Smith Lake - Vidor (Report and Story)

[vintagediver]

'Nothin' like hitting the back country lakes for a bit of fun is there ?!
What many folks don't seem to understand is that most Banjo players are actually very smart people.
I almost always bring my Banjo along to deep woods dive outings and it usually comes in handy. Like I said.... "we're smart people"

Here..here I'll second that, for I am also a banjo player....well I try...

 

[Rhino2K]

Sorry to hear about that experience. When you get on the other side of Houston (traveling east), you enter into a hillbilly-hick time warp. Originally, I was supposed to meet up with House and the other two divers on Sunday, but as fate (or luck) would have it, the dive shop in Beaumont where I was going to rent a tank from recently went out of business. I had planned to dive this location in May, but after hearing about House's experience with Billybob and his ma', I think that I'm going to cross this dump off my list. I actually went out to Smith Lake on Friday to scope the place out. I think that it was this Billybob that I met near what looked like a railroad boxcar which said "Office" on the outside........no, I'm not kidding. I asked him if I could scuba dive there in the future. He said, "Shore, but I wood kneed ta' C yow divin' badge." :shelli:

The sign outfront designated the location as an "RV Park," but make no mistake, this isn't your typical RV Park where retirees come to get away from the cold of the Midwest and Northeast. As House mentioned, this place is white trash city. If I were a diver living in Southeast Texas and was hurting to dive somewhere, I'd make the two-hour drive to Huntsville and dive the Blue Lagoon. I'm going to save Billybob and Ma' some trouble and permanently ban myself from that hellhole.

House, sorry I couldn't make it Sunday. But after reading your account, I'm glad I wasn't there.

 

[chrispete]

As for me, I don't get caught neckid' Mooning old women so I don't run into much trouble.

Yeah, but it's going to be that one time that you do get caught that's gonna get ya in trouble.

 

[OUTHOUSE]

Sorry to hear about that experience. When you get on the other side of Houston (traveling east), you enter into a hillbilly-hick time warp. Originally, I was supposed to meet up with House and the other two divers on Sunday, but as fate (or luck) would have it, the dive shop in Beaumont where I was going to rent a tank from recently went out of business. I had planned to dive this location in May, but after hearing about House's experience with Billybob and his ma', I think that I'm going to cross this dump off my list. I actually went out to Smith Lake on Friday to scope the place out. I think that it was this Billybob that I met near what looked like a railroad boxcar which said "Office" on the outside........no, I'm not kidding. I asked him if I could scuba dive there in the future. He said, "Shore, but I wood kneed ta' C yow divin' badge." :shelli:

The sign outfront designated the location as an "RV Park," but make no mistake, this isn't your typical RV Park where retirees come to get away from the cold of the Midwest and Northeast. As House mentioned, this place is white trash city. If I were a diver living in Southeast Texas and was hurting to dive somewhere, I'd make the two-hour drive to Huntsville and dive the Blue Lagoon. I'm going to save Billybob and Ma' some trouble and permanently ban myself from that hellhole.

House, sorry I couldn't make it Sunday. But after reading your account, I'm glad I wasn't there.

No problem my man. We will make it happen soon enough. At the moment I spend more time in Houston and Austin on the weekends than I do in Beaumont.

I am not the only guy that has run into trouble over there. I was warned by the local dive shop that the guy that patrols the area is a "tool."

Seriously, that place is the pits. Wish they could find a public access way to the lake so you dont have to go through "the trailer park palace."

 

[Aaron203]

Side Note: My wife (works in the state capital) thinks its funny that after all the important people, the nice restaurants, and social functions we have attended that her husband is banned from a trailer park (sober no less).

You, sir have inspired me to new heights. I haven't been banned from a trailer park yet.

 

[DM Gary]

I believe this is why interstate highways were built. So civilized people don't have to worry about driving around in places like Vidor while they're traveling.

Not that I had any plans to dive Smith but now I know to turn down any future invitations.

Thanks,

G

 

[ZzzKing]

You, sir have inspired me to new heights. I haven't been banned from a trailer park yet.

Anyone can get banned from a 5 star restaurant. It takes real talent and hard work to get banned from a trailer park

 

[Firefyter]

It's a dang good thing there ain't no trailer park next to Clear Springs, cuz I've bared my :mooner: (and a few other things) there more than a few times

 

[RockHunter]

Thanks for the report will mark smith off my too dive list.

 

[WetCell]

Smith Lake used to be a great local "gottah get a dive in" and training lake, but the hurricanes (Rita and Ike) did significant damage to the SCUBA industry in the so-called "Golden Triangle" of Beaumont, Orange and Port Arthur. Of the two LDSs, Scuba Brothers and Gulf Coast Scuba, only the brothers shop remains. Smith Lake was also a casualty, since the local sport divers maintained the dive site. Before it was a pleasant TSD dive and had good viz by Texas standards. After Ike, the RV squatters appeared and never left--so now it is indeed a white-trash village. Unfortunately, it may be that those folks are also dumping their sewage into the lake, when I was there a year ago it was pretty much a cesspool.

As for Vidor, it has a sad and pathetic history, but please know that a lot of good people live there and are trying to change things.