Six Weeks and 7300 Miles: Activating on the Road

Many thanks to Brian (K3ES) who shares the following guest post:


This map provides an overview of our cross-country road trip.  We traveled zig-zag paths from our home in Tionesta, PA to my parents’ home in Martinez, CA, and back again.

Six Weeks and 7300 Miles:  Activating on the Road

by Brian (K3ES)

This article gives an overview of a driving trip across the United States and back that included activation of Parks on the Air (POTA) entities in 21 states along the way.  We left our home in northwest Pennsylvania on September 18, 2024, and returned on Halloween.  During our time away, we spent about 3 weeks driving and 3 weeks visiting with my parents at their home near San Francisco, CA.  With such an epic scope, I plan to write several articles about various POTA activations completed during our trip.  In fact, I completed one article early, and it has already been published on QRPer.com:  K3ES’ Unplanned activation of Yellowstone National Park.  This report provides the background and a broad overview of our trip.

The Players

My mom and dad have made the Bay Area of California their home for 40 years.  They left Pennsylvania on their own great adventure in the mid-1980s, while I was attending graduate school in Pittsburgh.  Dad accepted a transfer, so they packed up the house, committed their belongings to a moving company, and drove their car across the country in 4-1/2 days to meet the movers.  I was able to go along on that driving trip (I returned to Pittsburgh by airline), but I have always wanted to do it again, spending a bit more time to see the sights.

My dad is a hero to me.  I have never been able to match his work ethic or his ability to plan and execute projects.  From home repairs to electronics projects, Dad was always working on something, and generally had several projects going at once.  His workshop was well equipped, and he spent a lot of time there.  Now, approaching his 90th birthday, Dad has been slowing down.  He is no longer able to make use of the shop, but he remembers how important it has been to him.  So, we planned this trip to help Mom clean out the shop, and to let Dad see his trustworthy tools moving to a new home where they can be used and appreciated.

Having retired in 2021, my calendar is more open than it was during 31 years of employment.  I am grateful for this.  My wife, Becky, and I were able to arrange other commitments to give ourselves time for an adventure.  So the two of us packed the back seat of my 2015 Toyota Tundra pickup truck for six weeks of travel, being careful to leave seat space for POTA dog Molly.  We kept the truck bed empty, so that space would be available to bring home tools and shop supplies from California.  This would be our opportunity to travel across the American west.  Forty years after my original cross-country driving trip, I would finally get to stop and see sights along the way.

Once we arrived at my parents’ home in California’s Bay Area, Molly had free run of their fenced yard.  This squirrel was Molly’s nemesis for the duration.  It spent hours across the fence eating fruit in the neighbor’s pomegranate tree.  Many chases ensued, none successful.

The Plan

In another article published on QRPer.com earlier this year:  K3ES Travels: Ten Days of QRP with Compromised Antennas, I explained Becky’s great idea:  that I should activate all 50 of our United States.  At that point, I had activated parks in only 6 states.  By the time we left on this trip, my total had inched up to 11 activated states.  So our goal would be to activate as many of the western states as possible.  Ohio, Indiana, Washington, Oregon, and California were already in the done column, courtesy of some previous travel, but that left a lot of territory to cover.

Since we were leaving in September, we were confident that the weather would be favorable for driving across the northern tier states.  Leaving California to return home in late October, we knew that snow was possible in the mountain passes, so we planned to take a more southerly route.  What remained was to adjust the route to cover all of the states along or near our intended travel path.  In total, including a side-trip to activate a new California park during the Autumn Support Your Parks event, we traveled 7300 miles:  3800 miles traveling westward, 200 miles for the California side-trip, and 3300 miles traveling eastward on the return home.

When we left our driveway, we had the broad outline of the route.  We also had an idea of some of the parks that I might activate on the trip.  We did not have a detailed itinerary.  In fact, though we knew the basic route, and we had reserved rooms for only the first two nights.   I encouraged Becky to leave things a bit open-ended, despite her penchant for careful planning.  This was kind of important, because I would be doing all the driving.  Don’t get me wrong.  Becky is an excellent driver, it is just that she is intimidated by my truck.  We needed its cargo capacity, but I became the sole driver.  So we needed to have the flexibility to stop sooner, or press on longer, depending on my ability to continue driving safely.

After stopping for the night, we usually set our travel goals for the next day or two.  If we were tired, we would cut the next day’s travel shorter.  If not, we might decide to go further.  We also settled on the parks we would visit during the next day’s travels.  Even then, we allowed ourselves to make changes if an opportunity presented itself, and more than once, it did.

