(Updated Nov 22, 2022)
In October and November, I had an opportunity to travel to Maryland to do some work for the Feds…….soooo…….I took a look at the I-95 corridor and decided to “make some stops” at parks to do some POTA work…..and wow, I’ve had a blast!
On my first trip North (Saturday Oct 22) I stopped at K-3719 Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation State Historic Site just outside of Brunswick GA. I made 50 contacts in 45 minutes.




Sorry about the blurry GPS photo!
The next day, Sunday, Oct 23 I stopped at K-1566 Cunningham Falls State Park in Thurmont, MD…..this stop netted me 51 Qs in just over 30 minutes.



The leaves were changing ……it was spectacular on this trip from mid-Virginia North to PA. Here’s a few pics – and the photos do not do justice to natures wonderful display of color.




On Tuesday, Oct 25 I drove over to K-0735 Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia. I made 60 Qs in 40 minutes.



3 stops in 3 parks, total of 161 Qs in about 2 hours of operation. The bands were excellent and the views were truly spectacular. The weather was wonderful too…..mid-60s for the entire trip, no rain, clear blue skies!
TRIP NUMBER TWO!
On November 12 I made my second trip, this time stopping at K-0521 Santee National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina. This stop netted me 60 Qs in about 40 minutes. Band conditions were again great, as was the weather. This stop also netted me a new certificate – 25 Park-to-Park contacts! (see my POTA page for all the issued certificates to date).





It’s now Tuesday, and it’s cold! (31 deg this morning). I have an NAQCC Sprint tomorrow night (Wednesday) that I will run from here in Emmitsburg, MD……but if we get out early today, I might be able to sneak into PA to do another park! That would make 10 for me, and another certificate! We’ll see……….it gets dark here at 5pm and tonight it’s supposed to be in the 20s. But this stuff is still lotsa fun!
UPDATE – Well, it rained cats and dogs on Tuesday and stayed cold……so I didn’t get anymore POTA opportunities. I did work the NAQCC Sprint Wednesday night from the same Silo Hill location I’ve used before. 20M was dead, but I did manage 5 Qs on 40M. I am still amazed at what a Hamstick mag mounted to my car will do with only 5W of power! No rain that night, but was in the low 30s again, so working out of the inside of my back car seat has been a wonderful change. I only need one more activation for another certificate – I will probably do that from one of the local Florida parks as soon as I can. Look for more adventures in the future!