Aurora Res Park Rangers...

[RonFrank]

Anyone who has dived the Res knows it's kinda a Pain in the tail to deal with their plackard gate process.... In addition to paying $5.00 for the priviledge of parking in a dirt lot with outhouses (there are no real facilities on site) we get to pay an additional $5 to have the pleasure of unlocking a gate and driving down a dirt road to get to the shore where we have 15 minutes to unload and return to the lot.

It could be worst, but IMO just leaving the gate open, and allowing people to drop their stuff for the $5 parking fee would be MUCH improved....

In any event, we ran into a new twist yesterday. It was a slow day at the park, and the Ranger was about. We had one plackard between five of us (four vehicles). Dimitri and Nick wanted to get out of there after the dive to watch the Buffs (college football), and they had the plackard. They packed up, drove us to the trucks, and left.

We drove to the scuba shore, and immediately the Ranger made a BeeLine for us (I think she had been watching). She asked to see the pass and key. We said that we split the plackard, and the people who had rented it had just left (which we are positive she was very aware of). She than told us that we would have to drive back to the lot (WITHOUT equipment) and carry our stuff, or she was going to give us a ticket. Grrrr.. I asked if we could at LEAST load the tanks. At LEAST she allowed that, and I managed to throw my BC, and weights in as well.

This IMO is just absurd. DiveOps show up with 50 people and ONE plackard!! Here we are on a lazy Saturday, the Ranger KNOWS we HAD a plackard that just drove away, and she is boared and giving us grief. Aurora is no prize to dive in the first place, so I'm not sure what they are thinking.

It could have been worst, she could have issued tickets on the spot for both of our cars, so she was not a total witch. Moral of the story, keep the plackard AT the Scuba Shore UNTIL all parties are loaded, and ready to leave.

 

[scubacurt]

The rangers at the Aurora Res. are notorious for being problematic. They are unwavering in their rules and go way out of their way to give divers grief. I was scorned about a month ago for coming out of the water 10 feet outside of the buoy lines at the dam. Last year they drove their powerful motorboat into the dive area and over my dive team to retreive a plastic bag that was floating along the surface, then harrassed us for 45 minutes trying to find out where the bag came from!!!! I finally had to call the city supervisor to get them off of my back. They have harrassed me about diving with dive flags and about anything else under the sun. Thinking that they were funny while I had student early in this season they pulled up to my truck (which has dive pirate logo's on it) and started giving us grief about drinking rum at the reservoir and how it wasn't allowed. I don't drink and my student is a recovering alcoholic and a pirate placard on the side of a truck doesn't mean we have rum! I agree with ROn that they are way too bored and under-utilized. Maybe they could spend some of their time actually maintaining the dive area, vuilding some type of permanent structures out there to protect us from the sun and so we wouldn't have to change into our wetsuits in the weeds with all the bugs crawling all over us.
-curt-

 

[RonFrank]

Sounds like you've had more run ins with them then any of the times we have been there. :06: I agree with what you are saying. Their time could be better spent making the park a more desirable place to be rather than hasseling those of us who are there using the rather underwhelming facilities for a fee that is a bit annoying. At most other State Parks, full facilities are generally available, but not there.

We are considering now parking at the entrance, carpooling, and saving some fees as they do not seem to want to do much to make our experience better, and we ARE paying to be there.

Because of this Ranger, my Drysuit ended up in the sun while I was being forced to drive back to the main lot without most of our gear or face a fine.

This in part was my fault, I should not have left my suit in the sun in the first place, not that there is much shade. I did not anticipate the Ranger forcing us to leave immediately.

The seam overlap on my Drysuit zipper paid the price. It did not due any real damage to the zipper seal, thank god. I spent the last day repairing to two small sections where the edge of the seal lip seperated from the suit because it was left in the sun.

Realistically, how much would it cost them to provide some shade covers over the picinic tables, plant some trees, or at least bring out a mower or weed wacker to take care of the grass and reduce the bug life a bit?

 

[ddavies]

After you guys left I went to my truck with the guy from Scuba Den. The Ranger came quickly over to stop me from going through. She made a nasty point of letting my know each vehicle needed a plaque. She stuck around the whole time we loaded our grear in the one truck and then back to the parking lot while I transfered my stuff to my truck. She wasted, what 20 minutes, just to make sure we didn't circumvent their 5 bucks. I have paid for the plaque a half dozen times this summer. Next summer I may just start using my wheel barrow. About the only good thing about diving at Aurora is that it is there.

 

[BigBill]

I have never been diving at Aurora, but used to fly-fish out there all the time. I do know what you mean about having to park and getting harassed by the rangers. Our parking sticker fell off due to the glue drying up and the ranger got all pissy.

That sucks though that they would harass you about a drinking or harass you when you are in the water. The rangers around here in Overland Park, KS, actually like the divers as they generally are less likely to cause problems; same thing with fishermen!

Bill