and evildoers with switches and other torments.

Yesterday, December 1st, SWMBO and I took a drive down to VA for the purpose of activating a couple parks and to make a trip to Buc-ee’s.

The first park we activated was Shenandoah River State Park US-1316. It is a nice small park located along the Shenandoah River (hence its name). We scouted out the park first before setting up. There were ruminants everywhere in the park. Anyway we settled on setting up at Cullers Outlook, a vista located at the top of the park and over the river. The view there is pretty spectacular. We were the only ones there in the parking lot, though we had a drive-by inspection from one of the rangers. It took 27 minutes to work 33 contacts of which 7 were Park-To-Parks. I stopped in at the Visitors center after and the staff there were very friendly. They have a large aquarium filled with native fishes and a display of stuffed native wildlife.

The next park was about 1 hour away by the roads we took. Seven Bends State Park US-1315 is located in a remote area accessed by a gravel road. There are 2 places to access the park: one off of Hollingsworth Road and the other off of Lupton Road. We opted for the Hollingsworth Road end which is located behind and adjacent to the Muse Winery. It was a small area with a playground and trail access. It only took us 7 minutes to make 14 contacts which made us bonafide. I think next time we are in this area we will try the other end of the park. In any event, propagation was on our side.

We heard the following birds: Carolina Wrens, White-Throated Sparrows, and Eastern Bluebirds.

We continued about 40 miles along US-81 to Mount Crawford VA where the Buc-ee’s is located. For those not familiar, Buc-ee’s is a HUGE truck stop/travel plaza. The franchise is based out of Texas and is common through the South. This one has 120 gas pumps so there is no waiting. The food there is made fresh and is quite good, though we can only speak for the Brisket BBQ Sandwiches, the Turkey BBQ Sandwiches and the Chicken and fries which is what we have tried so far. The Beaver Chips are good also and make a nice snack on a long drive.

That is how SWMBO and I spent the first day of December. I hope all my readers are well and for now, namaste, kidlets.

Missie, Ollie and Moxie at Cullers Overlook in Shenandoah River SP

Petting A Possum And Other Madness On A Week Off

October 7, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

We took a week off from work. I had to burn some PTO so off we went to Virginia for a couple of days. On the way down we stopped at Buc-ee’s, probably the greatest truck stop/convenience store I have ever been in. SWMBO was impressed, too. The place is huge and they have everything you might want on the road. We had heard about the pulled brisket sandwiches and gave them a try along with “Beaver Chips” which are really good potato chips. Their Halloween t-shirts were in so we each got one. We proceeded to Newport News, VA and once we got settled into the motel we found the smallest Walmart I have ever been in. We were both pretty tired after a 6 hour drive so we then settled in.

On Thursday morning we went to Fort Monroe and did an activation. In about 15 minutes we worked 25 stations including 9 park-to-parks. Things seemed to be picking up and we really didn’t want to get in the way of the workers there so we took a drive on a bunch of back roads. SWMBO suggested that we check out the Virginia Living Museum. This is listed as a “childrens museum” but we found that there is something there for everyone. We wandered through the exhibits, learning about native critters and enjoying a very nice day. I would suggest it as a great activity to do in the Newport News area. Their webpage can be found at: https://thevlm.org

The journey back home was both interesting and stressful. We drove to Fredericksburg and arrived at Possum-bilities, a unique gift shop/experience that I had found online. The store has some creatures to interact with and, of course a possum “ambassador” which I got to pet. They are surprisingly soft. We wandered through the shop and found some cool items. I am not going to detail what we got; you will have to go there and experience it yourself.

The drive home took a bit of a turn for the worse. Wanting to avoid the DC Beltway, we got onto RTE 17 and headed for RTE 15 which would be a good straight shot home. Mistake. We got caught in a beep-and-creep traffic backlog and it took us over 45 minutes to go 8 miles. Once it thinned out, the traffic was running much better. We continued up through Maryland and stopped at the Sheetz in Thurmont for gas and something to eat.

Friday and Saturday we stayed pretty much around the home area and did some chores, etc. We did take a drive on Friday through some back roads but that was pretty much uneventful. We visited the Moonshine Church Cemetery just off of Ft Indiantown Gap. One notable buried here is Joseph Raber who was the victim of the Blue-eyed Six. Contrary to local legend, the Blue-eyed Six did not ride thru the county terrorizing folk, instead they conspired to kill an old man and collect his life insurance. Sunday we cleared up some clutter in my ham-shack area and moved my desk.

