St. Louis Four Rivers POTA Saturday

With the fall colors in full swing and only a few remaining weekends of warm weather we planned a trip to a few state parks in Illinois.

# Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (US-7368)

Cahokia Mounds is the site of a large Native American city from around 1,000 years ago. Located just east of St. Louis, it contains over 100 mounds, one of which is nearly 100 feet high. At over 2,200 acres, the park is quite large and offers numerous areas to activate from. The interpretive center has been undergoing renovation for a few years but the bathrooms, gift shop and a large model of the site are still open to visitors. There are a few walking trails amongst some of the smaller mounds behind the visitor center along with a few picnic tables. I set up at one of the tables that had a great view of the largest mound, Monk’s Mound. It didn’t take long to get 10 QSOs on 20 meters SSB and after 16 QSOs in about half an hour we decided to grab some brunch before heading to the next park.

It is tempting to find a way to operate from one of the mounds, but thought should be given to the fact that some of the mounds contain burial grounds. Obviously any antenna setup that requires putting a spike into the ground is a bad idea and many of the mounds warn visitors to stay on the paths. A 100% pedestrian portable setup may be possible, but care should be given to not disturb the site. If you’re unsure, check with the staff at the visitor center.

# Lewis and Clark Memorial State Historic Site (US-9989)

After brunch we headed to the next park, one of a few sites in the area which commemorate the Lewis and Clark expedition to the west. The park is just south of the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, about 15 miles north of St. Louis. The interpretive center is very nice with a lot of history about the expedition, bathrooms and a gift shop. There’s a small tree-covered area with picnic tables next to the main parking lot, which is a good option for quick setups. There are a few more parking areas along the property, including one closer to the Mississippi and another close to the Cahokia Diversion Channel, a stream off the Mississippi. There’s also a road on top of the levee that leads to a larger parking lot with two small covered picnic tables and a great view of the Mississippi but it is sadly not part of the park.

I set up at one of the three larger shelters near the interpretive center. Each shelter has a dozen or so picnic tables with a large parking lot a few feet away. The park is seemingly surrounded by high tension power lines but the shelters are far enough away that I hoped they wouldn’t interfere. When I was at the park there was a lot of personnel and equipment performing maintenance on the power lines, including a helicopter operating from the end of the parking area. I made a few QSOs on 20 meters SSB before the helicopter started up and took off, which created some interesting RF noise. Maybe the rotors were creating some interference? After 15 QSOs in about 40 minutes we packed up to move on to the next park.

# Pere Marquette State Park (US-1015)

The final park of the day was about 30 minutes away, along the Illinois River. Pere Marquette is a very large park with a lodge, camping areas, a visitor’s center, a few shelters and a number of picnic areas. The large, open area down by the river has a few shelters, bathrooms, and fishing spots. A short drive up the hill into the bluffs leads to parking areas along the road with trails that provide great views of the river towards the west. The park is known for great bird spotting and fall colors and this weekend was just past peak colors so the park was very busy. The easiest location to operate from seemed to be down near the river so we started there. The bands had gotten quite busy by the midafternoon so it took me a few minutes to find a frequency but once I did I made good progress on activating the park. The small shelter was inundated with Japanese beetles so I was enjoying trying to manage the radio and swatting away bugs at the same time. After about 12 QSOs on 20 meters SSB someone told me there was another POTA operator on the same frequency so I started hunting for other parks and made a few additional contacts. 15 QSOs in 22 minutes.

When I come back to the park I might try activating from one of the overlooks up in the bluffs. The views are great and provide unobstructed views of the river and horizon. There isn’t a good spot for a vertical or EFHW so a short whip like the Elecraft AX1 might be a good choice. Most of the overlooks have a small shelter or railing that the radio could sit on, but a camp chair would likely be in people’s way.

After we packed up we headed home via two ferries, the Brussels ferry near Grafton crosses the Illinois River and the Golden Eagle ferry near St. Charles crosses the Missouri River. Finally, Interstate 70 took us over the Missouri River and along the Mississippi River through downtown St. Louis. The view of the rivers from the ferries was a nice way to wrap up the day on the way home.