Jim Dailey

Truly a new adventure for me … 

I’ve been to the incredible Queen Wilhelmina State Park before.  I’ve been camping most of my life … attending a Ham radio festival is a first for me.  Wilhelmina State park and Lodge is located in the beautiful Ouachita Mountains of East Arkansas.  The Lodge is fabulous, the scenery hard to beat, the mountain temperature refreshing, the trails invigorating … and at over 2600′, a perfect spot for a Ham radio Festival.

A couple of my backpacking friends are Ham radio wizards.  They can hammer out more dots and dashes and translate faster than I can type. I jumped at the chance to join them on a campout not knowing what to expect at the festival. To my pleasant surprise, it was fun, educational and an amazing experience to see the fellowship and seriousness with which one hundred or more Ham radio operators demonstrated their skills.

As an Arkansas Parks and Tourism Commissioner I am always eager to celebrate the dedicated Parks and tourism staff.  Pictured here are a few of the host staff for the weekend.  They made everyone feel at home … you make all Arkansans proud.  Thank you!!!

While at the dinner, Parks staff took the time to recognize 20 plus year volunteer … Bill Glassco.  I also need to mention his wife, Toby.  I was honored to be there and have my picture made with Bill.  Later in this post you will see even more about Bill and Toby.

Wow … what a beautiful place to camp and enjoy the festival.

A few random shots above of our staff, the vendors, the hourly drawings…  My friend Phillip won something … he was excited but I have no idea what he won.

At the end of the day a few of us gathered around the campfire where we played guitars, sang old songs and listened to Toby Glassco sing the song she had written about her love of Wilhelmina State Park and the Ouachita Mountains.

As one can see, the views up here are spectacular.  It is also a great favorite of Motorcycle riders.

Thanks again to our staff and to the volunteers that make Arkansas State Parks the best and most friendly in the nation.

What a special weekend and serendipitous adventure.  I may not become a ham radio operator but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience … can’t wait until next year.