Yesterday, Monday, we took a drive to Monocacy National Battlefield in Maryland. In 18 minutes we worked 34 stations. The Visitor Center was closed due to the government shutdown but the gates were open along with the parking lots. Propagation was good and the weather was pleasant. We also picked up a lot of birds such as: Northern Cardinals, Northern Mockingbirds, Carolina Wrens, American Robins, Eastern Bluebirds, Cedar Waxwings, Red-winged Blackbirds, Red-eyed Vireos and Hermit Thrushes. They were quite noisy and active.

Overall we had a good mini-vacation/staycation. Periods of intense activity and periods of total sloth. Well enough for now. From SWMBO and I, namaste kidlets.

Missie and Moxie and Ollie at Monocacy National Battlefield

A raptor and me at the Virginia Living Museum

One of the many animals at the Living Museum

A Nice Late Summer Day And A Park Redux

September 14, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

This weekend’s weather was awesome for late summer. Warm days, no humidity and mild nights. On Friday we took a drive on Hemlock Road looking for animals. We saw 5 ruminants, 6 turkeys 5 squirrels and a whistlepig. Not too bad for late afternoon. Not much to say about yesterday. We mainly hung around and did groceries.

Today, Sunday the 14th of September, we went on an activation to King’s Gap State Park US-4361. This was my 19th activation at this park. It was a nice drive up the hill through a bit of morning mist. We got to the vista parking lot and set up. I got out my net directory and looked for frequencies to avoid. I picked a clear spot and started in. Within 7 minutes we had made 10 contacts, making us bonafide. We ended up with a total of 28 contacts in 36 minutes. I had to move from my first frequency as a net came on about 3 K down from us and some of the people had wide signals. Rather than complain I did some hunting for park-to-park contacts and then found another clear frequency. As I said, we finished out with 28 contacts.

After we tore down we decided to take a walk. There are a lot of trails to take up there and we chose one that went up at a slight incline. Out walk totaled about a mile. The Bluejays were scolding us most of the way. On the way out the sun was in our eyes, making it a bit difficult to see the rocks sticking up in the trail but on the way back it was behind us which made it nice. We took some pictures along the way, including fallen trees that were great studies in texture.

All in all it was a great morning topped off by breakfast at the Newville Diner. We managed to avoid sad hams and Karens. We also avoided the yoga class which was about to start after we left.

It is still pretty fine outside with a temp of 31C under partly cloudy skies. I am hoping this weather continues. It is about 1 week until autumn. Well ’nuff for now. Namaste kidlets.

At Home With The Gnomes

September 4, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Hi kidlets. Here we are again with another blog entry for your entertainment or for you to ignore.

It is September 4th 2025 and once again the days are just whizzing by. I believe that time actually gets faster as you get older as if you are accelerating towards the inevitable conclusion. I think it behooves us to grab each day by the throat and shake the shit out of it, picking up the treasures it drops.

I mention SWMBO a lot and to give her credit, she is my enabler and my muse, inspiring me to be active and strive for betterness.(it is my blog, I can make up words if I want) Today for instance, we set out for Maryland, initially planning on 1 activation before we went in search of Walgreens. We stopped in at the parking lot for the Visitors Center in Antietam National Battlefield US-0700. It took us about 15 minutes to make 25 contacts whereupon SWMBO said “What other parks are around here?”. I made a few suggestions and she seemed to like Gathland State Park US-1574 which is crossed by the Appalachian Trail US-4556. It was a short drive to get there.

At Gathland we parked in the upper lot as it is nice and shady and right on the AT. We watched some hikers come and go as I set up. We made 32 contacts in 31 minutes. At both parks the contacts were coming in at a rate that it was hard to post spots! I looked at the Solar Data and the A index was 12 and the K index was 1 … great band conditions. We even had a contact with a ham in Burkittsville MD, about 3 miles away at the bottom of the mountain. We did receive several curious looks but no one came by and made any inquiries as to what we were doing.

When we finished with the activations we went to Hagerstown and visited a couple of Walgreens. Finally we went to the Blain Hotel in Blain PA for lunch. Now I am relaxing before I do my stretching exercises. I have to do them daily as I am in physical therapy for some muscular issues.

As for birds we heard Chipping Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Carolina Wrens, Eastern Wood Peewees, and Yellow Throated Vireos.

The weather was nice and sunny without being too hot. You couldn’t ask for better conditions. Overall, it was a great way to spend a day off. I guess this is enough for now. Namaste y’all.

