July 17—18, 2025. Lake Erie POTA Mini-vacation

The Plan

I had the Monday and Tuesday off from work, as an extended July 4th. Unfortunately both my daughter and wife had to work, and we also have some animals that are in need of constant medical attention, so this was going to have to be a solo trip.

I have long been fascinated by the coastline near Long Point, but until this point I had only seen it in pictures and maps. I wanted to camp overnight, and do two activations from Long point, and book-end it with a POTA activation both before and after.

I booked at the last moment, and so there was only one site available, despite being on a Monday. I looked at a few online pictures of the site, and noticed it had trees, so I was hopeful. It was also near the beach. Site 335.

I left around 9:30 in the morning, and I was planning for about a 2 hour drive. The plan was to activate Turkey Point Provincial Park (CA-0417) at around 11:00, then have a nice lunch at 13:00, and drive to Long Point (CA-0279) for the 14:00 arrival-time check-in.

Turkey Point Provincial Park (CA-0417)

Arriving at Turkey Point, the staff were very helpful and, because I had a reservation for another provincial park later that afternoon, they did not charge me an admission fee. I drove to a picnic table that was right next to some trees, and had an easy setup.

I used a Packtenna Random Wire that has a 9:1 transformer neatly packaged onto the winder.

The bands were moderately active, and it did not take me long to activate on 20m CW with the KX2. 17 QSOs in about an hour. I brought a 30AH battery to allow me to operate for a long time, however in retrospect, I believe that the internal charger for the KX2 never engaged. I had a full charge on the KX2 beforehand, so I suspect that all three activations were done on its internal battery! I ended it on a fitting note with a park-to-park with Jim in Nebraska (WBØRLJ).

Date Time Call State Band Mode Park
2025/07/07 15:52 KO4USA GA 20m CW
2025/07/07 15:53 K2UPD NY 20m CW
2025/07/07 15:54 NAØF MN 20m CW
2025/07/07 15:55 KA5TXN TX 20m CW
2025/07/07 15:57 W3YJ PA 20m CW
2025/07/07 15:59 AA5XA AR 20m CW
2025/07/07 16:00 KO4ALY AL 20m CW
2025/07/07 16:03 W5KEB AR 20m CW
2025/07/07 16:05 KB3A AL 20m CW
2025/07/07 16:06 KM4QNA AL 20m CW
2025/07/07 16:14 KG4NXT VA 20m CW
2025/07/07 16:21 KAØLDG ND 20m CW
2025/07/07 16:33 KE2BKW PA 40m CW US-8734
2025/07/07 16:39 W9MET FL 20m CW US-3605
2025/07/07 16:42 AB9CA IL 20m CW US-4104
2025/07/07 16:50 K1ATL NH 20m CW
2025/07/07 17:02 WBØRLJ NE 20m CW US-4010

Following the activation I went to the Tipsy Pirate that had a nice outside deck overlooking the water.

I had a nice vegi-burrito and fries and an afternoon cocktail.

Long Point Provincial Park (CA-0279)

I arrived at Long Point and found the site. It was even nicer than I had hoped! It was perfect for POTA, it was fairly quiet, and close to the lake.

My plan was to activate in the early afternoon while the UV was at its worse, under the shade of the campsite trees, and then check out the lake, and have some supper.

I worked the bands until about 17:30, and then went for a short walk to the beach. It was not very crowded, and the water was a very pleasant 22°C.

I read for a while and just enjoyed the sound of the waves.

Here's a shot from the campsite looking at the dunes at the beach.

I continued to work 20m on CW while having supper, and the activation bridged both UTC days. In the morning I woke up super early (just before 6:00) so I had an early breakfast and worked 40m. Here's a map of the QSOs over both UTC days. I was exceptionally grateful for the great propagation! I can honestly say that I have never reached the distances I did on 40m before (California and Alaska). The blue markers are 40m, while green give 20m.

I did get a busted call, S4SP, which POLO said was South Africa, but QRZ pulls up nothing. This call was terribly difficult for me to decypher as the dit- and dah-lengths were almost the same, and despite getting several repeats, it was a broken call.

