Going deep and doing it in the dark

November 5, 2011

It was a typical Saturday for me. I was loading gear in my truck, checking my bag to make sure all my miscellaneous gear was accounted for, trying to decide which tanks, and how many to throw in. As excited as I get to head to the lake, it is not uncommon to forget things as I rush out the door. Usually it is about 5am in the morning when i am leaving the house to go diving but today was a little different. It was just past noon. Today was not gonna be a normal day of meeting up with the tribe and hitting one of our many favorite spots. This trip was a certification dive trip. I had recently purchased the deep diving, sport computers, night diving, and limited visibility diving books. These are just a few of the many specialty diving classes offered and taught by " the dog". I could hardly contain the excitement and anticipation of going deep into the lake and the possibility of diving at night.

My whole life I have thirsted for knowledge but not in the traditional way of most people. I am the type of person who learns better by hands on experience. I needed to see first hand and learn from my own experiences. There has always been very little that I take someone else's word on. Growing up I did fairly well in school but sitting in a classroom reading books was just to slow paced for me and my fast paced imagination and inability to sit still usually landed me with less than favorable results on the report cards. From the time I was four or five I could remember wanting to figure out how things worked and tearing everything I had apart. From bikes, toys, and even items that I could confiscate from my dads garage. Some of which never made it back to their original working order. Sorry dad lol. I have always had huge urge to explore everything outdoors. Luckily we were raised by small town country parents who gave us plenty of space to run and be boys outdoors. And I think it was my curiosity of finding new places and going somewhere new without supervision that had the potential of getting me in the stickiest of predicaments as a child. Some of the funnest times I can recall of growing up would be the summer days when school was out. Both of our parents worked. My dad worked long hours and was gone till late in the evenings. My mom worked at an elementary school close to home but still was gone long enough to give my brother and I just enough hours of daylight to go and see whatever peeked our interest. We would make plans to hop on our bikes and find new routes to get into sun city. We knew every storm drain culvert, sand wash, golf course crossing, and back alley to get us from home to mcdonalds or the thrifty's where we could get ice cream cones. As much as I can remember there was nothing as satisfying as exploring out into the desert and hills surrounding our rural community of meniffee. Exploring things we had not seen and planning new adventures and making it home before mom and dad, were the highlights of our summers.

Twenty some odd years later ( who's counting though right?) not much has changed. Aside from keeping a career going and maintaining some what of a "normal" adult existence, I am always looking for the next adventure. Always trying to find a new and exciting way to direct my energy. I think this is why diving has become such an obsession for me. The possibilities are virtually limitless. Every dive is a different adventure.

All our gear was loaded on the boat and we were pulling out of the marina headed for our dive spot. The spot Bill had chosen was "Kracken's cove". It is located in black canyon right next to hoover dam on the Nevada side. After we had anchored the boat, we got all our gear together and went over our dive plan, objectives, and skills to be practiced. I could not wait to hit the water. I got all geared up, did my ABC's and stepped off into the lake. Shortly after Bill followed. We gave each other the ok to go down signal and let the air out of our vests and started down into the canyon. As always we stopped at 20 feet and did a bubble and gear check and once again gave each other the ok sign and then continued down the line. I wish i could find the best way to explain the feelings of descending through the water. The weightlessness along with the slight falling sensation. Watching your depth gauge on your computer seeing the numbers go up, 20 feet then 30 then 40 then 70 as the bottom starts to come into view and we start to add just enough air in our vest to come to a slow motionless stop and hover over the bottom as if we were suspended in mid air. Our dive plan was to hit 100 feet and start our skills. We swam together just a few feet to where a ledge dropped off and descended down the face until hitting our planned depth of 100 feet. We began our skills. I would replicate everything Bill did. Taking off our masks and replacing it then clearing the water out, simulating out of air situations and sharing air. There are quite a few skills and communications that were practiced. When we had finished our skills I started to look around at our surroundings. People probably just don't understand how beautiful the lake is under water. So many rock formations and terrain changes. Its like a hikers paradise without the heat and exhausting exercise it takes to see it above the surface. A few feet from me was another sharp drop off I swam over to the edge and peered down It was a straight of a cliff as i have ever seen like it was man made. There is something so intriguing and somewhat menacing about staring off into this black abyss. I could feel the urge to plummet off the edge and see what was down there. I knew right then this was not deep enough for me. I was already trying to plan how I could get the training and the gear to go deeper. But it would have to wait. We had hit our planned bottom time and gave each other the signal to start our ascent. We swam over to the anchor line and started our slow rise towards the boat. I kept looking back down at the sights below. Not sure what it is but something is pulling me down and begging me to stay down there. We continued on up the line and completed our safety stops. When our computers told us we we ok to surface, we breached the surface and climbed up the ladder onto the boat. We sat across from each other taking our gear off I was so excited I could not stop my barrage of questions for Bill. I am surprised he has not found a way to put a muzzle on me yet. I am pretty lucky to have found an instructor and friend who has the same desire for adventure as me, and also can handle my nonstop questioning, and scenarios, and machine gun texting assault when we are not face to face. Each of these conversations ending with one of three words. Sweeeeeeeeeeettttttttttt, Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh, or my favorite desert dog comment Bad A$$$$$$$$$$$$$&&&&&&&&&.