Missie, Moxie and Ollie enjoying Gathland State Park

The Violent Births Of Road Gators

August 31, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Howdy campers. Another blog entry here for you to ignore or enjoy, your choice.

Friday afternoon we went to Little Buffalo State Park US-1376 for an activation before going for groceries. The bands were not good and we were only able to work 14 stations using 40, 20 and 15 meters. They were hard to come by; I guess you have days like this. We gave up after 40 minutes. From the looks of the fishermen at the lake, the fish weren’t biting well, either. One person who was fishing there reported to me that all she caught was weeds.

Today, 31 August, SWMBO and I went to Warrior’s Path State Park US-1432 in Huntingdon County PA. I chose this park to try as it has had few activations (10), the last being in November of 2023. I figured that people would want to work a sort of rare park. We did well there. Propagation was good and 40 Meters was jumping. Within 3 minutes we had logged the requisite 10 contacts and they were coming in at a good rate. I barely had time to enter spots on spotting pages. After about 15 minutes we had to move due to a nearby net which was QRMing the hell out of us. Now when I started I did my usual routine of listening for at least a minute, asking if the freq was in use, listening again then asking again. I had received no responses and started calling CQ. The net started up not long after (or became hearable) and it got bad as they were only down 1 from us. No biggie. We had more than enough for a valid activation and I turned the dial and started hunting. This netted us 6 Park-to-Park contacts so we decided to pack it up and continue onto our other destination.

We proceeded to the Captain Phillip’s Rangers Memorial monument in Saxton PA. This marks the burial site of 10 militia members who were massacred during the French-and-Indian War. The bodies were re-interred here by the American Legion and the memorial was built. It is in a nice location on a hillside. All in all a pleasant photo experience.

As for birds, between Friday and today we heard: American Goldfinches, Killdeer, Chipping Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Gray Catbirds, Eastern Towhees, Cedar Waxwings, Red-eyed Vireos, Yellow-throated Vireos, Black-capped Chickadees, American Crows, Northern House Wrens and Tufted Titmouses. It is pretty cool, in my opinion, to use an app to hear and identify birds.

The title of this entry has nothing whatsoever to do with the text. All I can say is that if you have ever witnessed a truck sloughing off a retread, you would be impressed and over-awed.

Well, kidlets, enough for now. Below you will find some pictures for your entertainment. Namaste until we meet again.

The names of those interred at the monument

Tootsie Missy and Moxie at Warrior’s Path State Park

Missy Moxie and Ptolomey at Little Buffalo State Park

The Rain Didn’t Dampen Our Spirits

August 21, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Hi kidlets. This morning (August 21st 2025) SWMBO and I had some shopping to do so we decided to activate Kings Gap Environmental Education Center US-4361. The sky was threatening to drop rain on us the whole drive down there but held out until we got set up. We got on the air at 0854 and were almost immediately swamped. The calls were coming in at a fast and furious rate; this makes SWMBO happy. In 4 minutes, we worked 10 stations which, of course, made us bonafide. The pace of calls was such that I hadn’t the time to spot myself on the usual POTA spotting sites. By the time we were finished, we had worked 53 stations. We shut down as 0944 as we did have some stuff to do in Carlisle. 6 of the stations we worked were Park-to-Parks; 4 of which were either double parks or 2-op stations. In the pictures I am attaching below you can see that it was definitely moist out there. We even had an op “slip in under the wire” when I had called “last call”. I was just about to press the power button as he came booming in from Reading PA. We did not hear any birds, however so it was a quiet rainy morning.

Kings Gap is a nice place to activate from. The few people that are there are doing their own things whether they are hiking, sight-seeing or rangering. There is a mansion up here (which I have posted pictures of before) that was built by a rich man about 100 or so years ago. They use the mansion now for educational programs, other activities and you can rent a room there and spend the night It is supposed to be haunted! There are several hiking trails and a picnic area along with a nice garden which is maintained by a local gardening club. Along the access road there are pull-offs with picnic tables and at the bottom of the mountain is a pine plantation in which it is very nice to walk around.

Once again to all my readers (both of them) I say Namaste!

The parking area/trailhead information sign

Either I am talking to a contact, or I am singing opera.

