I did another impromptu Parks on the Air (POTA) activation this morning. This time I drove down to Ridley Creek State Park in Delaware County, Pennsylvania (POTA K-1414).
Although it’s only about a 30-minute drive from home, this was my first visit to Ridley Creek. Before I left, I did some quick aerial reconnaissance using Google Earth. I picked out a spot near a trailhead that looked promising and happened to have restrooms.
On arrival, I found a parking spot near some trees away from other visitors and vehicles. I used my trusty 19-foot vertical on the back of my truck and set up my KX3 in the cab. As usual, I kept my power to 5 watts and ran CW only.
I spotted myself on the POTA website and started calling CQ on 40M. Within a minute, I began receiving calls. It took less than ten minutes to make the required ten contacts. After 40M slowed down, I moved to 20M for a while, later finishing up on 30M.
After 90 minutes—the apparent limit of my attention span—, I had 34 contacts, including three park-to-park QSOs. I worked KØBWR out in Kansas on all three bands. Thanks, Steve! VA2NB (aka VE3WMB), my QRP friend to the north, worked me on 40M and 20M from Quebec. Thanks, Michael!
With that, I packed up for the drive home. Before I left, I drove around the park to do some exploring. On my way out, I stopped near a horse farm within the park to take a picture.
It was a fun morning at Ridley Creek. I’m sure I’ll be back to activate it again.
73/72, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 
Craig :
You had an awesome signal today, as usual.
I am sure that I confused you with my VA2 call which is why I added
the “GRRR de PB19” at the end of my exchange the first time I worked you.
I am at my cottage in QC so I was using VA2NB instead of my usual VE3WMB.
I am glad to hear that you had a great outing today. It was certainly a pleasant surprise to hear and work you.
Cheers
Michael VE3WMB/VA2NB PB#19
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Michael:
Actually, I misinterpreted the “GRRRR,” since I haven’t heard a Polar Bear in a while. I thought you were sending a string of Rs, as in “ROGER.” 🙂 I should have recognized your QC call, but I didn’t make the connection. Anyway, thanks for the QSO. I’ll pay more attention next time!
GRRRR…
72, Craig WB3GCK
PB #7
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