The Annual Bonne Terre Mine dive Trip Was a Rousing Success
January 29th & 30rd 2011
Traveling to far away expensive places is not necessary and the closer dives sites can be fun and of great interest On January 29 and 30 nine divers gathered in southeast Missouri to enjoy some good times and some good dives. Participants were Debbie Blessing, Kyle Kinley, Stanley Wasserman, Nick Crawford, Matt Hamas, Scott ridge, Chris Parks, Rick Powell, and Sam Frushour. Friday evening found our group gathered at the Bonne Terre Motel Eight, a much classier than expected motel. Some of the group found a good Mexican restaurant a few miles down the road and the others went downtown to the local steakhouse and pub. After dinner there was a bit of socializing and then to our rooms where our wake up calls came far too early in the morning.
A quick breakfast at the local Huddle restaurant and a short drive into town to the mine; we arrived just as Donna was unlocking the dive shop. The mine and the dive operation are located right in the heart of Bonne Terre and the mine underlies the entire town. The check-in and briefings went like clockwork and we got into our dive gear prior to meeting guides at the mine entrance. There were three groups of us on three different sets of dives that were based on what areas of the mine we had previously dove in. Five of us were on the introductory dives. One person was on intermediate dives and three of us were on the higher level dives. Other divers from Indiana and Chicago joined us to make the dive dock, bustling with much activity.
On a cold day the mine is a fine place to be diving and last year we had snow and bitter cold so the mine was a great refuge from the cold. This year moderate temperatures prevailed and we were able to enjoy the sunshine, the antique mining equipment, and antique buildings adjacent to the dive shop. Leaving the sunshine and trekking into the mine is always an experience. Travel into the mine takes one through a forest of large stone pillars in a huge room. The dive dock has benches for setting up gear and tanks within a few steps of the water. Needless to say we all enjoyed the dives and the surface intervals outside the mine. The visibility is always 100 feet plus and the equipment left behind from the mining inspires awe for the effort of thousands of miners during a hundred years. Stay in touch for our winter trip to Bonne Terre Mine next year. Reservations need to be made during November.