In Before It Got Too Hot

SWMBO wasn’t satisfied with a couple of her videos as they came out too dark. She did a factory reset on her camera and suggested we go and retake the videos. She also suggested that we activate Sweet Run in VA SP US-9936 as it was close to where she wanted to go. Not a problem. We drove down to Sweet Run first. It is a small and quiet park located just a few miles from Harpers Ferry WV. We had a nice drive down there and got set up quickly. My typical routine is to decide which band to operate then put the appropriate antenna on the roof in a mag mount. Next I place my radio, an FT891 by Yaesu, on the dashboard and connect it up to my battery. I use a 20ah LiFePo battery which gives me adequate operating time. I then find an empty frequency. Sometimes I find a place and part way through my activation I get informed that a net is going to start soon. I then find another spot. Most times the person is polite when they ask. I am a net manager for a local club net and have no issues giving precedence to a net. Anyway, once I pick a frequency, I start calling using my voice recorder on my radio. It saves my voice. SWMBO does the logging and we have found that 2 sets of ears are better than one at picking out weak signals. I am constantly adjusting my AF volume to accommodate signals that are hard to hear and to keep my “interference” to other park users to a minimum. One thing I make sure to do is to acknowlege the 10th contact and thank the hunter for making my activation bonafide. Back to today. We got set up and then on the air. In about 1/2 hour we made 34 contacts (35 really but one was a duplicate). By then it was getting too hot to be comfortable. The humidity was also high. I thought we would get some rain but the ridge to the East of us seems to have blocked it. Once we tore down we walked around the park. I took a video in the pollinator garden which I will link to below. We left the park and scooted over to Gathland SP. It was too hot to do an activation. SWMBO did her video thing and we went down the hill to Burkittsville, MD where she did another video. We stopped at Lincoln Diner in Gettysburg, PA for a great lunch and went home. Now I am sitting here drinking coffee and having face time with my cats. I will be participating in one net (Black Swamp Amateur Radio Club) via Echolink and then running our local one later on. Well, namaste for now, kidlets.

Ready to operate at Sweet Run State Park
A close up of Kalamazoo
Jupiter, Venus and Mercury aligned on 10 August 2025 just before dawn
One of the flower beds at Sweet Run State Park

In Before The Heat

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.

Charade at King’s Gap
Moxie, Missy and Tootsie at King’s Gap
Kalamazoo and I.
The King’s Gap Woodpecker.

Too Soon?

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.

Ptolomey in the rain at Big Spring State Park
Looking towards the park entrance.