Driving and Diving Extravaganza - 2009

[gNats]

Hi Everyone!

Merrimorte and myself are trying to pull together a driving and diving trip this summer to the quarries and lakes in the South Midwest states, specifically, South OH, IL, IN, and MO.

We are looking at diving Gilboa, Pennyroyal, Table Rock, Mermet, Oronogo, and Haigh. The idea is to create a "loop" from Toledo south to St. Louis and north through IL, driving to each quarry. Hopefully we will not have to drive more than 4-5 hours before stopping to dive.

There is a planning/collaboration subforum created in the scubatoys.com Great Lakes Diving forum. If you are a member, check us out. If not, please consider joining. It will help us limit the number of duplicate entries between the two forums.

I would like to add that there are no defined plans at this point. We are hoping to do a collaborative planning session and meet the needs of many, rather than a few.

Who is invited? Everyone. We are targeting Michigan, Ohio, and Canadian divers, since that is where we will start out. But, anyone is welcome to join us along the way. Depending on the number of people, we may find discounts available to us. Merrimorte and I are also considering renting larger vans to accomodate more people per vehicle. There are lots of ideas and the opportunities are endless.

What makes this trip even more awesome is that several scubatoys members from these "host" states have indicated an interest in diving with us and showing us their dive spots. I'm hoping members on this board from those states will also want to participate.

If you are interested in being part of this Driving and Diving Extravaganza, sound off in the scubatoy forum please.

This could be a great way for the Northern Midwest divers to visit some of the great diving spots located in the South Midwest states. I hope you will seriously consider taking this trip.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this trip unfolds!

natalie

 

[Divin'Papaw]

You list IN but you don't have any IN quarries on the list. You might want to consider adding one or more of these:
France Park just W of Logansport
Phillip's Quarry in Muncie
Blue Springs just S of Waldron
Hidden Paradise in St. Paul

If you're coming down through Toledo, consider adding White Star in Gibsonburg OH.

 

[gtxl1200]

All the Gas all the hotel money all the time invested. to dive in Quarries. It would be easier and less expensive to charter a dive boat for 3 days. have one hotel and get to do some real diving in the Great Lakes and see some awesome wrecks.
JMO

 

[Divin'Papaw]

All the Gas all the hotel money all the time invested. to dive in Quarries. It would be easier and less expensive to charter a dive boat for 3 days. have one hotel and get to do some real diving in the Great Lakes and see some awesome wrecks.
JMO

Good point Ted. If you haven't been wreck diving out of Port Sanilac, go! If you have, go again!! Lots of awesome wrecks that are within OW range for new divers.

 

[crpntr133]

And if you are tired of Sanilac then drive a few more hours and go to the St. Lawrence River!

I agree that White Star needs to be added. Also might added or think about Falling Rock Park.

 

[gNats]

And if you are tired of Sanilac then drive a few more hours and go to the St. Lawrence River!

I agree that White Star needs to be added. Also might added or think about Falling Rock Park.

Thanks for the feedback.

We probably won't do WhiteStar, and Gilboa is on the fence. Both those quarries are less than 2 hours drive from Detroit and can be made rather easily on any given summer weekend.

I (personally) would like to get more than 2 hours distance between me and home before stopping for several hours to dive. I'm hoping to hit the first dive location somewhere around Cinci or Indy. I think that puts us closer to the real meat and potatoes of the trip and breaks up the first day of driving nicely.

Would you agree Merri?

 

[crpntr133]

Thanks for the feedback.

We probably won't do WhiteStar, and Gilboa is on the fence. Both those quarries are less than 2 hours drive from Detroit and can be made rather easily on any given summer weekend.

I (personally) would like to get more than 2 hours distance between me and home before stopping for several hours to dive. I'm hoping to hit the first dive location somewhere around Cinci or Indy. I think that puts us closer to the real meat and potatoes of the trip and breaks up the first day of driving nicely.

Would you agree Merri?

Not trying to sound mean but if this trip is about what you and Merri want then why take suggestions? Let others know what you are going to dive and let them join in.
Personally you are passing up two of the best dive sites around compared to what is in IN or or southern OH.

 

[gNats]

Not trying to sound mean but if this trip is about what you and Merri want then why take suggestions? Let others know what you are going to dive and let them join in.
Personally you are passing up two of the best dive sites around compared to what is in IN or or southern OH.

Hi, no offense taken. Truthfully, the objective of the trip is to dive the quarries and lakes in MO, Arkansas, North IL, South IL, and Indiana. An opportunity to experience new dive spots (without boarding a plane) and meet other people who we chat with frequently on the board. These are locations that most of us in North Ohio and Michigan don't just "head out to" on a Saturday morning, but we hear a lot of enthusiasm for these watering holes.

It's not that I don't appreciate your suggestion, but Whitestar is literally 1.5 hours from my house. I was there several times this last summer. It is close enough for me to wake up, look outside, and within 2.5 hours have my gear unpacked on my tarp ready to go into the water.

The trip is not about Merri and me, however, it did start out as our trip and we thought it would be a blast to get a group of like-minded people together for a trip of this type. Someone has to take the responsibility of planning and organizing and it's a lot of work. Not everyone will be happy with the decisions. That's a given. We can only hope to accomodate everyone as best as cost, logistics, and time allow.

We are in the very early planning stages and have yet to map out the recommended quarries and lakes to see which ones we will actually be going near and when. Some may be added and some may be dropped only because of timing and logistics.

I hope this clears up a few things. If you are interested in hooking up with us and going as a group to Oronogo and Mermet (to name a few), please let us know.

PS - If you ever want a buddy for Whitestar there is a group of us that go there often. Drop me a line or post that you are looking for buddies to dive on a specific weekend.

Natalie

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I gotcha. When your plans firm up and you know when and where you'll be diving in Indiana, let us know. Many of us dive the local mud holes pretty regularly and we always enjoy meeting fellow ScubaBoard members. My previous post listed the best public diving options in Indiana. If you need any assistance, feel free to PM me.

Just a bit of warning to help prepare you though. None of the dive sites in Indiana will come close to rivaling Gilboa and White Star. Many of us wish they were alot closer!

 

[Jchoby]

All the Gas all the hotel money all the time invested. to dive in Quarries. It would be easier and less expensive to charter a dive boat for 3 days. have one hotel and get to do some real diving in the Great Lakes and see some awesome wrecks.
JMO

Or head down south to the Mighty "O"