Activating on the Road: Pikes Peak State Park is Where???
by Brian (K3ES)
During our road trip across the country and back (Six Weeks and 7300 Miles: Activating on the Road), Becky and I planned our route to enable me to complete at least one Parks on the Air (POTA) activation in each state across the American west. One of the first parks that I activated on the trip was Pikes Peak State Park (US-2311) in Iowa.
You heard that right, Iowa.
This was one of my favorite activations during our time on the road. I had an amazing view of the Mississippi River Valley while I was operating, and since this park was less than an hour from our final destination for the day, I had enough time to work plenty of contacts.
When we arrived in the park, I took Molly the POTA Dog for a walk around the park. She is always excited about a walk (particularly after riding in the truck for several hours), and it gave me the opportunity to scout the park for a good location to set up my station for the activation. The park is located on a bluff, hundreds of feet above the river, with walking paths and overlook platforms offering great viewpoints.
A number of park visitors were enjoying the overlook platforms and the pathways, and I prefer to keep my station out of the way, so I settled on using a path-side stone bench for my activation. The bench was located under some trees that provided both shade and support for my antenna, a perfect location.
Activating US-2311
When we returned to the parking area, Becky took Molly, and set out on a hike to nearby Bridal Veil Falls. I picked up my radio pack, and returned to the bench. I tossed my throw line over a tree branch, and hoisted the Tufteln End-fed Random Wire (EFRW) antenna into a vertical configuration. Laying out the 17 ft counterpoise wire along the ground, and attaching a 15 ft RG316 feedline completed the antenna deployment.
I placed my KX2 next to me on the bench, connected the feedline, power cable, earbuds, and VK3IL pressure paddles. I opened my log book, secured it to a clipboard balanced on my knee, and was ready to get on the air.
As always for new-to-me parks, I scheduled my activation in advance on POTA.app while I had a reliable internet connection. That way, I was good to go, even if cellular service was unavailable at the activation site. Since I operate in CW mode, I just had to find an open frequency and begin calling CQ.
The Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) picked me up, generated an automatic POTA spot, and calls began coming in. In truth, even when I have data service available in a park, I seldom do more than monitor continued automatic spots. The RBN even updates my spot when I change frequency or band. The RBN spotting function works spectacularly well for a CW operator, even at QRP power levels.
Results
I stayed on the air until after Becky and Molly returned from their walk. In about 40 minutes on the air, I logged 27 CW contacts on the 20m and 30m bands. The pace was steady, and I was able to work my way through all of the callers. I am grateful to each of the hunters who tracked down my QRP signal, and stuck with me to complete a contact.
During our 6-week excursion, solar conditions were stable, and propagation was great. The Tufteln EFRW antenna was quick to deploy, quick to pack, and performed impressively when paired with the KX2’s excellent internal tuner.
Gear
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- Elecraft KX2
- SideKX end-panels and cover for the KX2
- Bioenno 3 Ah LiFePO4 battery
- Tufteln EFRW antenna with 9:1 Unun, 35 ft radiator, and 17 ft counterpoise
- 15 ft RG316 feedline with BNC male connectors at each end
- Homebrew VK3IL-designed, pressure paddles
- Generic earbuds
- Rite in the Rain No. 946 notepads
- Pentel Twist-Erase mechanical pencil in 0.9mm
- US M7 Army Light Weight Service Mask pouch: WWII vintage, canvas construction
- Arborist kit with 2mm Marlow Excel line and Petzel 9 oz (250g) throw bag and Tom Bihn Small Travel Tray stuff sack
Final Thoughts
If you are ever find yourself in northeastern Iowa, I definitely recommend taking the time to see Pikes Peak State Park. Activate this park, if you can. The views are amazing. If you can bring binoculars, or a long lens for your camera, so much the better. We could see a large number of birds standing along sand bars in the river, but could only guess at the species.
Becky enjoyed the walk to Bridal Veil Falls. It involved moderate elevation changes along the trail. She was disappointed with the Falls themselves, because water flow was minimal after a dry period in early autumn. The Falls should be much more impressive in the spring.
Best 73 de Brian – K3ES, XYL Becky, and POTA Dog Molly
Your title really had me puzzled — barges at Pikes Peak? 🙂 Enjoyed the write-up and pictures!
Based on the location and time of year I suspect the distant white birds are pelicans.
Thanks William! When we planned our activation in Iowa, Pikes Peak definitely puzzled me, too! Pelicans would definitely match up with the bird sizes. It definitely would have been helpful to have had binoculars with me.
Beautiful photos, beautiful park, and what a great spread on your QSO map! That is a terrific way to make a gentle road trip! (I also enjoy your helpful interpretation of Molly’s comments…)
Thanks Todd! Becky does a great job taking pictures, and this park was very photogenic! It doesn’t take much insight to interpret Molly’s comments. She is quite expressive!
Pike’s peak in Iowa was named by (or for?) Zebulon Pike who traveled up the Mississippi River in 1806 as part of the exploration of the then new Louisiana Purchase. Pike’s Peak in CO was named for him later on. The valley in one of your photos is the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers; historically significant as early explorers traveled down the Wisconsin Rivers seeking a path west. I live not far from that spot and have been boating the River and motorcycling through the area for decades, but never operated from Pike’s Peak.
The park used to be more natural with rock outcroppings you could stand on and look over the River, the same as someone in the 1800s. But the State DNR decided to ‘improve’ that by constructing flat platforms with barriers over the original rocks. Not the same experience.
Rich —
Thanks for the additional info on the park and its name. I was wondering if it was the same Pike but hadn’t gotten around to looking it up. Sounds like a neat bit of “cocktail party” trivia or maybe a Jeopardy question. 🙂
Thanks Rich! It is great to get additional history about the park name. I suspect that the DNR “improved” the park with platforms and barriers to protect themselves from liability. Sad that it has come to this…
Great write-up and pictures. Enjoying your write-ups of your trip. I live in SWMO so not that far for a trip North
Dennis
W0HL
Thanks Dennis! If you get the chance, I enthusiastically recommend activating Pikes Peak SP! Great views abound. Bring your binoculars.
What a great write up and beautiful pictures! I’ve had the opportunity to activate this park while visiting friends from Waukon, IA. It was under renovation when I went there on June 22, 2022, but was still open and I see they put up a whole bunch of new signs. I’m still in the top 5, for now, for the number of contacts there which I did in one activation.
It’s interesting that this was your choice for Iowa because I see it as somewhat off the beaten path. Like you I’m working towards the goal of activating at least 1 park in each of the 50 states. Back in 2022 it was not and I’ve regretted not getting Wisconsin which I drove through to get there and Minnesota which isn’t a far drive from there. Back then I wasn’t even into POTA roves like I am now. Live and learn for sure!
Once again great write up, beautiful pictures and congratulations on getting all of those states activated on your road trip!
Thanks for your kind words, Mark. Pikes Peak SP was certainly a great site for an activation. We planned our travel route to go through Iowa on our way from Illinois to Wisconsin. The park was close to our overnight endpoint in Prairie du Chien, WI (and it has a waterfall – Becky likes waterfalls).
You certainly threw me for a loop there! Kinda odd that pikes peak state park is in Iowa and not Colorado. If it were in Colorado I’d be activating it somewhat regularly!
Thanks Jonathan! Just a little click-bait, hi hi. Pikes Peak SP in Iowa threw me for a bit of a loop, too. Stay tuned for a report the Colorado activation…