The rest of the dives went pretty much the same as the first. One more deep dive and I was certified for deep dives to 130 feet. We had eaten dinner and did several night dives also on this trip. Night diving is without a doubt one of the coolest things I have ever done Its a whole different world. Colors look some much different under our lights we carry. Huge bass sleeping. Catfish all over the bottom feeding. To be surrounded by complete darkness in this moon like environment with only the area of our lights in view, is an amazing situation. You would think that with all this new knowledge and awesome situations my energy would be slightly subsided and I would be momentarily satisfied. That could not be further from the truth. As I stand in the back of the boat it just starts to set in that it is barely 60 degrees on this windy winter night. All of which, I was so excited I had not noticed. Pulling off my cold wetsuit and jumping into my warm dry clothes I was already making mental plans as to what I would have to do to continue my diving endeavours. Money budgeted, schedules cleared, books bought. As with every ending dive trip I could not wait to get back out there and do it again. I am very happy I have found this productive and adventurous outlet. I only hope that everyone else finds something like this in their life. I could not imagine living life any other way than to the end of your imagination and finding what you are capable when you are happy and truly apply yourself. I also cant wait to share my love of the water and its possibilities to anyone who wants to see it.

Until next time I promise you I will be going deeper and doing it in the dark ALOT.

Trav

Shadow Divers. Books without pictures can keep me reading.

I had been diving for about a month at this point, and time was really starting to fly by. My dive total since getting my card was prob about ten by now and in my own mind you would have thought I was ready to dive the titanic that next weekend. I had been jumping in with the desert dog and his Crew every other weekend when there was a spot for me on his boat or when they were planning on doing dives I could do at my diving abilities. These were some serious divers with the ability and the means to see and do anything they wanted underwater. I wanted to dive with and be like these guys. The reason I choose to dive every other weekend is because I actually have an above water life which includes an amazing six year old son and an amazing woman at home. No diving as bad ass as it is will take up all my time and keep me from my family and responsibilities.

One particular weekend which was suppose to be a diving weekend I had to put off my diving urges and attend a wedding. My good friends Jimmy and Melissa were tying the knot. These were two of our original group of buddies to get certified in august with me. One week prior to the wedding Jimmys buddy had thrown him a bachelor party to which I was invited. After some competitive go cart racing we were having some beers and waiting for our dinner at a downtown bar. We were heavy in discussion but it was not trying to decide what strip club to go see, not where the wild woman would be out at tonight. Nope we were talking about diving. There were three other guys at the table that I have also know for almost ten years and had never known they were also scuba divers. They had not been in a long time but loved the sport and had some amazing stories and ideas for me. The one thing I remember most from that beer laden conversation was Nick telling me. " dude you have to go get a copy of shadow divers". He told me it was the best book he has ever read and it changed his life. This really peaked my interest.

