Long story short...we have a trip to dive Catalina Island next month and I wanted to make sure my wife could dive cool water. Blue Hole was the closest option. We live South of OKC so it's about a 6 hour drive for us. I booked a room at the Econo-lodge for $77 and off we went. For us, it's literally go to I-40 and turn left...drive 6 hours. We stopped in Amarillo for a steak at the Big Texan and watched a guy not make the hour deadline for the 56 ounce steak. Steak wasn't bad, wife and I split a 24 oz ribeye for $29.
We stopped in Tucumcari to top off with fuel, but there is plenty of places in Santa Rosa. We got to the hotel at about 10:30 and no one would answer the door. After ringing the doorbell and knocking for 5-10 minutes, the night manager appeared and checked us in. Room was clean, bed was hard as concrete, room worked for what we needed.
To get to Blue Hole, Turn South at the Super 8. Drive about a quarter of a mile, turn East, and follow the signs. You have to check in and pay a $20 fee each to dive, don't forget your c-card and drivers license. They don't like solo divers....but they won't turn you away either. Staff is very friendly.
Once you get there, the dive shops seem to park on the side of the building where the airfill shack is. Lady is really nice. I like having a picnic table to gear up on so we parked East of the main building in the lot with the picnic tables you can back right up to. It's a bit of a longer walk...but not bad. I wore a dive skin, 7mm full suit, 5mm gloves, and semi dry hood. Wife wore a 3mm lavacore, 3 mm full suit, hyperstretch hood and gloves.
There are two entry points for the Blue Hole, steps, and a giant stride. I recommend to giant stride to get the cool water shock over with. I took a few extra weights with me and dropped them on a ledge about 5 feet deep just in case we needed them. I had no idea how much weight to start with, but 20 pounds for me was right once I swam down to compress the suit. I was fine after that. Wife was 20 pounds as well, but pulled 6 pounds out during the dive.
Wife's comment was, "there is nothing to see..". I thought, "There is everything to see." True, there is no marine life whatsoever, and I saw two crawdad cacasses (crayfish in Southern speak) The entry to the cave is filled in with a grate installed, and a memorial plaque is place at the entrance. There are a few concrete faces scattered about, a pair of sunglasses, and little bits of trash (we picked up what we found). If you need pretty fish to entertain you...this is not the place for you.
What it is is Chrystal clear water, especially if you are there in the morning before it gets stirred up, then it is still 40 feet +. You can see the layers of limestone in the walls and the way it collapsed leave lots of short overhead that I enjoyed swimming into. There are 3 PVC rails
At 30 and 15 feet that were being used by a couple of classes while we were there. There is also a dive platform that swimmers jump off of that is maybe 10 feet above the water. The swimmers showed up in force at about 11:30 or so and made using the stairs to get out a bit crowded.
There is also a "divers room" with large heaters and very nice clean bathrooms with hot showers. Not lukewarm state park showers, but honest thaw your chilled butt out showers. Other than a dead battery from leaving the suburban doors open too long while gearing up, we had no issues and had a great time. I'll go back anytime, even though I feel like the stay puff marshmallow man in a 7 mm. We met people from around Dallas, Southern Colorado, Clovis, and Sante Fe, and a great dog named Louis. A local swimming with his family jumped our suburban off and we were on our way. Everyone was friendly.
We only ate at one restaurant, Comet II, it was really good but OMG make no mistake it's spicy. Wife asked for mild and could not finish her meal. Good food, the green chille was amazing, but I may not taste anything for a week. I'd still do it again.
All in all a good time, it was a long 6 hour drive back but a Red Bull or 2 fought off the need for a nitrogen nap.
Safe travels,
Jay
