F  E  E  D  -  P  O  I  N  T

The strange snow overhang on our home finally slid off. It took Stan two or three days to shovel and snow blow our patio clean. My attempts at scooping the snow off the patio were insignifigant. The big drift contained an awful lot of snow. Our new road is falling apart as the thaw progresses and the frost recedes. We have gotten stuck twice.

The heavy snow this winter has left my quarter plane antenna with drooping radials. It will probably work better when I straighten them out.

While waiting for Spring to really arrive here, I experience it vicariously through Echolink contacts. Contacts tell of bluebells in England, the Texas Bluebonnets, the cherry blossoms in Japan, and the dogwoods in North Carolina.

I also made a trip to Arizona for three days of desert blooms. It was 23 F. when I left Fort Kent on April 14th and 93 F. when I arrived in Phoenix. Two days were spent in the low desert where Seguaro cacti march up the hills and across the flats. We saw many colorful wildflowers.

At our April meeting we saw a 30 minute DVD done by TV station KAET of the Arizona State University in Phoenix on the desert wildflowers a few years ago, when there was a desert bloom similar to this year. The flowers and grasses of the desert do not bloom every year. Some are seen only in years of exceptional rainfall.

On my trip I saw Pronghorn Antelope herds on the flats in Prescott Valley. As they were far off, we spotted them by their white rumps. After that, we drove up into the mountains on a very twisting road to have a picnic lunch at 7,815' by a lake near the top of Mingus Mt. There were snow patches on the mountain side. Needless to say, it was much cooler up there. A stunning view from a look out faced the Verde Valley and the spectacular red rock formations of Sedona, where we went after visiting copper mining Jerome, on our way to Flagstaff.

Back about the time ballots were sent out, you also received a survey. Some people have taken the time to fill them out. We would like to have more of you do so. If you need to have it resent to you, let us know.

When I went to Arizona, I was really hoping to make some ham contacts. I had sent an e-mail to an Arizona Ham asking for repeaters in Phoenix and Tucson. No response. I did look up some repeaters with echolink nodes before I went. However, all I had room to take was my Yaesu VX-5R Triple Bander. I tried to make contact on simplex a couple of times, but there was no response. After that we were so busy looking at things, and I never tried again. When I was up on Mingus Mountain would have been the best time.

The April QST has three wonderful stories of adventurous hams who were much better equipped than I was. Hans-Peter Blatter, HB9BXE/5H1BP, tells of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and operating from its highest peak, Uhuru Peak. He experimented with antennas before he left and decided on an "end-fed vertical dipole". His equipment for his attempt weighed less than 10 pounds. His rig was a Yaesu FT-857. Batteries were a pair of 3 Ah NiMH batteries in parallel---what he figurd he needed to operate for one half hour. He also had a key, headphones, and cables.All were packed into a carrying bag.

Hans actually had to carry the batteries under his shirt. It was 14F. in the thin air of 19,345' Uhuru Peak. Imagine his excitement when a response to his first signal came. He made 50 QSO's, his guide holding a coat over him to shelter him and equipment from a snow storm that blew in. Soon everything was covered with snow and his knees fell asleep. He shut down with many still hoping for contact. He had to get off the peak. He called "Tschuss zame" (So long, everyone) and went QRT, from what may have been the first ham radio operation from that high peak.

K4VU/V31RG and K0LAA left Virginia for Belize, where they married, honeymooned, and made it a DXpedition. They were able to step into a fully equipped ham shack rented from V31MD. They made 4300 QSOs and had a great time sight seeing.

The third adventure involved hams from the NIAR club in India. They planned a DXpedition to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. I have talked to members of the NIAR, so this was partuclarly interesting. They started operating Dec. 3 and made thousands of contacts. Then on Dec. 26th the earthquake hit and the following tsunami. The Dxepedition ceased and emergency traffic began. NIAR members were used in several places to pass many hundreds of messages every day. Some members were transported to other islands. They provided a much appreciated service to the areas ravaged by the earthquake and tsunami.

1. For some context, consider these numbers from the same year: 91% of clergy were men, 92 % of engineers were men, and 90% of men were dentists.
2. Turn your coins into cash today.
3. She's the same age I am, but a year older.