So that weekend of the wedding as people were dancing and making the social rounds I sat at our table talking about the only thing you would think I know how to talk about these days. Several other people had heard of this book and were also excited, or pretended to be yo keep from hurting my feelings.

About two days later I received an email on my phone from iTunes. They were notifying me that someone had paid for the shadow divers book for
Me on iTunes and it was ready to be downloaded. I could put it on my iPhone and listen to it on the way to work. My drive to work is almost 90 miles each way and I have Been running out of music and daydreams to keep me from going crazy on the road. I downloaded it and began listening that week. As if I thought my life was already drastically altered from being a new scuba diver, now it was for sure never gonna be the same. I have had very few books, stories, or movies that really pull me in. This book reached out of my cars speakers, sucked me in, and had me right there next to the characters of the story.

For those of you who have not heard of or read this book, please do. Google info on it. It's an amazing true story about a group of guys that changed history and made o of the biggest underwater discoveries of the modern era. The things that happened to these guys were un-describable. They risked everything they had for something that they loved. They watched friends die. They dealt with hair raising depths, and mind numbing scary near death situations. It is a remarkable story about the incredible things a human being can accomplish if they can attain a high level of mental toughness, courage, and have a passion to see things to the end. That right there is exactly the way I feel diving. There is a certain focus in my brain that occurs when a situation gets scary and the hair stands up on the back of my neck. It's a feeling that I use to get from riding bulls or from building a huge double to float on my dirt bike. But none of those lasted very long.

After reading this book I am left with so many new questions and things I wanna see. There are now so
Many different directions a person can take with scuba. There are endless scenarios that I can test myself and see what I'm capable of. It's at this moment when I finished this book that I knew. I am gonna do something new. I am gonna do things people have not done. I am gonna do something big!!

It's only been a few months of diving and and my life has changed so much. What is next? What is down there? What can we do or find? What is possible? I'm gonna find out!

Trav

First Day of the rest of my life

On August 28th 2011, Danny, Jimmy, Melissa, and I got our open water scuba certifications . Nothing has been the same since. I have been a life long lover of all things water. Whether it be floating on a raft in a pool, trying to see what antics I could attempt of a diving board, snorkeling in the clear waters of the Florida gulf for hours on end, wake-boarding at lake mead, Jimmy teaching me to spearfish in lake mojave, driving out to the cliffs at the old Vegas wash trying to see how high I could dive from, water has always been a hidden part of my life that I had never pursued. On that hot august afternoon i was given my temporary open water card. That small piece of paper opened up a whole new world to me. A world that I have been floating above my whole life and never fully realized. I could not wait for my hard card to arrive at the shop so I ran straight to Kinko's and had it laminated.

A couple of days later I was sitting in my equipment at work recalling my recent accomplishment. I had recalled sitting at the bottom of our boats mooring line which was at 60 feet of water. ( the limits of an open water certification) My dive buddy and fellow classmate Danny and I looked at each other and looked off the edge of the rock which went down and off into the dark abyss the look in each others eyes could be read loud and clear we both could see that there was something else down there. We were not sure what it was but we knew we would need to find out for ourselves. This is the exact moment that I knew I was on to something that was gonna change my life forever. For anyone that has been around or talked to me since this time can attest to the obsessive nature of my new hobby.

Since that day my life has been a circus act of juggling real life ( anything above water), work, raising my son, helping april study and take care of our house, and trying to find time to see friends that don't dive lol. I have also continued my diving education as fast as my life and small budget will allow and also started amassing as much gear as i need. A task which I have now learned will never see an end. I have found myself in a unique diving and learning scenario. I was lucky enough to have been taught my first class from one of the best and highest certified divers around. He is most commonly known as the "desert dog".
He has allowed me to dive with him and the rest of his crew and has shown me things and places out of this world.

This is just the beginning for me. I know now what i am gonna do in my future and what is gonna make me truly happy and my calling in life as far as a career and recreational are concerned. I wanna see whats down there. I wanna see things no one else has or can see. I wanna share my love of scuba and the adventure it can create with anyone who is willing to look.

I have so many stories to tell and so many things to see. I hope to share all these things and more on here as I go.

Trav