The sky looks mean. I am saying it has the mottled gray colour the precedes some foul weather. This time of year, late Autumn, that usually means snow. Sigh. At least it gives me some exercise.
This afternoon I suggested to SWMBO a quick activation followed by a trip to the store. We drove to a place I hadn’t activated yet: State Game Land #88. PA has State Game Lands which are tracks of land held in the public trust and provided for hunting, fishing, range shooting and general wildlife/outdoor enjoyment. Right now it is antlered ruminant season so you need to be careful of where you go. The main parking lot for SGL#88 (US-8787) is located on top of a ridge overlooking 2 valleys in 2 different counties. We parked and I decided to use 17M due to the time of day: 1930 UTC . The sky was/is overcast and the temperature was around 5C; not too cold. We got set up and were able to make 32 contacts in less than 1/2 hour. I had started out by hunting 2 park-to-parks and then found an empty frequency. We made it out to California and as far north as Montreal QC. They were coming in so fast that I had trouble self-spotting. Alas, somebody who probably didn’t hear us started using the frequency so we went off the air.
Now, I am sitting here drinking coffee and enjoying the heat from our pellet stove. It is looking like it will be a nice evening. I guess I will cut this short. Thanks for reading and as always: namaste kiddos.
Missie and Moxie at SGL#88A shot along the road home
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 SPLooking South from Cullers OverlookLooking North from Cullers OverlookCullers Overlook SignAquarium in Visitors CenterWildlife ExhibitBuc-ee’s Yes, it’s that big
Howdy kidlets. Another blog installment. A few things have happened since my last entry and there are some terms I would like to cover.
Ham radio operators like their jargon and technical terms. Signal reports are an integral part of operating whether they really mean anything or not. Some folks just give lip service to the reality of the report whereas others treat them as sacrosanct. They are used to give the station you are talking with an idea of how well their signal is being heard. The system of reporting is the R-S-T system where R stands for “readability” , S stands for “Strength” and T stands for “Tone”. When using voice the T is omitted. R is a number from 1 (unreadable) to 5 (perfectly readable). S is for the strength of the signal and runs from 1 (very faint or “in the noise”) to 9 which is extremely strong (booming in there). T is used for Morse Code transmissions and does not apply to voice communications. It runs from 1 (very rough) to 9 (perfect tone). Tone is sort of outdated with solid state radios and Software-Defined radios. Using the older tube rigs, tone could be effected by a number of things such as tubes going bad or other circuit issues. Rarely today do you hear anything other than a 9 for Tone. Most contesters just give a 59 or 599 as a means of being expeditious as they are trying to make as many contacts in the allotted time as possible. Most operators give the R by ear and the S by watching their built in meter in the rig. Ok enough knowledge for tonight. 🙂
Today I went to Little Buffalo State Park us-1376. If you want pictures of the park you will have to look through some of my previous posts. It was a beautiful day, for October. The sky was sunny and the temperature was reasonable, almost pleasant. There were several people in the park walking and dog-walking and picnicking in an attempt to make the most out or the fair weather before it becomes unpleasant to go outside. Prior to the activation I was at a VE session. (VE is volunteer examiner which I will elaborate about in another entry). I wanted to do a quick activation as I had something to do at home. Without SWMBO to log, activations can be a juggling act. Sometimes it can get confusing switching from logbook to mic and back. I managed to keep up, though. In less than 1/2 hour I was able to add 15 contacts to the log, with 5 park-to park QSOs. A pretty good activation.
Now as for yesterday, we were driving home from a town in the next valley (Newville, if you must know) and we turned onto a back road as we usually do to take a bit of a shortcut. LO! and behold!, in the middle of the road ahead of us was a small figure which we both took for a squirrel sitting up. That wasn’t the case. As we got close the figure resolved itself to be a kitten. I stopped the car, intending to shoo it out of the road but when I got close, I saw that his eyes were gummed shut and his nose was caked over. There is no way we could have left him there as it would be a certain and probably slow death. I picked him up and we set off to continue our trip home. We stopped in at SWMBO’s mother’s place and I called the vet as this little critter needed some doctoring. Amazingly they took us right in. The vet checked him over and sprayed him for fleas and gave us medicine for his cold and his eyes. We took him home and he is now my little buddy as he likes to sit on me and to sleep. We named him “Scout” as he is fond of nosing around and checking out his surroundings.
Well, that is it for now. Next time I will talk about the VE system and maybe another topic or two. As always, namaste kiddos.
