Alligator Alley

2/2/2017

Post Contains Affiliate Links

For those of you that live in, or frequent, Florida, you already know this, but for the rest of you out there, Alligator Alley is the nickname that is given to the stretch of Route 75 that runs through the Everglades and Big Cypress Nature Preserve. So why name a blog post after a highway? The simple answer is - because I activated it!

From January 30th - February 2nd, I had to make a work trip to Ft. Myers FL. When I started doing my standard search for parks nearby to activate, I started coming up with a lot of duds - the parks that were close ended up being a weird mix of places that close at sunset (which doesn't work out well for after-work activations), or places that you need a boat to access! Since I don't travel with a boat, those were out of the question. I was about to give up and just stick to activating the Holiday Inn, but instead I reached out the community on the POTA Facebook group and wasn't disappointed! Bob, KA9JAC, jumped in and said if you're willing to travel about an hour, Big Cypress is open 24 hours. That's all I needed to hear!

I packed up my backs (I did a a photo-journal style post a while back to show how I travel with my gear) and headed off to work! My plane landed pretty late Monday night, so I didn't really have time to operate but I did head out to the location that I had scoped out on Google Maps. At least that's what I tried to do....apparently I Googled wrong, and ended up somewhere else entirely, but I'm glad I did! Inside Big Cypress Nature Preserve is also the country's smallest post office (and yes, it is an actual, operating post office!)

I didn't set up here at all, but for anyone planning a future activation this would be a cool place to set up - it has a decent little parking area, after-hours there's not much traffic so you shouldn't be pestered too much, and it isn't too far off the beaten path. Just gas up before you start, because the closest gas stations close early in the evening!

So, Tuesday night, I managed to head to the location I initially planned. Right on Alligator Alley (Route 75) there are a couple trailhead parking area's and rest stops. I set up at one of the trailhead parking areas. This was a decent place to operate, but not the most scenic in the world. For me it was decent though - I set up my buddipole mast for a center support, and ran my 40 meter wire dipole parallel to the fence along the parking area, and tied the ends off to fence posts. As far as ham radio goes, it worked well, but a word of caution - bring bug spray! Right around dusk the swarms come out for a feeding frenzy. It doesn't last long but it's awful while it lasts!

During my first evening I managed 30 or so contacts from this location, on 40 meters. The highlight the first night was a digital contact with Venezuela! For the second night I found a much more scenic location in the preserve to operate. I even had visitors come and check out my antenna!

In addition to this visitor, one of the other visitors was an actual person - another tourist that stopped by and asked about my set up and what I was doing - he thought it was pretty cool, and even said "That's awesome!" when I told him I was making contacts with the Pacific Northwest, Canada, and Puerto Rico. We may have a new convert to the hobby!
     The location I chose for the second night was actually just down the road a little bit from the tiny post office. There is a roadside park called "HP Williams Roadside Park" that has a decent parking area, some benches, a small boardwalk for viewing, and even restroom facilities (but no running water, so no promises on what they might smell like in the heat of the summer!)
   For night 2 I wised up and set up my station inside the back of the rental car (A jeep compass) and ran the wires through one of the windows, open just enough to let the wires through. I stuffed the opening with a spare t-shirt for good measure. I then spent the early evening operating from behind the vehicle with the tailgate up, and then when the swarm started coming I just jumped in and closed the tailgate, and kept operating until the feeding frenzy ended.
   My only disappointment from this activation was that I didn't get into any CW like I had planned. Cell phone reception at this location was in and out, and I had to pack up and leave so that I could be back into an area with cell coverage before my nightly FaceTime call with my kiddo's at home (this is a tradition when I'm traveling - we do our bedtime stories and everything just like we would if I was home.)
   With that, I'll wrap it up and leave you with a couple tid-bits, and some pictures:

For a northerner, Florida in winter is awesome - 70 degrees vs. the 20-30 at home!
While driving in-and out check out the Everglades Radio Network on FM Broadcast 107.9. They share all kinds of cool info about the swamp, the ecology, restoration efforts, etc.
Eat Cuban and Latin food! It's waaaaay better in FL than in most area's of the country!
Don't get scared by the Panther crossing signs - the population is very small and they are trying to help them recover. If you do see one, send us all pictures - they're pretty elusive!
If I didn't mention it before - bring bug spray!!!