Adventures in CW
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US-10408
Horse Heaven Hills Recreation Area BLM Recreation Management Area Sometime in late 2023, I noticed the addition of numerous new POTA sites, many of which are near my home. I decided to head up to the Horse Heaven Hills BLM area because it’s near my home and I also wanted to scope it out as…
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US-2441
Scootney Reservoir State Park On October 25, 2023, my new friend Bob WV7W and I set out on our first joint activation outing. Scootney Reservoir State Park is less than an hour from our homes so it made a good choice. I went first and made 18 QSOs before a lull in the action allowed…
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US-9562
Manhattan Beach State Recreation Area While on a week-long break in Rockaway Beach, OR, I ran up just a few minutes up Highway 101 to Manhattan Beach State Recreation Area. I managed to score a picnic table next to an open area suitable for deploying the Chameleon whip and logged a respectable 34 contacts before…
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US-3291
Yakima Sportsman State Park In early 2023, I taught a beginners group of CW Ops students. My students were very geographically spread out, coming from Switzerland, Scotland, and several spread out across the US, but one, Jeff K7MG lives just on the other side of the state from me. Jeff did incredibly well in the…
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US-2832
Hat Rock State Park – OR On a return trip from Portland, OR, I stopped by Hat Rock State Park in north-central Oregon. This would be my first activation outside of my home state of Washington. It would also be my first “discussion” with a park ranger, although it was constructive and ended amiably. Being…
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US-3167
Brooks Memorial State Park, WA On April 20, 2023, I made a road trip from the Tri-Cities to visit my brother in Portland, OR. I took the long way through Goldendale in order to work a couple of parks along the way. The first stop was Brooks Memorial State Park along Highway 97. The park…
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US-3195
Goldendale Observatory State Park I wanted to return here so I could redeem myself after my first failed activation. This time, I came well prepared with a 100W radio. Being a Thursday during the day, I pretty much had the place to myself and had a good choice of places to operate. I got the…
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SOTA: Badger Mountain
Spring weather is making its appearance here, and Bob (WV7W) and I took advantage of it by hiking up a local “mountain” known as Badger Mountain, W7W/WE-061. This is a fairly easy hike, both because its a 15 minute drive from our homes and because it’s less than four miles round trip with an ascent…
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K-1135
After activating the Butte National Grasslands, I continued my drive south toward Modesto, CA to visit family. After hitting I-5, I decided to stop and try my luck at Castle Crags State Park (K-1135). The park is beautiful and easily accessible from the freeway, but it’s in a bit of a valley surrounded by rocky…
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K-7476
This was a day when the stars aligned and everything went perfectly, the day exceeding expectations in every way. I needed to drive to central California for a family event and hoped to work in some radio time en route. I had spent the night in Klamath Falls, OR, and left my hotel about 30…