Out Before The Thunder Out Before The Heat

August 17, 2025August 18, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Pretty good weekend, I must say. Yesterday, 16 Aug, a Saturday, we did our grocery shopping. After lunch SWMBO said “Why don’t you do an activation and we can stop back at the store for a few things we missed.” Wow, twist my arm! She could tell I was bored and besides, we did need the items we had missed. We went to Little Buffalo State Park US-1376. Believe it or not, the last time we had been there was in March. It is only about 15 miles away but it does get a bit crowded in the summer. Anyway, we parked and got set up. There were several family units picnicing and lots of boaters on the lake. The bands weren’t rocking but there were plenty of folks on 40M. We worked 17 in about 1/2 hour including 10 park-to-park contacts. We then looked up at the sky and saw that thunderheads had moved close. We packed up and left the park just before the rain. We got to he store and it was thundering very heavily. We went inside and spent about 15 minutes and then as we stepped out the door, the sky opened up! There was a deluge of almost biblical proportions. We got soaked to the skin before we made it to the car but, let me tell you, it felt good. We got home, uploaded my log and then I lapsed into a sloth-like mode with the help of my kitties who wanted to climb on me and purr. I did rouse myself long enough to check the weather forecast. Today, 17 August, we got up early and headed to Frederick MD. I wanted to work a new park and SWMBO wanted to check out a couple of cemeteries. We got to Monocracy National Battlefield US-0705 around 08:00 and set up. In around 40 minutes we made 50 contacts! They started out fast with so little time between I did not have a chance to spot myself at first. Towards the end they slowed down but for the most part it was a torrent which suits SWMBO and I as we prefer it to the times when it is like pulling teeth to make 10. The furthest station we worked was from Missouri which is amazing for 40M during the day. The Visitor Center opened at 09:00 and we were done before that as it was getting hot and humid. I checked out the gift shop and bought a couple of stickers. I have started putting stickers on my radio box as a remembrance of the places we have been. Any road, I had a chat with one of the rangers and the atmosphere was congenial. All of the rangers there seemed happy to have visitors, and they found it interesting that we were there working POTA. The birds we heard were: White-Eyed Vireos, Common Grackles and European Starlings. The starlings were in a large bunch on the lawns around the Visitor Center. SWMBO found the addresses for the cemeteries and we went into town in Frederick. The first cemetery we went to was St Johns. A small cemetery with some cool statues. Then we tried to go to Mt Olivet Cemetery. The address listed on their website took us to the main gate which is permanently closed. There were instructions there to go down this one street and through a housing complex. Unfortunately, the street we were directed to turn on was not labelled and they did not give a specific address. We got discouraged and left, hoping to come back another day. Here at home I was able to find an address to use so our next trip there will be more fruitful. Ok, enough griping. 🙂 Namaste for now, kids.

Missy, Moxie and Tootsie at Little Buffalo

Moxie, Missy and Ollie at Monocracy Battlefield

A view of some cannons at Monocracy National Battlefield

Entrance to the Visitor Center at Monocracy National Battlefield.

More In Maryland And West Virginia

August 7, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Great day today. SWMBO and I set out early (after I had to go to the phlebotomist) and made our way down to Gathland SP US-1574 which the Appalachian Trail US-4556 runs through. It was out intent to activate and then go to Burkittsville Union Cemetery. Well, we did and then had a change in plans (more in a minute). We worked a total of 24 contacts including a couple of Park-to-Parks. The weather was nice, warm without being humid and the birds were out in full force. We heard: Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, Tufted Titmouses, American Goldfinches, American Crows, Carolina Chicadees, American Robins, Eastern Wood-Pewees, Chipping Sparrows, House Finches, European Starlings, Worm-Eating Warblers and Cedar Waxwings. Before we finished with the activation, SWMBO suggested that we go to Harpers Ferry US-0735 after the cemetery. Of course, I thought it was a great idea. We finished up and went down the hill to Burkittsville. One notable in the cemetery was a Dr. who died under mysterious circumstances. We took some photos and walked around and then set our course for Harpers Ferry WV. We got to the visitors center and I let the ranger on duty know that we wanted to activate the park. She was all in favor of it. We set up in the car at the far end of the overflow parking area so that we would be away from any people. We made 15 contacts and SWMBO said “Why don’t we go take a walk around the town as long as we are here”. Again, I concurred, and we wrapped up operations at 15 contacts. The only birds we heard were: Tufted Titmouses, Chipping Sparrows and Eastern Bluebirds. A nice shuttle bus took us to the town and we meandered around. We went first to the park shop and I got a few stickers. We strolled about and found a small book store. After browsing around, we decided to have lunch. An interesting cafe was nearby, the Coffee Mill. We sat down for a burger and then continued walking around. Then we took the bus back up to the visitors center and headed home with a stop in Hagerstown ad a home decor shop and a stop at Wyse’s store in Newville PA for some necessaries. All in all, I was happy with how the day went. Now I am relaxing with some coffee and interacting with our kitties. Namaste, folks.

