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[billh]

Hi all, i'm from florida and have been visiting utah a time or two each year since the early 90s. Have made some big trips (spending a month or so) and visited during every season except winter. Was just there last spring (canyonlands, kane gulch, and moab). Have done a lot of the day hikes and some longer backpacking trips (kane and under the ledge). Have hit all the national parks and some of the state ones. I especially like it under the ledge (the maze) and have had my jeep wrangler there along with some rentals and spent a couple of hours with my ass in a crack hiking down the maze overlook trail on the way to the harvest scene. Last trip drove up salt creek and camped for a week at peekaboo, great place and the trail of the same name is a nice slick rock hike.

I spend most of my spare time here in florida cave diving and was wondering if anyone knows of any cave diving opportunities in utah (i have dove the homestead crater). Just recently took up mountain biking and riding the singletrack here on my new trance2 and looking forward to hitting the slickrock trail in moab this spring. Also thinking of dragging my 18' bowrider boat to lake powell for a week or two of boat camping...would like to sell my boat there so i don't have to drag it back...any thoughts on how to accomplish that?

This is great site and look forward to browsing...you all are so lucky to live there...if i could get a job there i'd move in a minute...i love the plateau. Bill

[asdf]

Welcome to the forum!

[DiscGo]

Welcome! The Crater at the Homestead resort is about as close to any real cave diving as I think you'll do around here, but you have to pay to dive there.

http://www.homesteadresort.com/the_crater/the_crater.cfm



P.S. I'm going to be in FL this weekend, in the Ft. Lauderdale area. Any suggestions on what to do?

[accadacca]

Welcome to the group!! :2thumbs:

[Sombeech]

Welcome to the forum! :cool2:

[billh]

P.S. I'm going to be in FL this weekend, in the Ft. Lauderdale area. Any suggestions on what to do?

A lot of stuff to do...dania is a little town near the airport, the beach is nice and there's a jai lai fronton if you have never been to one it's interesting. If you are a diver there are some nice wrecks off shore, especially the Hydro Atlantic, it's a bit deep and it would be good if you were a tech diver. Of course you're not far from miami and south beach is always a spectacle. Depending on time, the everglades is definitely worth a visit but it's a couple of hours by car.

[DiscGo]

Thanks for the heads up. I do dive (& play discgolf :haha: ) and I have been thinking about bringing my dive gear. My problem is I am going to be traveling for a couple of weeks after this weekend and I have not been sure if I wanted to haul my gear around, but we just got fresh snow and diving sounds pretty good. Thank you for the heads up.

[Iceaxe]

:2thumbs: Welcome :2thumbs:

[billh]

Thanks for the heads up. I do dive (& play discgolf :haha: ) and I have been thinking about bringing my dive gear. My problem is I am going to be traveling for a couple of weeks after this weekend and I have not been sure if I wanted to haul my gear around, but we just got fresh snow and diving sounds pretty good. Thank you for the heads up.

Most welcome...the freshwater diving in the springs and cave systems is a bit north of Lauderdale in the High Springs/Gainesville area (where the University of Florida is located). If you can get down to the keys (Largo) the Spiegel Grove is a great wreck dive and Penecamp is near there as well...not really that far south of Miami...let me know if you ever get to the panhandle...would be glad to go with you out to the Oriskany, a nice aircraft carrier on the bottom.

[DiscGo]

[let me know if you ever get to the panhandle...would be glad to go with you out to the Oriskany, a nice aircraft carrier on the bottom.

Thanks a lot. I really appreciate that. Is that the same carrier that they sank a year or two ago? I was so surprised they did that to a beautiful aircraft carrier, but I've wanted to go there since I heard about it. I'm only going to be in town for a couple of days, so I'll probably just try and dive more locally in the Ft. Lauderdale area, so I don't have to worry about the altitude when flying out, but I really do appreciate the offer. Maybe I can take you hiking sometime out here.

[billh]

.Is that the same carrier that they sank a year or two ago? I was so surprised they did that to a beautiful aircraft carrier, but I've wanted to go there since I heard about it. Maybe I can take you hiking sometime out here.

It was sunk last may, has not been down a year yet, they did a discovery channel show on it just recently. The navy and marad have a lot of old ships that they are now considering for reefing...the oriskany was an essex class commisioned in 1950. Its a nice dive, the deck is at 137 fsw and the island starts at 70 fsw and the sand is at 220 fsw.

Thanks for the hiking offer, i still have a lot of places to hike...

Have you ever dove in lake powell?

[DiscGo]

Boy was it only last May? I remember it on the news and I thought I had been in Florida since it happened, but I just checked online you're right.



Have you ever dove in lake powell?

