sealskin98:
O.K. Foo, wheres the trip report.
NOAA says its supposed to be sunny there on Sat., and they couldnt be wrong could they? :11:
Trip report... you're right, we never posted one! We had an absolute blast Labor Day weekend with Timeliner & Mrs. Timeliner. Life was good, we had a really cool cabin in the woods with hottub on the deck and a great place to sit outside and chill. We actually only did 2 or 3 dives in the whole weekend, because we had just as much fun hanging out at the crib.
But, the dives: Saturday morning we got up late, and Jimmy Dean made breakfast. We then loaded the gear, and went to a boat launch nearby, where we put Frank's Sea-Doo in and then met at a camping area to load gear and people, and transport everyone back and forth to the dive site. Laura was a great chauffer.
After eating lunch, we sat on a conveniently fallen tree, as a bench, geared up and entered the water. After descending, we cruised down the cliffs, vis was bad at first but cleared up when we got away from the area where we put in, and closer to the rock cliffs. My favorite dives are usually wall dives, so this was great for me. There were trees that we swam through, that was pretty cool, usually nice fish around them, also. We saw (I
found him!) an endangered darter fish on a rock, we hovered and watched it for quite some time. We did about an 80 min dive, vis was probably 15 ft, I was plenty warm with hood, gloves 3 mm and 2 mm shorty over.
We ascended to stormy skies and impending doom... lol. We decided to load the gear up and start transporting people and stuff back to our vehicles. Well, Laura and I should win a bullriding contest, because that was some rough trip back on the Sea-Doo! We were laughing so hard because it was so wild, the wind was blowing water in our faces, and the waves were rocking big-time. It was a trip to remember, added a lot of spice to the weekend.
We cooked hamburgers that night, and stayed up late, enjoyed the hottub, made friends with the resident tree frog, and visited and watched the hurricane news, while enjoying a cerveza or two. The next morning, I found that our loft bedroom was juuuuust perfect for enjoying the beautiful sound of popcorn popping in the morning... hehehe. You'll have to ask Frank about that one.
The next day, we slept late again, and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast (well, leisurely for everyone except Frank, he was the cook!) of bacon, fried eggs, honey-butter biscuits... yummmmm. Then we went down to the swimming/kayak/canoe area of the Mountain Fork River, and asked the guy working there if people ever dive there. He said that it was okay, but it was kinda shallow...
HAHAHA! I was laughing so hard at times, the times when I was pulling myself over rocks, half my tank in the air. After about 100 ft or so of that, however, the depth increased to the point that you could freely dive constantly. It was a blast! There were huge crawfish, salamanders, big fat tadpoles, turtles, and an assortment of perch & bass. And I think the others were more darters (?) Very cold water, 60 something degrees, I think 68. It was very clear in most areas, and we found all kinds of treasures, even TWO pair of shoes... now, I ask you, who loses
both shoes off a paddleboat??
Donald (Mr. Foo) and Frank did a 2nd dive in the swimming area, and Frank found tons of sunglasses (souveniers for the grandchildren, heck yeah!), a bandana, golf ball, and probably some other stuff I forgot. Donald made the big score of the day, however, with a Mr. T sized sterling silver chain.
We could have eaten lobster with what Laura and I paid for the hamburgers, onion rings, and desserts that we got at the little restaurant in the park, while the guys made their treasure hunt dive. But, that food was tasting pretty right. We had found a great shaded table, about 30 ft from where we got in the river, so this was an easy day.
Hung out again that night, chilling on the deck and trading stories of days gone by... Watched more news, and solved the world's problems. We stayed up late, slept late the next morning again, and I cooked bacon for BLT's. We packed out stuff, reluctantly, said goodbye, and Frank & Laura went on a nearby river canoe trip, while we made the trip home. All in all, a great weekend, worth every penny and effort. We are anxious to go back to BB sometime soon, and dive again! Thanks to Timeliner for making all the great arrangements, bringing his Sea-doo, etc.!!
Foo
