Moving to the midwest, thought I'd introduce myself

[Sinbad the Diver]

At the end of July my family and I will be relocating to the Quad Cities from Northern VA. I am currently the only diver in the family (wife has a rule, she doesn't swim in the fish's water, they don't swim in hers). My 8 year old son did a neat try it program with a local shop where he got to go to put on scuba gear and dive in a pool with an instructor and as soon as he's 10 he'll be screaming at me to get certified, so in about 18 months I'll have a permanent buddy. My diving has been either in the keys/bahamas or in the local mud pit we call a quarry.

I've read through a lot on this board and on the muck divers board to try to get an idea what the local dive scene is like, and it seems that I'm going to be 3 hours or so from about any place to get wet and I'm going to have to get that dry suit I've been eyeing for the last year . Any thoughts, advice, info anyone has would be greatly appreciated. I have a feeling I'm going to be dry for the remainder of this season with the impending move, new job, etc, but I'm hoping to get back at it in the Spring....hopefully a winter trip to the inlaws place in S.FL as well.

 

[superstar]

How did you find a job in the midwest?

 

[Jaeger45]

Welcome to the corn belt!

Just checked Google Maps for directions. Strode Lake in Lakeland Park, Canton, IL is about 1:40 from Davenport, IA. Not the best vis, but it's someplace to dive, and they have a few things sunk to check out, plus the usual bass/sunfish/etc.

I'm told that Western Illinois University has a quarry that they dive at in Media, IL. I can't tell you anything about it, or what it would take to get permission to dive there, but Google Maps shows about 1:20 from Davenport.

For the Midwest, Haigh Quarry in Kankakee is nice. I dive there every couple of weeks. On site air and banked Nitrox fills, decent visability (25+) on a good day, and very friendly staff. Nice assortment of fish for the Midwest, including some paddlefish and muskies, and nice catfish. The largemout bass and bluegill are very accustomed to divers and are on the lookout for handouts. About 3 hours away, though.

 

[Barracuda2]

Hey Sinbad, if you really want to get connected to a bunch of great divers in the MI, IN, OH area, put Oct. 9th, 2010 weekend on your calendar. We have our annual Fall Meet & Greet at Gilboa quarry. We spend the entire weekend diving, eating, and swaping stories around the campfire---it's really a great time. We're called the Great Lakes Wrecking Crew (GLWC) and have a lot of guys and gals that can connect you up with some really great Great Lakes wreck diving. If you want to find out more about Gilboa, just go to Gilboa Quarry Scuba Diving Welcome to GLWC.

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

Thanks all...

Superstar....I found the opportunity on Careerbuilder, was mostly looking for opportunities that were not here.

Jaeger...that sounds just like our local mud pit...10ft vis on clear weekends, 45deg below 30ft in Aug but a great place to get wet and a great group of people to hand with during SI.

Barracuda...that sounds like an opportunity. I'll pencil it in, though I doubt I'll make it this year. I've somewhat written on the year for diving...but I'll definately keep an eye on things as next Spring approaches. I have a huge interest in wrecks, unfortunately other than a couple in Key Largo I haven't had much opportunity to dive them, so I am definately interested.

 

[Wolver]

Oct. 9th, 2010 weekend on your calendar. We have our annual Fall Meet & Greet at Gilboa quarry.

I thought it was going to be on the Oct 17 weekend? Did it change?

 

[Barracuda2]

I thought it was going to be on the Oct 17 weekend? Did it change?

I stand corrected, Wolver. Oct 9 is the Haunted Quarry event and we sure don't want to run into that like we did last Fall. The real date for the GLWC Fall Meet & Greet is OCT. 15-17 Thanks for posting and sorry for any confusion.

 

[PvtStash]

Oct 9 is the Haunted Quarry event and we sure don't want to run into that like we did last Fall.

I remember two "young women" (bitches) in particular...

 

[diver_paula]

Welcome to the Midwest (soon)!

Paula

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Welcome!