I never have, but my friend went down there and went spear fishing, he loved it. Here is a small link to some of the diving coordinates in Lake Powell if you want them:

http://www.utahdiving.com/powell.htm

I don't know if you even have a GPS but I have gotten to the points where I prefer coordinates over directions.

[tanya]

Hi all, i'm from florida and have been visiting utah a time or two each year since the early 90s.

Hi Bill :nod: Welcome to our humble home :2thumbs:

[greyhair biker]

HEY! Welcome Bill...I've been to Florida alot, mostly the gulf side- have family in St. Pete. You'll like it here! :cool2:

[billh]

I don't know if you even have a GPS but I have gotten to the points where I prefer coordinates over directions.

I have a couple of them (i am also a pilot so had one in my airplane before it was destroyed by a damn hurricane, the airplane not the gps, i still have that gps, a garmin 295). Thanks for the coordinates.

[DiscGo]

i still have that gps, a garmin 295).

I use a Garmin Rino 530. I love it! One of it's coolest features is the National Weather Broadcast. It has come in really handy on some campouts.

That's way cool that you are a pilot. I flew a plane once and I thought it was awesome but I thought I would have more control than I did. Anyway, my hat is off to you, you seem to be a man after my own heart.

[billh]

i still have that gps, a garmin 295).

I use a Garmin Rino 530. I love it! One of it's coolest features is the National Weather Broadcast. It has come in really handy on some campouts.

That's way cool that you are a pilot. I flew a plane once and I thought it was awesome but I thought I would have more control than I did. Anyway, my hat is off to you, you seem to be a man after my own heart.

Hurricane Dennis took out my plane...had just put a new engine on it and was planning a plane camping trip to utah (spent some time looking at the utah back country pilot association web site).

http://www.utahbackcountrypilots.org/

one of these days will do some plane camping in utah!

[R]

i still have that gps, a garmin 295).

I use a Garmin Rino 530. I love it! One of it's coolest features is the National Weather Broadcast. It has come in really handy on some campouts.

That's way cool that you are a pilot. I flew a plane once and I thought it was awesome but I thought I would have more control than I did. Anyway, my hat is off to you, you seem to be a man after my own heart.

Hurricane Dennis took out my plane...had just put a new engine on it and was planning a plane camping trip to utah (spent some time looking at the utah back country pilot association web site).

http://www.utahbackcountrypilots.org/

one of these days will do some plane camping in utah!

Although I don't fly nearly as often as I once did, I would certainly be interested in piloting through canyon country one of these days. I think it's gonna take a lottery hit, though, since in my neck of the woods the cost of flying has nearly quadrupled since 9/11. When I was flying lots back in the mid 1990s, I rented a very clean C150 for $33.50 an hour. Now the cheapest plane on the field is a Skyhawk that's $125. :sad:

[DiscGo]

Hurricane Dennis took out my plane...had just put a new engine on it and was planning a plane camping trip to utah



That's horrible. I'm sorry to hear that. I hate to even ask but did the plane have hurricane insurance... or are you just out? Anyway, I'm so sorry to hear that. That must have been sickening for you.

[DiscGo]

If you ever get to the panhandle...would be glad to go with you out to the Oriskany, a nice aircraft carrier on the bottom.


How hard is it to get to the Oriskany? I am heading out a day earlier than I had planned because of flight availability and I might try and use it diving. If this is very affordable, I might try and convince my wife to do it.

[billh]

If you ever get to the panhandle...would be glad to go with you out to the Oriskany, a nice aircraft carrier on the bottom.


How hard is it to get to the Oriskany? I am heading out a day earlier than I had planned because of flight availability and I might try and use it diving. If this is very affordable, I might try and convince my wife to do it.

The oriskany is in the panhandle (pensacola) near mobile, al...a long long way from fort lauderdale (at least a 9 hour drive). The boat trip out (it's 22 nm offshore) is 2 hours and right now prices are about $140 for a 2 tank recreational dive on the island. You'd probably be better off trying to do the spiegel grove (it's only a mile or 2 off shore and hurricane dennis put it upright on the bottom) or one the coast guard cutters out of key largo.

[billh]

Although I don't fly nearly as often as I once did, I would certainly be interested in piloting through canyon country one of these days. I think it's gonna take a lottery hit, though, since in my neck of the woods the cost of flying has nearly quadrupled since 9/11. When I was flying lots back in the mid 1990s, I rented a very clean C150 for $33.50 an hour. Now the cheapest plane on the field is a Skyhawk that's $125. :sad:

Yes it has gotten expensive. Aviation fuel in some places here hit $5 a gallon (like gas on lake powell at the marinas). My C182 burned 11gph. I know where you could pick up a nice 82 C172 with a new reman engine for $55k. My airplane was insured but i'm looking for a partner or two on the next one. Give elevations in utah the least you might want is a 182 (a 180 would be nice but they are selling for over 100k in any kind of descent shape).