Eastern Iow Folks??? Dove at Palo, IA today.

[aalbinger]

I have not yet met up with anyone from Easter Iowa from this forum. Am I the only one?

Anyway, a group of 6 of us dove at palo this morning. Air temp was 29 when I left home (had to scrape frost off the windows) and was all the way up to 35 by the time we suited up. The other 5 were in Dry suits. I've not taken a dry course yet so I was in a 6.5mm wetsuit(farmer john + outer suit) + hood/vest combo + thick gloves + thick boots. Water temp was 45 degrees. BRRR. We all had a good time tho.

If you're in eastern Iowa and headed out to do some cold water diving gimmie a call!

-Andrew

 

[Hawkeye Mark]

I went to school at Iowa and lived in IC for 4 years. Where is Palo exactly

 

[aalbinger]

I went to school at Iowa and lived in IC for 4 years. Where is Palo exactly

Just to the North and West of Cedar Rapids.

Pleasant Creek Recreation Area I believe is the actual name of the park.

-Andrew

 

[CRDiver]

My buddy and I were out at Palo the past couple weekends, and the viz is really improving. Its turned over and everything is finally settling. The water temp was 31 degrees though, so ice could appear anytime.

 

[crdiver2]

Did a dive out at Palo today. Water temp was 26. We were fine in our Nexgens with 200thin and polypro undies. Don't know what is keeping it from freezing, but won't have to worry for long as temps are expected to be 0 or below

 

[crosby]

I've just joined the forum to research scuba. I am signed up to learn in the swimming pool at the rec. center. I live in Iowa City. Is there a club or other Iowa dive association? Is drysuit diving expensive? Thanks for your time, nice to hear about Iowa divers!

 

[AmyJ]

Welcome to the board! I'm not in Iowa, but saw your post and wanted to welcome you (although we did live in Clear Lake a few years). And I don't dive dry, so I'm not much help there either... But don't let me turn you off... there are lots of people here with tons of good information! Just wanted to say "Hey"!

I hope you find some good diving buddies and lots of good information here. Happy Holidays!

 

[CRDiver]

I've just joined the forum to research scuba. I am signed up to learn in the swimming pool at the rec. center. I live in Iowa City. Is there a club or other Iowa dive association? Is drysuit diving expensive? Thanks for your time, nice to hear about Iowa divers!

There's a University of Iowa Scuba Club in Iowa City, and "The Gathering" in North Liberty (run by Jim Haack), and the Hawkeye Scuba Club in Cedar Rapids, which is affiliated with the Deep 6 Dive Shop.

The only thing expensive about drysuit diving is the initial purchase. Entry level back-entry shell suits with thermal insulation are going to run close to $1000... Much more for top-of-the-line front entries.