Hi everyone (and welcome to the new members!)
Over the ACPS spring break we took a long-planned road trip to Michigan with our three local granddaughters and their mom.? We have some avid rock and fossil hunters in our group, and Michigan turns out to be pretty exciting rock-wise.? All those years I lived in Michigan; who knew?
Of course, I threw my POTA gear in the already jam-packed car and hoped to squeeze in some parks.? (I'm almost all digital, so we're talking IC-705, ToughBook, and my new Wolf River Take-It-Along.)
First up was Kelleys Island State Park in Ohio.? Kelleys Island is the quietest of the Bass Islands in Lake Erie, the one where people go to hike, bird watch, band monarch butterflies, etc.? The whole island is one big limestone outcropping full of fossils.? It is also home to the longest glacial grooves in North America.? The glaciers picked up huge boulders and dragged them along the ground, gouging out the rock and leaving amazing, deep grooves, like a giant ran its fingers along the ground.? The activation was short and sweet, though.? It was still late winter in Ohio and Michigan.? The temperature was right around freezing, and the wind was howling out of the north at 25-30 kt.? It was cold!
Next was Hoeft State Park in Michigan, one of the many state parks along the shores of the Great Lakes.? (Did you know that Michigan has the longest fresh-water coastline in the US?)? I set up on a picnic table in a heavily wooded area near a trailhead.? It was still cold, but at least there wasn't much wind.
Hammond Bay State Harbor in Michigan is one of the "harbors of refuge", a relatively small space behind an artificial breakwater where small pleasure and fishing boats can take refuge if a surprise storm comes up, which happens a lot on the Lakes.? You've all heard "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and possibly "".? The bottoms of the Lakes are littered with shipwrecks both old and new.? It was a gorgeous clear day, but oh, that wind!? I sat in the car and knocked out 10 contacts.
Finally, I activated Onaway State Park on Black Lake in Michigan.? Michigan may not have as many inland lakes as Minnesota, but there are thousands of them.? I was really surprised to see that the park had not been activated in 18 months!? Judging from the history of the parks I activated, Michigan POTA-ists seem to be somewhat less active than we are here in Virginia.? I monitored both .520 and .580 in the car and never heard anyone, POTA or SOTA.? I called CQ on both frequencies from each park and never got a response.? Michigan has a fantastic state park system, and I was surprised there wasn't more activity.
We pulled off in east-central Ohio on the way home for the eclipse.? There was a nice park in this little town with about a hundred locals gathered for the event.? I pulled out my HF gear one more time to participate in the run by the HamSci organization.? I wasn't worried about making contacts since this was my first total eclipse, but I contributed to the din on 20m that the scientists will use to study propagation during the eclipse.? Mostly, though, I just enjoyed the almost 4 minutes of totality.? Amazing!
Great trip, all around.? The family had fun and I activated my first two states besides Virginia.? Yippee!
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73, Mike KQ9P
Mike KQ9P