On November 22nd, 2025, I did my first POTA activation outside of Illinois, where I live. While visiting family in Las Vegas, NV, I made some time to visit Ice Age Fossils State Park in Clark County, NV. Temperature was about 60°F, overcast, and windy.
I flew Spirit Airlines to Las Vegas from Chicago, so I was limited to only a personal item. I ended up bringing my QMX+, a 4.5 Ah LiFePo4 battery, and my hamstick tripod adapter. Notable things I did not have the room to bring include a tripod, antenna tuner, and antenna.
I purchased a 20m hamstick and had it sent to my family in Las Vegas. I used a tripod they had for the antenna. I planned on leaving the antenna there for future visits.
I decided to operate FT8 with my QMX+. I have the SSB firmware loaded, but I don’t have a compatible microphone. I was able to manually tune the antenna with a NanoVNA to get an SWR < 2.0 at 14.074.
I spoke with the park ranger before setting up, and he asked us to operate from the overflow parking lot. Something to keep in mind if visiting Ice Age Fossils yourself for a POTA activation.
This was my first time sharing my radio hobby with my parents. They enjoyed it, and I hope to keep doing this with them.