Lunch at the Coffee Mill in Harpers Ferry

A mysterious death noted at Union Cemetery in Burkittsville MD

A Good Weekend To Not Work

August 3, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Nice weekend, overall. Yesterday, Saturday the 2nd of August, SWMBO and I took a ride to Towson MD to the Prospect Hill Cemetery. It is located in the middle of the town and easy to find though there are buildings all around it in close proximity. We went there looking for the grave of an actor. SWMBO likes to photograph celebrity graves and she has a web page devoted to the photos. We then took the scenic route home and enjoyed rural Maryland and Pennsylvania. We did stop off at a pet store and picked up a couple of hermit crabs for a tank on her desk. We have a large tank with a crab colony but she wanted some small ones for her desk. When they get big enough they will go into the larger colony and we will get some more small ones. After getting settled we went to Big Spring State Park us-4355. We were last there back in May. It took us about an hour to make 22 contacts on 40, 20 and 15 meters. What matters is that we made the requisite 10, I guess. After we got home and took care of a few chores, I got on the radio and was surprised that the bands had opened up since we left the park. I made several contacts in a short period. I heard other operators talking about it, too. We did not hear any birds while we were out yesterday. Now today, Sunday 3 August was a great day also. The weather was a bit warmer than yesterday and sunny for the most part. We set out early. SWMBO wanted to check out a couple of cemeteries in Sharpsburg, MD which happens to be right near Antietam National Battlefield us-0700. We got set up just after 8AM at the visitor center at the end of the parking lot away from anybody else who might pull in. The contacts were coming in at a fast rate at first and it did not take long to get the required 10 for a bonafide activation. In fact, it only took 5 minutes to get 10 in the log. After that it slowed a bit and we worked a total of 19 on 40 meters before changing bands to 20 meters. We ended up working 33 contacts total in less than an hour and went to the visitor center to check things out. After that we set out to the Antietam National Cemetery and the Mountain View Cemetery which sits across the street. The National Cemetery is a nice, peaceful place and is well laid out. The Mountain View Cemetery is the typical mixture of old and new stones with some interesting art work. After this we took a drive to the Newville Diner for lunch and then came home. Today in the Sharpsburg area we heard the following birds: Chipping Sparrows, Common Yellowthroats, Field Sparrows, Northern Mockingbirds, Northern Cardinals, Scarlet Tanagers, American Robins, Grasshopper Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Blue Jays, House Finches, Carolina Wrens, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Cedar Waxwings, Least Flycatchers, Barn Swallows, Mourning Doves, American Goldfinches, Eastern Bluebirds, Tufted Titmouses and Indigo Buntings. Quite a list. Now I am at home drinking coffee and trying to entertain my pocket panthers, Kalamazoo and Dipper. Ok, that is enough for now. Have a great week and namaste, y’all.

Missy, Moxie and Tootsie at Big Spring SP

That’s Another Fine Activation You’ve Got Me Into

July 29, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Last night, SWMBO and I were talking about what we could/would do today. She said “I suppose you will want to do an activation”. Sure, my arm was twisted. We went to Gettysburg and got the activation in before it got too hot. Today is supposed to be the last hot and humid day for about a week but I was off today and not tomorrow. We set up and it was bordering on uncomfortable already. It only took us about 4 minutes to get the necessary 10 contacts for a legitimate activation, and we stayed on the air for about 35 minutes. Between the heat/humidity and the constant adjacent QRM we decided to call it a day at 35 contacts. I was happy. As I was tearing down, SWMBO got a chance to walk around and take pics. I had my app on my phone going to record birds and we heard the following: Eastern Wood Pewees, Red-eyed Vireos, Chipping Sparrows, House Finches, American Robins, Mourning Doves, Tufted Titmouses and an Eastern Screech Owl. I think the owl was screeching about the weather. I just saw the forecast for tomorrow and they are calling for a heat index of 104. I thought it was supposed to cool off. No matter, I will be inside in the AC. I was surprised and pleased that there were no negative folks around. The ones who drove up to the hill and walked around pretty much ignored us. Activating during the week has its advantages. So I am going to go take care of some home issues now and say Namaste kids!

Nature, Radio, and Me

A POTA Explorer's Diary

#birds