Road Trip Radio Report - Overnight Road Trip to the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia; 26/27 July 2026

This past weekend, I went on an overnight road trip to the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, SC to see their Semi-quincentennial/American Revolution exhibit. As I mentioned in a previous post, I spent late June and early July on family leaving helping a relative after surgery, so it was a good opportunity to rest, relax, and enjoy myself. I left Savannah on Sunday morning, using US-321 for the trip up and returned on Monday morning, using I-26 and I-95. Sunday night, I stayed in Cayce, SC not far away from Columbia Municipal Airport (KCAE). Even though my travels were on a Sunday and early Monday, the trip still provided some good monitoring opportunities. As always, the Columbia area provided no shortage of public safety communications. There was steady traffic at Columbia Municipal Airport and although there was little military communications to be heard on Sunday I caught some F-5Ns out of MCAS Beaufort and some F-15Es from Savannah-Hilton Head IAP on Monday morning. There was usual VHF/UHF morning commute amateur radio traffic on Monday and I was surprised at the amount of VHF/UHF amateur radio traffic I heard around Orangeburg and Columbia on Sunday afternoon. There was some rain and thunderstorm activity on Sunday afternoon and evening and I think that played into less medevac helicopter activity than I usually hear in Columbia.

The South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, SC (the dome of their observatory is visible on the roof)

Visiting the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge's Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive and Listening to Savannah-Hilton Head IAP and Georgia Ports

I've been on FMLA for three weeks, caregiving for a family member after surgery and go back to work on Monday, so I visited the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge's Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive early before it got too hot (a high of 100F has been forecast). It turned out to be a beautiful morning and I saw plenty of alligators and birds. A visit to the Savannah NWR also presents a good opportunity to listen to Savannah-Hilton Head IAP and Georgia Ports as the Refuge is just across the Savannah River from Garden City, Port Wentworth, the Airport, and the port terminal and railyards. 

Purple Gallinule at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge