2008-07-15 41 -71
From Geo Hashing
[edit] The Location
The site is located in Smithfield, RI, near the intersection of Route 7 and Route 116. It is several hundred meters into the forest, with no simple and reliable access.
[edit] The Geohash
Ben biked roughly 15 km to the vicinity of the site (not really recommended; Route 7 kind of sucks for biking). My initial approach was along Lydia Ann Road off of Route 7, as marked. This clearly used to be a road, but is really not suitable for cars any longer; it quickly becomes nothing more than a widened footpath. I shortly discovered that there is a brand new road, still under construction, that Google does not yet know about. Rather than bushwhacking through the woods to the hash site, I elected to explore the construction.
 The first stretch of Lydia Ann Road. The initial paved segment and Route 7 are visible in the distance. |
 A short distance later, I came across this cemetery. Apparently, vandalism is punishable by law. Who knew? |
 Most of the old cemetery can be seen here. It was very small, with perhaps half a dozen grave stones, and bordered by a stone wall on one side. |
 Further along, I came across a huge anthill, pictured above. My bike is alongside for comparison. |
 Two more huge anthills. There were ants all over the place; it sounded like it was raining if you stood still. |
 Some naturally occurring metal scrap, and a tire. There were little pockets of trash all over the place. |
 Several of these blank signs dotted the landscape. It looked like they should have said "No Trespassing", but they said nothing. |
 Beginneth the construction. This yet-unnamed road proceeded from Route 7, crossing Lydia Ann path. Several dirt roads and trails traversed the forest, but I decided to eschew the hash site proper (perhaps 200 meters from the closest of these photos) and head towards the construction. |
 The initial, finished stretch of road ends in a small circle of pavement. Immediately beyond this were some unoccupied bulldozers (no, they didn't leave the keys). |
 The road proceeds further back into the woods. It's just as paved, but with no streetlights, painted lines, or other such accoutrements of civilization. |
 A bit further back and it starts to get truly gnarly. A water tower was visible just beyond the trees. |
 Clearly, still a work in progress. The cleared section went considerably farther back, as best I could tell. Given the seemingly active nature of the construction site (machinery left running, etc.), I elected to make myself scarce shortly after this shot. |
Given how hilly the area is, I have to assume that this road is destined to be a residential development. No sign of houses yet, or any construction except the road itself. I can only imagine how much more forest will be cleared to support this future suburb.
|
Tue 15 Jul 2008 in Providence: |
[edit] The consolation prize
Ben earned the It's a kitty consolation prize
|
|
