photohikedive
Guest
The day started off all wrong. Plans were to meet some of the guys, in Alabama to do some group diving. Life got in the way. After squaring away one of those fun and unexpected family situations, it was too late to meet up with the rest of the group. MDB and I decided to make the best of the day by exploring some other new place. We went east instead of south or west. We went to Marianna.
The plan was, to bring the boat of doom, just in case. Maybe scout out Cypress. But the lead objective, was to visit the Florida Caverns State Park. That was a bust right off the bat. We found it easy enough, but the next available tour for the caverns was hours away. We decided to check out the swimming hole at the park..... it had dried to little more than a large mud puddle.
We then decided to check out Jackson Blue. One of the springs that was part of the "Mill Pond" link. We didn't know what to expect. Details are sketchy online. And as it turns out, somewhat deceptive. The different sites are actually just locations along the shore of the pond. The pond seems to be man made, due to the dam at the southern end. Very likely it was a series of small ponds where the springs erupted from the ground, and merged into each other via a river.
We put in at the boat launch at about the mid point of the pond. It has a nice concrete ramp, and a good amount of parking. Even on the "busy" holliday weekend, there was plenty of room for us.
We motored out through the tree lined passage out into the pond proper. I pointed the boat north, using MDB as my guid marker,
but didn't get very far before I decided to look at some of the scenery underwater (from the surface).
While enjoying the view, the local FWC officer decided to pay us a visit. We didn't have proper registration for the boat. Even though it was just a small aluminum craft with just the electric trolling motor, it is supposed to be registered. He was good about it. Just wrote up a warning, because I informed him it was new to me, and that as I understood it I had 30 days to register it. It was true, but, I didn't have the title with me to prove this. He told us where the dive shop was, handed over the slip, and we parted ways.
We made our way just a little further up the pond, to where we were told the dive shop was. They have a couple pontoon boats for rent, and there was a large dive flag colored sign on a tree. We tied off, hoping we were at the right dock, and I went up to check things out. It is a nice little dive shop, with just the essentials for caving. BP/W by Dive Rite, an assortment of lights. Tanks and some odds and ends. They had a magazine and a dvd I wanted to buy, but didn't want to chance getting wet while it kicked around in the bottom of the boat. They also had a little map that I read to try to orient myself to where we could go. He pointed out two places, Hole in the Wall, and Shangri La. I made my way back to the boat and we headed to the closest one, Hole in the Wall.
There wasn't much to see there. Some divers had already staked it out, and were in the cave. The water was murcky from the silt they stirred up. SBM aka Matt told us places there could be very silty. He had given us the scoop on the location, and pointed us in the general direction enough that we were able to get where we were. We decided that this wasn't the spot to get wet, so we moved on.
There was plenty to see along the way. From just pretty scenery to interesting wildlife.
Finally we got to the north end of the pond. We searched around, and then decided we had indeed found Shangri La. I promise pictures of the surface next time, it is an interesting site. The sun was behind the trees, and made for a lousy shot. Even underwater was tough to do, with so little light. But I had to get those images at least.
I started seeing crawfish. I decided that I needed to catch some. After MDB practiced getting into the boat, without touching bottom a time or two, I took the line, and dragged the boat along behind me as I searched. Every once in a while I would see one. I would loose the line, dive down, grab one, and toss it in with MDB. Unfortunately I don't think she got pinched even once.
After a while we decided we had to head back to get to the dive shop before they closed at 8 pm. We puttered back to the boat ramp just as it was getting dark. We loaded the boat and other items in record time. Drove quickly through the back roads, to where the dive shop was located.....
and they were CLOSED!!!! Argh, I will get them next time. How dare they not be there to take my money!
Well we finally made it home. We gathered up the crawfish, and prepped them for storage overnight. But we got a few shots to remember them by, before we ate them all up.
The plan was, to bring the boat of doom, just in case. Maybe scout out Cypress. But the lead objective, was to visit the Florida Caverns State Park. That was a bust right off the bat. We found it easy enough, but the next available tour for the caverns was hours away. We decided to check out the swimming hole at the park..... it had dried to little more than a large mud puddle.
We then decided to check out Jackson Blue. One of the springs that was part of the "Mill Pond" link. We didn't know what to expect. Details are sketchy online. And as it turns out, somewhat deceptive. The different sites are actually just locations along the shore of the pond. The pond seems to be man made, due to the dam at the southern end. Very likely it was a series of small ponds where the springs erupted from the ground, and merged into each other via a river.
We put in at the boat launch at about the mid point of the pond. It has a nice concrete ramp, and a good amount of parking. Even on the "busy" holliday weekend, there was plenty of room for us.
We motored out through the tree lined passage out into the pond proper. I pointed the boat north, using MDB as my guid marker,
but didn't get very far before I decided to look at some of the scenery underwater (from the surface).
While enjoying the view, the local FWC officer decided to pay us a visit. We didn't have proper registration for the boat. Even though it was just a small aluminum craft with just the electric trolling motor, it is supposed to be registered. He was good about it. Just wrote up a warning, because I informed him it was new to me, and that as I understood it I had 30 days to register it. It was true, but, I didn't have the title with me to prove this. He told us where the dive shop was, handed over the slip, and we parted ways.
We made our way just a little further up the pond, to where we were told the dive shop was. They have a couple pontoon boats for rent, and there was a large dive flag colored sign on a tree. We tied off, hoping we were at the right dock, and I went up to check things out. It is a nice little dive shop, with just the essentials for caving. BP/W by Dive Rite, an assortment of lights. Tanks and some odds and ends. They had a magazine and a dvd I wanted to buy, but didn't want to chance getting wet while it kicked around in the bottom of the boat. They also had a little map that I read to try to orient myself to where we could go. He pointed out two places, Hole in the Wall, and Shangri La. I made my way back to the boat and we headed to the closest one, Hole in the Wall.
There wasn't much to see there. Some divers had already staked it out, and were in the cave. The water was murcky from the silt they stirred up. SBM aka Matt told us places there could be very silty. He had given us the scoop on the location, and pointed us in the general direction enough that we were able to get where we were. We decided that this wasn't the spot to get wet, so we moved on.
There was plenty to see along the way. From just pretty scenery to interesting wildlife.
Finally we got to the north end of the pond. We searched around, and then decided we had indeed found Shangri La. I promise pictures of the surface next time, it is an interesting site. The sun was behind the trees, and made for a lousy shot. Even underwater was tough to do, with so little light. But I had to get those images at least.
I started seeing crawfish. I decided that I needed to catch some. After MDB practiced getting into the boat, without touching bottom a time or two, I took the line, and dragged the boat along behind me as I searched. Every once in a while I would see one. I would loose the line, dive down, grab one, and toss it in with MDB. Unfortunately I don't think she got pinched even once.
After a while we decided we had to head back to get to the dive shop before they closed at 8 pm. We puttered back to the boat ramp just as it was getting dark. We loaded the boat and other items in record time. Drove quickly through the back roads, to where the dive shop was located.....
and they were CLOSED!!!! Argh, I will get them next time. How dare they not be there to take my money!
Well we finally made it home. We gathered up the crawfish, and prepped them for storage overnight. But we got a few shots to remember them by, before we ate them all up.