Scout when we first picked him upScout sleeping on my chestSnack time for Scout
SWMBO and I were at breakfast this morning at the Blain Hotel. We were discussing how we were going to spend the day and she suggested that we do an activation at the ATV lot in Michaux State Forest US-5471. I asked her to twist my arm harder. We ran an errand for my MIL and then we loaded up and set out for the ATV lot.
We arrived at the lot and got set up and on the air by 1530 UTC. As usual I was using ham-sticks on a mag-mount on the roof of my car. We started out on 40M after consulting the net directory to make sure we were not near any nets. As usual, I transmitted my call and a request if the freq was in use several times. Hearing none I posted my freq on the POTA.APP page. I started getting immediate responses to my calls. SWMBO had a bit of fun logging. It only took us 9 minutes to get 10 in the log. After 18 contacts I decided to change bands.
After checking the spots I found 10M to be open. It takes me only a few minutes to change bands. I get the ham-stick for the band I want to work out of the PVC case I keep my antennas in. I then unscrew the antenna I wanted to swap out from the mag-mount and screw in the new antenna. I place the mount back on the roof of the car and swap bands on the radio. I hunt for an empty freq and ask if it is in use. There were a lot of transmissions on 10M which was a bit surprising for a weekday but I was happy. Once I chose a freq I posted it on the POTA.APP page and then I self-spotted on DXSUMMIT.FI as this is a spotting group that is seen and used around the US and Europe.
I started working stations from the US such as Texas, California and Florida … and then the DX started coming in. For those not familiar, DX is ham-speak for distant stations (usually out of the country). Mixed in with stations from California, Louisiana, and Kansas, I was getting calls from Germany, Spain, France and the Netherlands. The reports were good, mostly 55 or better. I was truly amazed at how well 10M was running.
Alas, all good things must eventually end and this includes activations. I posted a last call and after a few minutes vacated the frequency, giving others the opportunity to work 10M. It doesn’t take us long to tear down. SWMBO coils up the power cord from the radio as I am putting away the antennas. Then we pack the radio into its backpack and box and put the battery back into the bag I carry it in. We put the gnomes away and put the owl in the back seat. Today, we walked around the lot for a few minutes taking pictures of nicely colored trees.
Well, kidlets, that is it for this episode. You all have a very enjoyable day and, as always, namaste!
Missie, Moxie and Ollie watching my 6 as I play radioSome cool leaves. This is on an Amur Honeysuckle.Nice!more foliageA cool little maple
Due to one of my fellow workers taking some time off, I worked 7 days straight from the 8th to the 14th of October. This was buffered a bit by me being off the previous 7 days but it is still a strain. My shift is 12 hours at night and it does wear on a person. I have been doing this for about 21 years so I guess I should be used to it but the older I get, the more trying it gets.
Today, SWMBO and I went to King’s Gap Environmental State Park US-4361. This was the 20th time we activated this park and, as always, it was enjoyable. It was a nice day though a bit chilly. The temperature was 12.8 C when we arrived though it was nice and warm in the car. It doesn’t take long to set up my gear and with all the practice I have had it goes pretty smoothly, usually. First I got my mag-mount and antenna out of the trunk. (I keep my hamstick antennae in a 7.62 CM inside diameter PVC pipe with caps on both ends. This hangs conveniently on bunji cords wrapped around the rear seat headrests. ) Then I got my 40M hamstick out of the case and attached it to my roof. I ran the coax down the windshield and into the driver side window. Next I got my rig out of the storage box I keep it in along with my gnomes and my basic tool kit. I attached the coax to the radio and placed it up on the dashboard. I put my 20AH LiFePo battery on the armrest and attached the power cord from the radio to it. I consulted my list of known net frequencies (so that I could avoid them) and found an empty frequency. I asked if it was in use and gave my callsign, waited for a response or any indication of activity, and repeated the process. (As a side note, I keep my power level at 75 Watts) When I had determined that the freq was clear I posted a spot on the POTA app and started calling CQ POTA. That is my usual routine.
Today we started at 1225 UTC and worked a park-to-park station in NJ. From there it was pretty much solid activity until 1258 when I went hunting. Of course by we I mean SWMBO and myself. After hunting for a few minutes we decided to call it a day. In 39 minutes, we worked a total of 45 stations; not too bad if I say so myself.
So that is pretty much what I do and how I do it. In another blog I will address how we select where to activate. Enough for now. Namaste, kidlets!
Missie and Moxie at Kings Gap.The recent planetary alignment showing Venus, Jupiter and Mercury in the early morning sky.
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 BattlefieldA raptor and me at the Virginia Living MuseumOne of the many animals at the Living MuseumBuc-ee’s in Mt Crawford VAGreat potatoe chips.The main gate at Ft MonroeWhat a cute critter!
