Quarries

[MikeFerrara]

dcostanza - we were at Gilboa this past weekend also. Away from the busy spots the vis was fantastic.

Wazee is another one we like but it's further and we don't get there as often.

 

[dcostanza]

Mike
Where is Lake Wazee? Omicron also references it....sounds like a nice place.

On Sunday, I was at the deck just west of where they normally have the Treasure Hunts, about 7 kick cycles to the "cattle car".
Even there the vis wasn't as good as previous dives and at the plane, forget about it. I was even suprised that "the tubes" was quickly becoming as bad as the day progressed. I would've thought the thermocline and 50 degree temps would have kept most of the OW students above it. That's when I decided to go over the wall for a better view...love the cliff side and the imagery that it conjures up, especially when you look down and see pitch darkness.
BTW: I didn't file a deep dive plan for Mike and didn't want to decend too deep so I stayed around 65'-70'...

Best Regards
Don Costanza

 

[JDostal]

Lake Wazee is in Black River Falls, WI, right off of Hwy. 54 in Jackson County. If you call the Jackson County Parks, or the Wazee Sports Center they should get you good directions.

Check this website out:

http://www.discover-net.net/~wazee/lake%20_wazee_page.htm

It's worth the trip!

 

[dcostanza]

Omicron,
Thanks for the link... I can see why you enjoy it! Looks like a lot of fun!! I will have to get out that way. Next thing to do is to figure out how far it is from where I'm at.

Best Regards
Don Costanza

 

[jasondbaker]

We dive Wazee on a monthly basis. If you like Wazee you will be amazed by the Cuyuna mines up by Crosby, MN (near Brainerd). Imagine "20" Wazee's all next to each other. Each quarry offers something different. Come up and dive with us sometime. Check out:

http://www.cuyunarange.net/uniq.html

 

[radagalf]

I was reading the site about Lake Wazee, and I was dumbstruck! You had to pay FEES to dive there!!! Learn new things everyday!

So, to keep on with questions about quarries:

1) How do the fish get in there??
(Are they stocked by your version of Fisheries and Oceans??,
or do they arrive naturally by travelling through the ground
water??)

2) Do you have to pay fees at all quarries? Or only the really good ones? Or is there any basis at all for which quarries to charge for or not?

Thanks again!!!!!!

 

[MikeFerrara]

In some cases quarries developed specificly for diving are taking the look of resorts offerinf everything from camping, apartments, food, gas and even on-site dive shops.

Some of the fish are stocked and some arive naturally.

IMO, the divers (who live inland) who pass on them and wait for their once a year vacation are not only missing some good diving they are not enjoying their vacation as much as they would if they dived enough to get good at it.

Some of us dive for the sake of diving. This is the difference between a diver and an underwater tourist. Nothing wrong with underwater tourist but IMO the just shouldn't be called divers.

 

[JDostal]

Yeah...I dive for the sake of diving. I've actually yet to ever dive in warm, tropical, salt water....I am rather fond of my cold, clear lakes.

As far as Wazee charging fees...it's $10/day to dive, and $3/day to park. Next year, I'll be going with the $75 annual pass as I've spent over $150 on dive fees there this year.

A lot of these fees are due to divers, and liability. The last time a diver went missing in Wazee, it required a ROV to snag him from the bottom. Guess that's a quick lesson in why you don't dive deep without proper experience, training and gear...but the park has to pay those fees and that costs them money.

Camping is available there...most quarries I dive in don't charge anything to dive in. There's nothing but a dirt trail off a road to get to it.

As far as how fish get there...not sure!