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!

Missy, Ptolomey and Moxie at Culp’s Hill

Who Turned The Heat Up?

July 24, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

This is typical. We decided to go camping ( I admit it was my idea) and it turned out to be bloody hot! It is like a sauna out there. No matter, SWMBO and I still had a good time. We left home yesterday (only had to turn back about 5 minutes into the journey due to me forgetting my meds; after all what adventure starts off without a mishap?) and drove down to Caledonia State Park US-1337 where we quickly set up camp. We made a quick trip to the store and then semi-settled in. I got on the air with SWMBO logging and we worked 30 contacts in about 30 minutes. We had a visitor to the campsite which I will post a link to the video I made. We then took a ride to cool off in the AC and to recharge our fones. During our drive we saw 5 ruminants and several bunnies along with a whistle pig who appeared to be praying. By the time we got back and got the fire lit, it was after 20:00 local which made it the 24th for logging purposes. I got back on the air and worked 29 more stations before I shut down to honor the park’s noise policy. We spent some quiet time reading and relaxing and watching the fire burn. This morning, we got up and were on the road before 7 AM. We drove down to Mont Alto State Park US-1386 and worked 12 contacts. Mont Alto can be difficult to work from as it is down in a low spot and the whole area is infested with iron ore, diminishing all radio signals. We made it and headed on. The heat index was predicted to be upwards of the rectal temperature of Satan. Actually they were calling for a heat index of 103 to 105 F but close enough. We travelled down to Fort Frederick MD US-1570 which borders on US -0015 C&O Canal National Historic Park, making this activation a 2 fer. We made 11 contacts and once again set out in the AC coolness to our last park for the day. I stopped in at the Visitors center at Antietam National Battlefield Park and obtained a life-time National Park Pass which entitles myself and 3 others access to all National Parks, Historic Sites, National Forests and other National sites. At Antietam we worked 13 contacts. I know these numbers seem low but consider we were only working 40 M and the band conditions were not that conducive to portable operating. Anyway, we had a good adventure and topped it off with a great lunch at Lincoln Diner in Gettysburg PA. Did I mention that it was very hot out there? We then tore down our campsite and came home, tired, hot and happy with our POTA success. Before I got home the P2P contacts had all uploaded their logs so when I uploaded mine I got the P2P credit. I even got another Warthog Rover certificate: my 3rd. For birds, last night we were serenaded for a few hours by a Yellow-Throated Vireo. Today we heard a lot of birds in all our locations: Red-eyed Vireos, Eastern Wood Pewees, Chipping Sparrows, Great Blue Herons, Common Mergansers, American Robins, American Goldfinches. Eastern Meadowlarks, American Crows and Eastern Phoebes. Quite a bunch. This was a good couple of days and we had a lot of fun. Well, namaste for now, kidlets.

Missie, Moxie and Ollie at Ft Frederick MD

In Before The Heat

July 20, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Today is 20 July 2025, the 56th anniversary of the moon landing. I told my tale of where I was that day in a previous post, so if that holds interest you will have to scroll through my blog. Yesterday SWMBO and I bottled my IPA. It has a good taste, leaning toward being hoppy as an IPA should. The process only took 1 hour and 12 minutes which is pretty good considering that we haven’t bottled for a few years, having used kegs. There is something relaxing and zen-like in the rhythm of bottling. I was filling the bottles and SWMBO was capping. I think she likes capping as it allows her to take out aggressions on inanimate objects. 🙂 Today we set out to do an activation before the heat got oppressive. It is Support Your Parks Weekend and I wanted to get an activation in. It was hot and humid when we got to King’s Gap US_4361. This is our first time back to Kings Gap since January. The humidity climbed up to around 3500% before we left. We were set up and on the air in a short bit of time and within 40 minutes made 28 contacts (all on 40 meters). Our app recorded the following birds: Red-Eyed Vireos, Chapping Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Eastern Towhees, Eastern Wood-Peewees, Worm-eating Warblers, Scarlet Tanagers, Tufted Titmouses, American Goldfinches and Downy Woodpeckers. We then decided that it was too uncomfortable to stay there so we packed up and left to do some shopping before having breakfast at Newville Diner. I have officially received my certificates for the SYP weekend: Hunter and Activator. I know it isn’t a great feat, but I am still happy with it. Now I am resting after putting in a new air conditioner. Kalamazoo is sitting on my lap though he is hinting that he wants food. I guess this is a good place to end this for today. Always remember that the simple things in life are the best and pleasure is all in your mind and attitude. Until next time, namaste.