Hi kidlets. It has been 15 days since my last post. Have I been suffering from early Autumn ennui (Ennui is a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction, often described as boredom or a lack of interest and enthusiasm, typically resulting from having too much time on one’s hands and too little motivation to engage in activities)? Not really. This is just a time of year when things seem to be winding down. The leaves are changing, the goldenrod is in full bloom and my back porch roof is under constant bombardment from the walnut tree out back. I was not neglecting my blog, just trying to get perspective on life.
We (SWMBO and I) did an activation on Saturday 27 Sept. We went to Little Buffalo State Park US-1376 and parked at the boat ramp area which is usually calm and quiet. The 10 Meter band was open pretty good to Europe and we took advantage of the fact, working Brazil, England, Russia, Greece and Wales. After a flurry of activity we changed to the 40 Meter band and worked “locals” (within 1000 miles). We only worked for 15 minutes and made 17 contacts. We had some errands to run but sometimes a “hit and run” activation can be fulfilling.
Last week on the 22nd, we took a ride up through Tuscarora State Forest and went to the Big Knob fire tower. The tower is no longer there but it is a nice ride on some back roads. Continuing from Big Knob we went to the Blain Vista. The vista sits on the ridge and overlooks the valley where Blain sits. It is a nice view but the flag there needs to be replaced.
Yesterday we took a drive on some back roads in Southern PA, looking for photo opportunities. We did not find many but had a nice ride followed by lunch at the Walnut Bottom Diner in Carlisle.
Enough for now. We are taking a bit of a trip this week so expect another entry soon. For now, namaste!
A branch on a misty morning over the Conodoguinet creek.The Blain Vista SignMe at Blain VistaThe view from Blain VistaNew Germantown Covered BridgeA quiet day at the lake in Little Buffalo State Park
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.
Walking into the sunMissie, Moxie and Ptolomey at Kings GapMushrooms on the pathTexture 1Texture 2Still life with moss and leaves
The last full moon of summer came a bit early this year. Typically, the Full Corn Moon happens after the Autumnal Equinox but this year it came on September 7th, 2 days ago. I saw it on the way home from work and it was huge, hanging in the sky like a bright que ball. It is called the Corn Moon as it usually happens around the time corn is harvested. The next moon is the Harvest Moon which will occur on October 6th. Okay, enough mooning around.
Today was a beautiful day. We had planned on activating 2 parks and then doing some other stuff but we ended up activating 3. We arrived at Catoctin Mountain Park US-0666 just before 12:00 UTC (0800 EDT) and got on the air by 5 after. In 18 minutes, we made 18 contacts and since we seemed to be on a roll with weather and band conditions, we decided to go to another nearby park.
Our second park was Cunningham Falls State Park US-1566. We arrived around 0845 EDT and got on the air soon after. We can get set up relatively quickly as we keep things simple, using a “Hamstick” on the car and an FT891 with a lifepo battery. Anyway, it took us 19 minutes to make 29 contacts. Again, conditions were good. The main thing that caused us to move to another park was the 3 busloads of kids which invaded the park. I have nothing against kids but they can get a bit distracting in large numbers and we were parked near a restroom so there would have been a lot of foot traffic.
So, we moved back North of the Mason Dixon Line into Pennsylvania and stopped at Gettysburg National Battlefield US-0027. Per usual, we parked on Culp’s Hill where we worked 12 contacts. The 40 meter band changed on us and the contacts sorta dried up. We figured it was time to pack up and do some other stuff like looking at Halloween things in a couple stores, get some vittles at the Newville Diner and do our grocery shopping. It was definitely a full day.
Now a word. I am not using the “royal” we, nor am I speaking in the second person plural as a single person. SWMBO was with me as she usually is. She does my logging and keeps me sane. I did make a mistake at Cunningham Falls: I had asked a ham to stand by and worked 2 other stations which had called me at the same time. By the time I got back to him he had gone. SWMBO had logged his callsign and when I uploaded my logs I gave him credit for working us. I have had similar things happen to me so I didn’t want to leave him hanging. SWMBO saved the day, again. 🙂
Ok kids, I am gonna close this now. Feel free, as always to leave comments. I love feedback. Namaste
Missie, Moxie and Zarathustra at Catoctim Mountain ParkMissie and Moxie at Cunningham Falls SP. Zarathustra is hidden by the sunshineMissie Moxie and Zarathustra at Culp’s Hill in GettysburgThe tower on Culp’s Hill
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.
The park signWhere I was parked.Missie, Moxie and Ollie enjoying Gathland State ParkThe view out my car doorYes, I took a selfieThe Visitors Center at Antietam
Nature, Radio, and Me 