Moving to TX, need info

[EMTPDiver]

OK, so I am a paramedic/ER tech/medevac flight coordinator (3 jobs-lame!) who is moving with my wife and daughter to Ft Worth next summer ('08). I would like to know a couple things before moving there. First, I am interested in what diving sites are readily available near Dallas/FW. I am from Alaska, and that means first and foremost I am used to poor visibility and cold water; in fact I dove in water in the 30's F and less than 5 ft vis a few days ago, and needed almost constant use of a compass to keep my bearings straight. It was cool, in a way, but it also sucked since I also have done alot of diving in Hawaii and Fiji where water is gin clear and warm. So, anyhow, what spots do you super-cool swamp diving guys recommend? If you could recommend spots based on visibility, interesting bottom terrain, ease of diving (like currents, nasty waterplants like we have here, gnarly thermoclines, etc.) and abundance of wildlife, that would be awesome.

Also, awesomely-radical diving trips are much more possible in TX than they are in AK, as it typically costs almost $1K more to go almost anywhere from AK than from anywhere else. I am interested in taking my wife (a passionate diver, yet not too into cold water or bad visibility) on a cool diving vacation after we move to TX. Liveaboard cruises seem particularly attractive, but I certainly don't want to rely on the advertisements that such cruises have posted...I find actual testimonials to be much more convincing. Anyways, anyone have any good pointers on relatively inexpensive yet very enjoyable trips I can easily take from TX?

Thirdly, what's the dive scene like in Dallas/Ft Worth...as in is there some sort of club? Folks enjoy getting together? Dive buddies??

Thanks for the help!

Micah McGuire EMTP/MICP

 

[ZzzKing]

Some close sites to FW are:
Possum Kingdon Lake - Murky but can clear below 40' or so. It's dark down there and what we locals refer to as "a might chilly". Nice limestone cliff dives. Drops into the upper 40's at depth. 7mm w/ hood or drysuit. about an hour and a half to the west of FW.
Clear Springs Scuba Park - It's an old limestone quarry. Maximum depth is 55-60'. Vis is sometimes 20-25'. Low 50's at depth. Warms to the mid 80's in late summer above 25' or so. No neoprene required. About an hour east of FW.
Athens Scuba Park - An old brick yard. Water is sometimes cleared with the use of alum. It corrodes the hardware on your gear if not well rinsed. I learned my lesson on that and haven't been back. Maximum depth is 20' or so. Bathtub warm by mid-June. Lots of junk in the water to look at. No wildlife. About 2 hours southeast of FW.
Lake Murray, Oklahoma - Depth to 100' or so. It's dark and cold down there. Some really cool rock walls. About 2 hours north of FW.
Broken Bow Lake, Oklahoma - Like Murray but deeper, prettier and cooler. About 3 1/2 hours north east of FW.
Cozumel - 2 1/2 hour plane ride south of FW.

Of course the best part of being here is you get to join the Texas Swamp Divers.

PS - I almost forgot about the caves of Paris. I hear they are filling nicely.

 

[Timeliner]

Then of course there is The Valhalla Missile Silo if you are looking for something different.

 

[AggieDad]

Lake Travis outside of Austin. Vis is usually around 10 feet, temps in the summer are hot on the surface and hi 50 low 60 at depth. Balhmorrhea in West Texas is a shallow clear site. Texas Flower Gardens are 110 miles off the coast of Freeport TX. Great dive site. Weather can be a factor.
Like Timeliner said. Cozumel is 2.5 hours away, relatively cheap. For $1000 you can catch a charter or cheap flight down, stay in a nice hotel, eat and dive for a few days.

I want to do my drysuit certification in Seward. I am in Anchorage all the time now and in fact will be there tomorrow. Can't you go out and dive the bore wave in Turnagain Arm?

 

[EMTPDiver]

sure, the bore tide should be fun. I'll have Girdwood fire department on standby to do a body recovery. Should make the paper. BTW Seward is great. Good choice

Thanks fr the pointers, keep them coming.

 

[cruiser]

Spring Lake at Aquarena Springs is some of the clearest diving in Texas. Water temps 71 degrees year round.

Aquarena Springs is the headwaters to the San Marcos River and is part of the Edwards Aquifer. Output water quality in some areas exceeds EPA standards.

Used to be an amusement park with glass bottom boats. Has since been purchased by Texas State University and the amusement park is gone, glass bottom boats still operating. Special certification required to dive here ($220). Diving is done by previous arrangement only and volunteers are required to do some type of spring maintenance--usually underwater gardening and/or fanning algea and vegetation from the springs to keep them (1) flowing; and (2) visible to the glass bottom boat crowd. The site is federally and state protected for the threatened/endangered species of vegetation and wildlife. Deepest part is "Deep Hole" springs. Check out my the pics on my Flickr account, addy below.

 

[cruiser]

Forgot to mention, Aquarena is about a 3-hour drive from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Good for a weekend trip.

Once you get to this area of Texas (Hill Country), there's always the San Marcos River in San Marcos, and Comal River in New Braunfels (a few miles away).

Aquarena is a personal favorite of mine

 

[TommyB]

Hook up with these guys are here --

http://www.scubatoys.com/forum/
Texas D/FW locals.

 

[darkraingod]

Everyone's covered all of the spots I would have mentioned. The only other spot I'd say is Lake Amistad in Del Rio. Depths of 100+ feet and some of the clearest water in Texas. It is, however, about 8 hours from the DFW area on the Mexican border. I'll also agree with ntburchf, scuba toys is the best dive shop in the DFW area, and plenty of people from around the country and the world order from them online. They have some very nice exclusive equipment you cannot get elsewhere.

 

[Hemlon]

ScubaToys rocks!!!