off to Peacock Springs this morning for two planned dives with

Chuck (Smokeaire from ScubaBoard). 

    Orange Grove Sink (one of the several entrances to the

Peacock cave system)  is now open to OW divers without an instructor

(used to be OW divers could only dive if an instructor was present).

unfortunately, there are already reports of OW divers trying to solo

dive, and i heard today that graffitti has appeared on some of the

submerged rockfaces.  this is sad if true (and i don't have any

reason to believe it's not true).

   also, Peacock Springs has gotten a new manager from the Park

Service, and there is talk (just talk) that there will be a gatehouse

built for divers to check in and leave their c-cards.  at the moment,

the park is on the honor system.  you drop your fee in an envelope

at the entrace, and leave your receipt stub and c-card on the car.

orange grove sink

      orange grove is usually covered with duckweed, as shown above,

but today the duckweed was gone.  this picture was taken about a year

ago.   you can see bubbles coming up on the right edge of the clear area.

      speaking of park procedure, i forgot my logbook at home (a one-

and-a-half hour drive away), and my cave card is in my logbook.  i

decided to suit up and leave my DAN insurance card uptop for

identification, should they need to account for how many divers were in

the water.

     we suited up, got in the water, and during our pre-dive check

discovered that chuck's inflator hose had a small leak.  well... it wouldn't

go away, so we got out of the water and i kept an eye on our gear while

chuck drove to Cave Excursions to get his hose replaced.

   well... the ranger came around, and asked about the car with the DAN

card instead of a c-card.  of course i said it was me, and that i had left

my c-card behind. i was hoping a look at my gear would convince her

that i had a cave cert, but that wasn't good enough.  well, no c-card no

dive; the rules are the rules. sure was dissapointing.  the ranger was

very nice and gave me the entrace fee back, without me asking for it,

which i thought was very kind of her.  she said she was sorry to

ruin my fun, but i said "heck, i'm the one who forgot the card."

    chuck came back and we decided to call it a day, got some lunch at

the Luraville store, spent some good time together just b.s.-ing.

looking up from orange grove sink, about 40 feet down

     i took this picture at the orange grove cavern about a year and a half

ago. curiously, chuck was along on that dive too.  is it my imagination,

or does that rock formation look like a face?  i think it does for sure.

if you look carefully, you can see our line halfway down the right side,

about an inch from the edge of the photograph.  you can then see the

line follow what would be the "neck" of the rock face towards the middle.

    the day wasn't a total waste.  first of all, chuck and i got to spend lots

of time talking and catching up.  second, i was able to test my fix to my

drysuit's left wrist seal (i tore it trying to put it on at Blue Spring

recently). i fixed it with two coats of Aquaseal inside and out, and the

seal held very nicely.

   most of all, i was able to find a replacement mask for my all-time

favorite, best mask ever, the Dive Rite Mystery (i don't even know

what the model is, but it's small, light, and perfect for me) which

someone (scum!) stole from my bag on the way back from Roatan.

one of the guys at Cave Excursions recognized my description. 

they didn't have any in stock.  as luck would have it, his spare mask

was the mystery mask, and he sold it to me used. 

    all in all, not a bad day