Keeping our travel plans a bit loose worked really well for us, particularly after we discovered that almost all hotels welcomed Molly as a guest (for a nominal pet fee, of course).  We had expected more difficulty, and were very pleasantly surprised that nearly every hotel along the way was “pet friendly”.  The additional freedom let us alter our plans at times, like adding Yellowstone National Park to the travel route, when we had originally expected to miss it.

On our return trip, we realized that stopping for a park activation worked really well as a break during long days of driving.  We could stretch, eat lunch, take Molly for a walk, and CW would help me to clear my head before the remainder of the day’s drive.  In fact, we scheduled additional activations in IL, IN, and OH for just that reason, even though I had previously activated parks in those states.

On our final travel day, we stopped at Lake Norman State Park in Ohio.  Bands were great, and I took time to complete 30 contacts.  The greatest difficulty was ambient noise from the wind blowing across the lake.  This flag tells the tale…

The Parks

In the end, I completed 34 activations of 32 distinct POTA entities during the trip.  I activated in 18 new states during our travels, and finished with 29 of 50 states activated.  When I completed my activation of Mesa Verde National Park, I was within the activation zone of the Park Point SOTA summit (W0C/SJ-019), yielding a simultaneous SOTA/POTA activation.  The following Table lists the activations completed during our trip.  Before leaving, I had already activated OH, IN, and CA, so they do not count among the 18 new states.

A bench at Pikes Peak State Park in Iowa provided an awesome view of the Mississippi River valley while I was making contacts for the activation.
Molly kept watch while I activated Washoe Lake State Park in Nevada.
At Fort Union National Monument in New Mexico, I could look over the ruins of the large adobe hospital building while I was operating.  Fort Union guarded the Santa Fe Trail (now a National Historic Trail and a POTA entity).  I was able to make this a 2-fer activation.

Table:  Parks Activated During the Trip

Date State Park ID Park Name QSOs
09/19/24 IL US-4099 Moraine View SP 12
09/19/24 IA US-2311 Pikes Peak SP 27
09/20/24 WI US-1471 Perrot SP 11
09/20/24 MN US-2466 Afton SP 14
09/23/24 ND US-5748 Fort Abercrombie SHS 27
09/23/24 ND US-4239 North Country Trail NST (2-fer with US-5748) 27
09/24/24 SD US-0850 Minuteman Missile NHS 23
09/25/24 SD US-0005 Badlands NP 11
09/25/24 SD US-7487 Buffalo Gap NGL 34
09/26/24 SD US-0786 Mount Rushmore NM 11
09/26/24 SD US-4524 Black Hills NF 22
09/27/24 SD US-0786 Mount Rushmore NM 49
09/27/24 NE US-7478 Oglala NGL 18
09/27/24 WY US-0920 Devils Tower NM 15
09/28/24 MT US-4502 Custer Gallatin NF 16
09/29/24 WY US-0070 Yellowstone NP 11
09/29/24 ID US-4475 Caribou Targhee NF 13
09/30/24 UT US-3075 Great Salt Lake SP 11
10/01/24 NV US-2640 Washoe Lake SP 12
10/19/24 CA US-0651 Point Reyes NS 11
10/24/24 AZ US-0030 Grand Canyon NP 33
10/25/24 AZ US-0057 Petrified Forest NP 18
10/26/24 CO US-0051 Mesa Verde NP 23
10/26/24 CO W0C/SJ-019 Park Point SOTA Summit (joint with US-0051) 23
10/27/24 NM US-0933 Fort Union NM 17
10/27/24 NM US-4579 Santa Fe Trail NHT (2-fer with US-0933) 17
10/27/24 OK US-7481 Rita Blanca NGL 14
10/28/24 KS US-9191 Pawnee Rock SHS 19
10/28/24 KS US-4579 Santa Fe Trail NHT (2-fer with US-9191) 19
10/29/24 MO US-3345 Confederate Memorial SHS 14
10/29/24 MO US-3356 Mark Twain Birthplace SHS 14
10/30/24 IL US-4097 Kickapoo SRA 17
10/30/24 IN US-10247 Lawrence Creek SNR 23
10/30/24 IN US-2256 Fort Harrison SP (2-fer with US-10247) 23
10/31/24 OH US-3515 Lake Milton SP 30
Shading denotes my first activation in the indicated state.
My first activation of the trip was at Moraine View State Recreation Area in Illinois.

Activation Experience

One of the amazing things about our beautiful country is that each state has a seemingly different character than all of the others.  While there can be similarity, topography, geography, climate, and vegetation combine to make something unique.  From a POTA activator’s perspective, this uniqueness means that you must be ready to deploy antennas using a variety of different techniques.  Living in Pennsylvania (Penn’s Woods) means that I am able to find a tree at almost any location where I choose to activate.  This is definitely not the case in many other states.

