Today was another beautiful brisk fall day. Clear skies, temp in the upper 50s, fall colors about to come in. My wife and our dog Jaclyn were restless, so it was time for a trip to a couple new parks.
The first was Snake Den State Park in Johnston. I’ve lived here 40+ years and never heard of it, and I understood why when I got there. The trailhead was in back of an abandoned fire station and went in about 50 feet, then was overgrown. On a map it looks like it should make it to a swamp/pond, but didn’t get that far. No matter, 22 CW QSOS later, it was activated.
The second was Roger Williams National Park (K-0789) in downtown Providence. As a urban park it is surrounded by high-rise buildings, and full of electrical noise. I remember it well from the ARRL National Parks on the Air program about 4 years ago. 13 folks were nice enough to make a CW contact with me.
My goal of 50 RI Parks by year’s end is getting closer. With these two parks I now have 44 completed (plus one in Maine). Five parks are located along the northern edge of the state, mostly management areas. And Beach Pond, which is on the west-central edge of the state will be an easy one to pick up. I will likely leave Block Island (sea voyage) and the Washington-Rochambeau Trail until next year. The latter is spread out all over the state.
I may do 2 or 3 more tomorrow.