The Number 13, Owls On The Hood And A Flamingo’s Day Out

July 6, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

It has been a busy week. I had to work 4 consecutive days, Monday thru Friday (12 hours at night) and that makes a person tired. This was also the week for the 13 Colonies Special Event, which is a major event in ham radio with thousands of stations vying to contact all the stations. Well, I was able to complete a clean sweep as of Friday, 4 July. I was pretty happy with that. Most of those stations I worked on CW, the rest SSB. Yesterday, 5 July 2025, SWMBO and I set out to get an activation in before it got too hot. We went to the ATV lot in Michaux State Forest US-5471. The last time we activated the lot was in March. As usual there were a few people there but not enough to make it difficult. One thing I like about the place is the fact that the people up there mind their own business and don’t worry about what other folks are doing. We made 31 contacts in an hour (9 of them park-to-park) and then the heat started building so we packed up and left. We came home and did some grocery shopping. Today, 6 July 2025, we went to the State Game Lands #169 US-8867 and spent some time there in the morning, again before the heat. We brought along Charade, the flamingo and Ptolomey, the owl. The lot we park at is on a back road so there is not a whole lot of traffic. This one we hadn’t activated since back in October of last year. Since this is a game land, I do try to avoid it during hunting seasons. It is a nice quiet area and a good place to park and play radio. Surprisingly, it has only been activated a total of 18 times. We made 14 contacts in about an hour as the bands were not that great today. We had a visit from a guy in his early 20’s who left when he discovered that I was holding an antenna rather than a fishing pole. On Friday, we brewed a batch of IPA which is currently bubbling away in the fermenter. The only other significant activity this week was we finally had the chance to cut Satan’s Putting Green. The plant growth was pretty high as this was the first chance we had to deal with it since our return from vacation. The amount of rain we had in the past 2 weeks did its work and made the place look like the pastureland it originally was. Here is the list of birds our app picked up today: Northern House Wrens, Gray Catbirds, American Robins, American Goldfinches, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Cardinals, Song Sparrows, Tufted Titmouses, Yellow Warblers, Chipping Sparrows, Common Yellowthroats, Indigo Buntings, House Finches, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Eastern Peewees, Cedar Waxwings, Carolina Wrens and Field Sparrows. I guess this is my latest update. I am attaching a couple of pictures and a link to a video of the IPA boiling. As always, namaste kiddos.

Moxie and Missy guard the radio as Zarathustra watches our 6

Ptolomey, Missy, and Moxie at State Game Lands 169

Charade the flamingo enjoying his day out.

And A Good Time Was …

June 28, 2025June 30, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Had a great week! We, SWMBO and I, went on our yearly vacation to NH and New England. I am not going to give a point to point description as that could be a bit boring, but suffice it to say that we bounced around quite a bit. We visited several cemeteries and we both like to do photography in them. My interest is the carvings and imagery on the stones. It is too bad but a lot of the older stones are showing signs of wear and then again some have been vandalized. In my own way I am immortalizing the unknown artists who carved these stones. Some of them have unknown and interesting stories on which we can only speculate such as the one in Whitefield NH where the finger on the stone is pointing down instead of up. Makes you wonder about the person buried there and/or the opinion of those who commissioned the stone. A stone carver usually has something to say in their work as you do not go through the effort of carving for trivia or pettiness. Anyway, we also took a couple of train rides, the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad, which runs along Lake Winnipesaukee and the Conway Scenic Railroad. On Sunday it was pouring rain when we got up so that is when we decided to take the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad from Meredith down to the southern end of the lake and back. Tuesday, we took the Conway Scenic RR “Mountaineer” train to Fabyans in Bretton Woods. The ride was ok but a bit long and our car was not hearing the narration or announcements, so we were a bit left out. We visited the Fairbanks Museum in ST Johnsbury VT and watched a planetarium show. We had supper with my brother Ted and his wife Nancy in Berlin NH. We bought some cheese in Sugar Hill NH at Harman’s Cheese Shop. As always when up there, we did a nightly search for moose. We spotted one but it took off into the woods before we could get a good picture. A large bear crossed the road in front of us, and we also saw a plethora of turkeys. We also had the pleasure of activating the following State Parks in the following order: US-8016 Bedell Bridge State Historic Site, US-2649 Echo Lake State Park, US-2681 Weeks State Park and US-4900 Fay State Forest. The mosquitos and black flies were bad and there was a heat wave going on so we only stayed long enough to do a bonafide activation at them. When we were at Bedell Bridge, we kept smelling an animal that had been sprayed by a skunk. The smell kept coming and going and I think it was keeping an eye on us. To finalize, it was a very good week. For now, kids, namaste.

Hanging around with a moose in The Christmas Loft in N. Woodstock NH

The Tamarack in Laconia NH. Great burgers!

Me on thermal camera at Fairbanks Museum in St Johnsbury VT

Downward pointing finger in Whitefield NH

Sunset at the Mittersill in Franconia NH where we stayed

Just A Not So Good Ending

June 12, 2025June 28, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

I need to get this out of the way first. Our oldest kitteh, Marley, has crossed over. It has been harder and harder for him to climb the stairs lately. For the past couple of days he was slipping away. He has stopped eating yesterday. When we got back to the house today, he was sprawled on the floor next to my desk and he couldn’t even stand. I called the vet and they were able to fit him in. I held him and talked to him as he went. We just couldn’t stand to see a vibrant and friendly big “bubba” of a cat fade to nothing. He is one of the ones we got off of our back porch. He was a big clumsy cuddle muffin who liked being around us and really enjoyed sharing the bed at night. This is another hole in my heart that will never go away. Cats are a blessing for the joy, comfort and love that they bring to our lives and, in a way, a curse for the brief time they spend with us which goes so quickly. There is so much more I want to say but just can’t. Goodbye, Marley. You will always be my big guy.

Earlier today, we went out and did a couple activations. We started at Gettysburg National Military Park us-0027 and made 28 contacts there. We then went to Cunningham Falls SP us-1566 and made 12 contacts. We had to move a bit as a ranger came along and turned the lights on in the restrooms which put an S-7 noise level across all the bands.

Well enough for now. Treasure the people and pets you have. Namaste.

View out our windshield at Cunningham Falls SP

Well Hello Ollie

June 8, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

Greetings, kidlets. Activated today for the first time in a couple weeks due to bad band conditions and life getting in the way. It happens. SWMBO and I set out this morning to hit a park and then go to some cemeteries in Hagerstown MD. About 15 minutes before we got to Fort Frederick State Park US-1570 it started to rain. Luckily it stopped before we got to our parking space next to the C&O Canal National Historic Park US-0015. The rain had stopped but the mosquitos came out. We were able to work 24 stations in spite of the QRM (interference from mosquitos). After we wandered around the old fort and then decided on our next destination. SWMBO said “Why don’t you activate another park. Are there any more nearby?”. Not being one to argue, I checked the map and found that we were not far from Prathers Neck Wildlife Management Area US-7772. After a thrilling ride down a road that barely deserves to be called a road we found ourselves in a cul-de-sac and parked. Again, there were copious amounts of mosquitos, buzzing around and letting us humans realize our insignificance in the greater scheme of things. We got out the bug spray and braved our way through another activation. This was a new park to me and I was happy to get it in the books. We had several park-to-park contacts, which is always a big plus. Moxie and Missy decided to stay in their hiding spot but Ollie was on the hood watching our 6. Finally, the mosquitos drove us out of there and we took our jaunt down that 2-mile road from hell. We proceeded into Hagerstown and went to the Rose Hill Cemetery where Hiram Percy Maxim, founder of the ARRL, is buried. We found his grave on the plot of his wife’s family. There is a nice plaque there and I am enclosing a picture. While we were there the rain started back up so we decided to call it a day and leave more cemetery traipsing for another day. We stopped off at the Newville Diner in Newville, PA, for lunch then came home and uploaded my logs to the POTA page. We heard the following birds today: Northern Mockingbirds, Tufted Titmouses, Northern House Wrens, American Crows, Brown-headed Cowbirds, House Sparrows, Common Grackles, Carolina Wrens, Eastern Towees, Killdeers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Blue Jays. You might have noticed that I mentioned Ollie. He is my newest owl decoy which I acquired from a local discount store. Well enough for now. Namaste and keep your powder dry!

That’s me making a QSO at Fort Frederick SP

Missy, Ollie and Moxie at Fort Frederick

Too Soon?

May 23, 2025 / KB3CVO / Leave a comment

I have found that the older you get, the quicker time goes by. I just finished a 4 day break from work. Another member of the team had to swap days with me as he had an obligation out of state to attend to. This means that my work schedule is a bit skewed. I was off for the past 4 nights and now I have to work for the next 4 nights. This did allow me to do some activations. I posted in a previous entry about not being in Hawaii but I went out on the 21st, also. It was a short, spur-of-the-moment activations. The bands were bad due to solar activity and I was only able to work 15 stations in an hour at Big Spring State Park US-4355. Before we had finished it started to rain so my owl got moist. I will be adding, either tonight or tomorrow night, a video of a train I took while sitting in the Lincoln diner, to my Youtube channel. You can find it at https://www.youtube.com/@gestyrious/videos. Anyway, I am sitting here drinking coffee and considering getting ready for work. I enjoy my job so that is no big thing but the hours do get long. A 12 hour shift can be a bit endless on the 4th consecutive night. I guess we all have to make our way as best we can and take the ups with the downs. SWMBO and I got some new action cameras so I might be adding more videos soon. In any event, it is Memorial Day Weekend so let us take a moment to think of those who sacrificed their lives to ensure our rights and freedoms. Well, one of my cats, Kalamazoo, is begging me for some treats so I better comply. For now and as always, namaste kiddos.

Nature, Radio, and Me

A POTA Explorer's Diary

Odds and Ends