Similarly, the number of people present in a park can bias antenna options.  For example, in the highly visited National Parks, I chose to use my stealthiest antenna deployment options – consciously sacrificing gain to keep my operation invisible.  I took with me, and used:  several different antennas, my arborist throw-line kit, and a selection of telescoping masts.  The tiny AX1 antenna gave me a very stealthy option, when needed, and it pulled in contacts like a champ.

Because most of my park activations were fit into a travel day, I tried to keep them short.  I worked to get a minimum of 11 QSOs at each park, but I tried not to call QRT when there were hunters still actively trying to make contact.  While the 20m band has been hit and miss for me in the past, it worked extremely well on this trip.  In most cases, I completed the entire activation on 20m.

I guess I should note that my style for field operations is to keep my gear small and light, so that it can serve me in a variety of settings:  from activating in the truck, to picnic table operation, to hiking to more remote sites that lack developed infrastructure.  Two choices help me to meet the small and light objective.  First, I operate at 5 watts or less, which enables an efficient transceiver to operate for a long time on a small, light battery.  Second, I operate using CW mode, which often lets me choose small, light transceivers.  CW also gives me a more effective signal at QRP power levels.  With a set of earbuds, I can reduce the audio signature of my operations to practically nil.  This significantly improves operational stealth.

Gear

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More to Come

Having activated so many different POTA entities across the country during this trip, this article barely scratches the surface.  Since I am not the best at remembering to take pictures during my activations, I was fortunate to have Becky along as designated photographer.  With her pictures in hand, I plan to write several more field reports to give QRPer.com readers a more complete sense of the experience.  Some upcoming reports will undoubtedly focus on the spectacular scenery at particular parks that we visited.  Some reports will focus on antenna choices and configuration, with an eye toward antenna performance during the activations.  I am honestly not yet sure what other topics may suggest themselves, so stay tuned.

One thing I can say with certainty.  Even three weeks of travel through more than 20 states leaves me awed by how much more there is to be seen and done than there remains time to do it.  This adventure has created resolve to do more trips like this, not only to continue our quest to activate 50 states, but to see more of the states we have already visited.

Best 73 de Brian – K3ES, XYL Becky, and POTA Dog Molly

A Few Pictures from the Road

This sail boat showed up for a picture as we traveled along the Great River Road, following the Mississippi River in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The Dignity Statue is a sculpture honoring Native American cultures of South Dakota.  The 50-foot statue overlooks the Missouri River near Chamberlain, SD.
The World’s Largest Jackalope can be found in Wall, SD.  It is located only a few blocks from the world famous Wall Drug.  If you don’t know about Wall Drug, you only need to drive a few miles along Interstate 90 in South Dakota.  Swarms of bill boards will complete your education about the establishment.
While Becky attended the evening light-up ceremony at Mount Rushmore National Monument, Molly and I stayed in the truck on the upper deck of the parking structure.  I set up my AX1 antenna for a stealth activation from the truck.  I had activated Mount Rushmore earlier in the day, but now it was past midnight UTC, so the 49 additional contacts counted as a second activation of the park.
Devils Tower National Monument is amazing.  We stopped to activate it, but hiking came first.
Surprises happen.  Just outside the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park, we found this female elk dining on a strip of grass next to the parking lot of our hotel.  She was completely unfazed by people parking in the lot.  I had taken Molly out for her evening constitutional, but led her around the building to a weed patch to do her business.  She really wanted to feel the grass between her toes, but sometimes discretion really is the better part of valor…
Grand Tetons National Park is spectacular.  We did not stop for an activation, but we really enjoyed driving through.
We activated Great Salt Lake State Park in Utah.  This sign provided interesting details.
While we were in California, I wanted to activate a new-to-me park for the Autumn Support Your Parks Event.  We chose Point Reyes National Seashore.  The Point Reyes Lighthouse interested Becky, so she hiked to see it while I struggled to complete an activation from the truck.  Surprisingly, this activation was the hardest-fought of the trip, and I was really glad to get 11 contacts in the log.  We also appreciated seeing a number of elk from the large herd that roams the park.
This one is for Thomas.  Our homeward route took us through the Tahachapi pass toward Arizona.  I could not resist a short detour to see the famous Tehachapi Loop, a helical loop in the Union Pacific rail line that helps to reduce the grade for trains climbing over the pass.  This picture shows an east-bound Union Pacific mixed freight train running around the loop as it climbs.  The engines at the head of the train are just passing trailing cars that are still coming through the tunnel leading into the loop.
Becky and Molly found Spike’s Desert Dog Park next to our hotel in Needles, CA.  Fans of Charles Schultz’s Peanuts cartoon may know that Snoopy’s brother Spike lives in the desert town of Needles, hence the name.  I was not among those in the know.
The Grand Canyon.  Enough said.
Becky was caught standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona.  If you know your Eagles as well as she does, you can Take it Easy, too.
The Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park is worth seeing.  Located over 7000 ft above sea level, it is thought to have been home to 100 people.
Sunset over New Mexico was beautiful.
Grain elevators were landmarks for us as we crossed Kansas.  Towns were spaced about 10 miles apart along the highway, and each had a grain elevator and a railroad.  It takes a lot of work and a lot of infrastructure to feed a nation.  This wooden grain elevator was our favorite.  Compared to its modern cousins, it was small, in a bad repair, and out of use.  But, it was a piece of history.
We arrived home on Halloween.  Kindly neighbors watched over our house while we were gone, and they even decorated the porch for the holiday.

14 thoughts on “Six Weeks and 7300 Miles: Activating on the Road”

  1. Congratulations, what a great trip Brian! And some fabulous photos of beautiful America!

    I don’t know what it is about Pt. Reyes, but it seems like it’s always a struggle to make QSOs out there. Maybe KPH ( https://www.radiomarine.org/ ) has Hoovered up all the radio mojo, leaving only crumbs for us QRPers.

    I look forward to more individual activation reports.

    1. Thanks Matt!

      More reports will be coming! Thanks to Becky’s great photography, they will be well illustrated.

      Activating Point Reyes was indeed a struggle. In fairness, it did not help that I was operating in full stealth mode from the truck in the lighthouse parking lot, using the AX1 antenna. I had thought about stopping at KPH, but knew the lighthouse would be much more interesting to Becky.

      Best 73 de Brian – K3ES

    2. That little hill you walk by on the way from the parking lot to the lighthouse is a SOTA summit (W6/NC-542). You can pull a few extra chasers and a 2fer by spotting on SOTA also!

  2. What a wonderful report Brian! It will be interesting to see more detailed reports of some of those places. Your photos add immensely (yet, only scratch the surface) in telling about the beauty of this great country. THANK YOU!

    1. Hi Bob,

      Thanks for your kind words. Becky’s photography adds immensely! Usually I am so immersed in the activation that I forget to take pictures…

      More reports are coming. We had great weather for the entire trip (truthfully only about 10 minutes of rain in 6 weeks!). Now that we’re home, we are having our normal share of dreary days. The good news is that it gives me time for writing…

      Best 73 de Brian – K3ES

  3. Brian
    GREAT article! You, Becky and Molly had a great adventure that you will remember for the rest of your lives. I have a very old Winnebago that I wouldn’t take out of town and at 80 years old now I have resigned myself to reading accounts like yours. I really appreciate your pictures and the very well written article. Good luck grabbing up the last few states you need for a POTA-WAS.
    72’s
    Joe WA2SPL
    Alburgh VT

  4. Hi Joe,

    Thank you very much. This was indeed a memorable adventure. We saw so much, and also got a small sense of how much remains to be seen.

    We plan more travels, eventually including a New England trip, and a trip to get more of the deep south. Activating All States will still take a while. The good news is that Becky, Molly, and I really enjoyed our time together on the road. Traveling with Becky means things are well organized, and there will be great pictures. Molly provides awesome comic relief (but I need to shoo her away if you want to be able to read what I’m typing).

    Best 73 de Brian – K3ES

  5. Wow. Just wow.

    A few different thoughts come to mind.

    One, what an amazing nation we have, from the broad history of our country to the individual histories that go right down to the square mile you happen to be at.

    Two, what a big nation we have … that is a lot of driving. So much to see and enjoy, but it is also quite literally a long haul. I’ve done it twice in my life, once driving with my best friend from college, from Washington State to upstate New York for graduate school, the second time driving back home to the Puget Sound region with my wife and my cat.

    Third, to improvise, adapt, and overcome with a variety of radio and antenna configurations to handle the band conditions and the local conditions. The way you described fitting into the local situations is really what I think we all strive for in activations, very much a “leave no trace” mindset, enjoying our hobby while being good ambassadors for amateur radio.

    Well done !

    David W7CDT

  6. Hi David,

    Thanks, and well said. We truly have a huge, amazing country. And from a POTA perspective, the differences from place to place require an activator to have a whole bag of antenna tricks!
    Being a good POTA ambassador and supporting our parks is one of the best ways to give back to our community.

    Best 73 de Brian – K3ES

  7. What a fantastic trip! I have long wanted to drive coast to coast to see the bit in the middle which I haven’t been to yet so will look forward to your trip reports.

    For interest I can drive East Coast to West Coast Scotland in about 2 hours…!

    1. Thanks Gavin,

      40 years ago, I made a quick trip across the US, and I’ve always wanted to go slower to see things I missed. Mission accomplished. The only problem is that there is so much to see that I want to do another trip to see more things I missed…

      Best 73 de Brian – K3ES

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