Video: Parks on the Road – Episode 2 (Austin to Hot Springs)

Come along on this cross-country Parks on the Air journey — behind the scenes, travel details, and the stuff that doesn’t make the videos: https://patreon.com/hamradiolaunchpad

We gave up our apartment, put everything in storage, and hit the road full-time in our RV — and this is the first real leg of the trip. In this episode we leave Texas behind, activate three parks along the way, and find something in northern Arkansas that stopped us in our tracks.

From our last night in Texas at Tyler State Park to the historic bathhouses and 4,500-year-old spring water of Hot Springs National Park, this leg is where the trip finally started to feel like our life — and it ends with a view we’re still not over.

Parks activated this episode:

• Tyler State Park, TX (US-3059) — 12 contacts, farthest in Venezuela (~2,300 mi)
• Hot Springs National Park (US-0038) AND Gulpha Gorge National Recreation Area (US-7441) — a “twofer” activation, 11 contacts across 8 states + Canada

Timestamps
0:00 – We gave up our home
1:25 – Moving day (in the rain)
3:56 – Last night in Texas: Tyler State Park
5:42 – Into Arkansas: Hot Springs National Park
8:05 – Activating Hot Springs (the Gulpha Gorge twofer)
9:32 – Trip leaderboard so far
10:36 – A surprise on Highway 7
13:07 – What’s next

📻 New to POTA (Parks on the Air)? It’s a program where operators set up portable radio stations in parks and make contacts around the world. Every stop on this trip, the radio comes out.

❤️ Help keep the series on the road: https://patreon.com/hamradiolaunchpad

🔔 Subscribe so you don’t miss the next leg — Branson, and something quiet right next door.