Roche Point Park

I

We left my place about 10 to 11 and set out for a coffee and then the park. The navcom was reporting a slowdown on the highway near the Cassiar Connector but otherwise it would be smooth sailing. We made good time and before long we were driving Dollarton Highway towards Deep Cove. As we made our way towards Roche Point, we watched for our next park which is the Wild Bird Sanctuary, we spotted it and the entrance, we were ready for our next adventure. Continuing past, we next passed by Cates Park and then turned on Dollar Road for the final few blocks to the park.

As we pulled into the driveway of the park we saw that the lot was empty. We picked a stall to use and then got out to explore the area and see where we could set up.  The soccer field looks big when standing next to it and it seemed to be in good shape – not surprising as there was a sign posted telling groups to stay off it without a permit! Go figure, I guess it is for the privileged few. We wandered north along the side of the field to a higher area where there was some shade and some open space. It looked like a good spot for radio work and Ralph decided he would operate up there. We continued walking south around the west side of the field and into the forested area where the trails started. This area was a bit soggy and we walked carefully.

We made our way to the south end where we found a local inhabitant. A young deer was watching us as we came into view past a clump of trees. She didn’t seem to worried about us and stayed there long enough for me to get a few photos. Then she wandered off a few yards and continued munching grass. The South-east corner of the park touches an elementary school and one could hear loud kids’ play. We continued around and arrived back at the car. We then gathered our gear and Ralph made out for the higher area. I crossed the field to the further SW corner.

I selected a spot for the mast but it was sloped more than I thought and caused me some grief while setting it up. Eventually I was satisfied with the antenna and set up my radio. Next was a call to Ralph and the start of our 10 band 10 contact sweep. He was ready, he had already made a couple of contacts. We quickly completed our 10 and then continued on our own contacts for the next 40 minutes. I started on the 17m band and made a few contacts – two from Virginia, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Louisianna. But it was slow going and I decided to move to 20m.

Things were a bit better on 20m I even worked a station in France, though that one was very difficult. I made 13 contacts beyond the 10 with Ralph. It was much better than last week but the numbers were still quite a bit down from some weeks. By 1:20 Ralph had had enough and called me to say he was shutting down. I did so as well and we packed the gear and returned to the car. It had been a good day in the park and we both felt good about finishing off another one. On our drive home we pass by a Starbucks and so we decided to stop in for a cooler drink before continuing the drive home. We were still ahead of most of the daily traffic and so we made good time on the highway.