Date Time Call State Band Mode Park
2025/07/07 19:47 K5LE OK 20m CW
2025/07/07 19:48 VE7KDU BC 20m CW
2025/07/07 19:53 KB9S WI 20m CW
2025/07/07 20:02 MØMHJ England 20m CW
2025/07/07 20:02 N4DH NC 20m CW
2025/07/07 20:05 AF1US TN 20m CW
2025/07/07 20:08 WØEAR WI 20m CW
2025/07/07 20:10 KA5PMV OK 20m CW
2025/07/07 20:13 K1BZ ME 20m CW
2025/07/07 20:16 OE3KAB Austria 20m CW
2025/07/07 20:33 W1WDH GA 20m CW US-2195
2025/07/07 22:41 N7KM UT 20m CW
2025/07/07 22:43 W7CVI WA 20m CW
2025/07/07 22:45 AA5UZ LA 20m CW
2025/07/07 22:47 KØVK CO 20m CW
2025/07/07 22:51 PA4WA Netherlands 20m CW
2025/07/07 22:54 N9FAL ID 20m CW
2025/07/07 23:00 K7SPS ID 20m CW
2025/07/07 23:02 KI1H FL 20m CW
2025/07/07 23:21 K5GRZ TX 20m CW
2025/07/07 23:23 N5URL NM 20m CW
2025/07/07 23:28 N3CZ NC 20m CW US-3378
2025/07/07 23:29 WD5EEI TX 20m CW
2025/07/07 23:37 KE7CR ID 20m CW US-11531
2025/07/07 23:39 KCØZSP CA 20m CW US-1201
2025/07/07 23:50 K5KJ TX 20m CW
2025/07/08 00:04 N7MEB UT 20m CW US-5950
2025/07/08 00:08 KA5TBK TX 20m CW
2025/07/08 00:16 KE8WIC WV 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:17 AC9VC IL 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:19 N2MK TX 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:21 WB2MQQ NY 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:22 KØBXB WI 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:27 N3MK VA 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:28 WG8Y NC 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:29 W8CFH MI 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:31 N4KPT TN 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:36 KE8PAG MI 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:39 N4DR MD 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:40 AD8HK OH 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:42 W8CFH MI 40m CW
2025/07/08 00:55 AB9CA IL 4m CW US-4104
2025/07/08 01:01 K2L SC 30m CW US-3873
2025/07/08 10:47 K8CN NH 40m CW
2025/07/08 10:51 KC4HCH AL 40m CW
2025/07/08 10:53 WU1G ME 40m CW
2025/07/08 10:57 NL5Y AK 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:04 KI6PXV CA 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:23 NA1N MD 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:26 N4MIO NC 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:31 K7SPS ID 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:34 W4FOA GA 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:37 NNØTE MN 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:37 WI5D MO 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:39 N1CGP ME 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:48 N2PX NC 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:48 WØDOS MO 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:52 KF9R IN 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:54 W1KX ME 40m CW
2025/07/08 11:59 WA4PGM VA 40m CW
2025/07/08 12:11 S4SP BUSTED CALL 40m CW
2025/07/08 12:11 W4MY NC 40m CW
2025/07/08 12:11 NN9K IL 40m CW
2025/07/08 12:15 KN4XP NC 40m CW
2025/07/08 12:15 NC4PO NC 40m CW

After a couple of hours of working 40m, I packed up, and set off for Port Burwell Provincial Park (CA-0348).

Port Burwell Provincial Park (CA-0348)

I think I was entitled to not have to pay for the park, but I paid anyway, and decided to get a trip mascot that I would gift to my daughter in lieu of sharing the trip with me. A character by the name of Sully, a skunk.

I set up under a tree in the parking lot. I did a quick hike to see if there were better spots, but it mostly was just campsites, and a few trails. The trails had so many mosquitos that I decided to not venture into the woods too far.

I worked both 20m and 40m, but I found the bands to be not as good as the previous day. Still enjoyable though.

Date Time Call State Band Mode Park
2025/07/08 14:54 W4MY NC 20m CW
2025/07/08 14:55 NE1D MA 20m CW
2025/07/08 14:55 W4SK TN 20m CW
2025/07/08 14:57 N4MQV TN 20m CW
2025/07/08 15:00 KE2AEQ NY 20m CW
2025/07/08 15:03 N1XV NJ 20m CW
2025/07/08 15:06 K1WNT CT 20m CW
2025/07/08 15:24 KØHNL MA 20m CW
2025/07/08 15:31 WA3TVH PA 40m CW
2025/07/08 15:34 AK9A WI 40m CW
2025/07/08 15:40 WB2FUV NY 40m CW
2025/07/08 15:42 W2JJW NJ 40m CW
2025/07/08 15:46 WA2FBN NY 40m CW
2025/07/08 15:47 W4KRN VA 40m CW

After about an hour, I went into town and had some lunch at a place called ``Straiko's on the Lake''. I had a great Buddha Bowl that was not too expensive.

Next to the restaurant was a Canadian Submarine, that gave tours! If I had not been obligated to be back home, I would have tried it out. The tickets were not cheap, almost $30.00, but curiousity would have gotten the best of me I expect. Another time!

At this point it was time to get home for a change of clothes, and a shower to get rid of the Deet!

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