Florida diver looking for possible dives in Ohio

[Ber Rabbit]

Sim:
Actually those places are north, northwest and northeast. Just don't stay in the downtown area on the west side it's easy to tell when you're on the wrong side of downtown, there are bars in the store windows LOL!

Been doing some thinking and remembered where you might be able to find dirt trails. Caesar's Creek Lake, I know they have dirt horseback trails but it's been so long since I've been there that I don't know if they allow bikes on the trails. Carriage Hill Farm (near Huber Heights) used to have horseback trails too but I don't even know if they still have them. We have several dams in the area one in Englewood, one in Vandalia, one in Fairborn and I believe there is one in Germantown (there is a 5th one called Lockington near Piqua to the north). They might have dirt trails you can ride, they are part of the rail-to-trail system also but I don't know if all of the connectors have been put into place to get them hooked to the main system. If you go to Yellow Springs (southeast of Dayton) you can check out Glen Helen, John Bryan State Park and Clifton Gorge, they have hiking trails and I just found out that John Bryan has 6.5 miles of mountain bike trails. If you get down there you should visit Young's Jersey Dairy. Yellow Springs is a small community (about 4,000) of artists and other unique people, a lot of the liberal arts majors from the university gravitate here and the town has a lot of flavor.

Hope this helps!

Randy: Walter would enjoy that He's my buddy and he knows it.

Ken: You ran over it and killed it, I was simply carrying it around and attempting to use it to ummm, nevermind

Ber :lilbunny:

 

[simbrooks]

Thanks for all the info, there is no saying we might not do horseback riding on our no-fly day if the trails look bogged out for bikes (due to horses hooves that is often the case - at least round here). You have been a great help, i would offer the same kind of advice for FL, but between Walter and your previous trip(s) down here i have heard about i would say you already have it covered!!

 

[GDI]

Man if you get a chance go do a ship wreck in Lake Erie or some place

Dress for the occasion

 

[simbrooks]

Man if you get a chance go do a ship wreck in Lake Erie or some place

Dress for the occasion

Might be considered on our next trip up there in the late spring - rented 7mm's all round!! Maybe my creditcard will be light enough to afford a drysuit by that time - well i can dream after all!

 

[RPanick]

What this thread has failed to mention is that in the Great Lakes region, Nov is either very pleasant or absolutely miserable. To someone in Florida, very pleasant would probably feel cold, we think 60 is warm that time of the year. The water may still be diveable, but its the surface intervals that get you, and changing out of the wet suit.

Also, keep in mind about that time of the year, it gets dark fairly early, that should be after we roll the clocks back.

As a northern born and bred boy, I usually do one last dive in Nov just to remind me why I want to leave and move to Hawaii.

There are some neat things to do not too far away from there in the nice warmth, Wright Patterson Airforce Museum isn't too far away (I think).

 

[simbrooks]

Not too many worries, i am from the UK and Becky grew up for a good portion of her life in Maine, that gives us an idea of what cold and wet can be! We arent quite warm water wussies yet

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Just FYI the Air Force Museum is about 25 minutes from the airport, it's definitely local
Ber

 

[Squalus]

Natural Springs will probably be closed by then, I think the owners shut it down in late Oct. or early Nov. A note on the Great Lakes, I've been told that the charter season ends shortly after Labor Day as the weather gets too unpredictable after that I could be wrong though. Gilboa is your best bet even though it's a longer drive; if you take the shortcut instead of going all the way to Findlay it cuts about 25 minutes off of the drive. (Take the Napoleon Rd. exit off of I-75 and hang a left then when you get to Old 224 (a t-intersection) hang a right and the quarry is on your right a mile or so down the road. I can make if from the I-70/I-75 interchange to the quarry in about an hour and a half going that way.

A 7mm suit will be fine, make sure you have a hood, boots and gloves. We dove there last year the weekend before Thanksgiving and the water above the thermocline was still almost 60 degrees. It's always about 40-42 degrees below the thermocline near the tubes no matter what time of year it is. Make sure you bring along a winter hat and mittens to wear between dives as well as something to keep the wind off of you such as a long coat. When diving here in November you can never carry too many warm clothes!

At the moment I have check-out dives scheduled for Nov. 20-21 at Gilboa but the date may move to Nov. 13-14 if my students do well enough to take their final the last week of school instead of finals week. It shouldn't be too hard to find a buddy, there are a bunch of GLWC people who go to the quarry on a regular basis even when it's "cold."
Ber :lilbunny:

You guys forgot to warn her "Don't touch Mike's fish!"

 

[Squalus]

If you are up here send me a PM, I am usually at one of the sites diving with a DM from the shop.