Blue Hole Summer 2022 Roadtrip Diary

Here's a final update for my 2022 journeys up to Tennessee and to Blue Hole Ocoee. This was a tragic year, wherein the Ocoee Whitewater Center, which I affectionately nicknamed my "snorkeling lodge," burnt to the ground in April. To this day (mid-May 2023), I still haven't heard of a definitive cause for the fire.

Dates Plans Comments

June 15th, 2022 Wednesday-only roadtrip made! This was a one-day "scouting mission" to check the area out on possibly the hottest day we'll see all summer, and it was a great visit, although very, VERY hot. Great to hang out with Eli, Daniel, Kendra, Noah, Aiden, Tanner, Dilon, Leah and Leo, and quite a few others as well. Water topped out at an astonishing 91F by the tunnels and the air temp was around 94F. Videos are now posted in this 2022 playlist on Youtube. Videos and photos of the Whitewater Center ruins and the area around it are now posted here in a Facebook album.

June 21st, 2022 Tuesday-only roadtrip made! Great to hang out with Isaac, Timothy, Taylor, another Taylor, Emma, and many other cool folks! The weather was just about perfect and so was the water, at 79-83F. Pics and vids from this visit are now posted in this Facebook album and the vids have been added to my 2022 playlist on Youtube!

July 6 One-day Wednesday trip made TVA suddenly began flowing 2,700+ cf/s through the generator and rivercourse on Tuesday morning the 5th, so I scrapped my plan to go up and stay overnight as the water would be too high for swimming. On Wednesday TVA's website indicated normal flow (-0- flow with the generator off), so I drove up for one day. Alas, the water was quite cloudy with perhaps 4-foot visibility when I first got there, improving to 6 or 7 feet when I left in advance of a thunderstorm at 7 pm. It was low enough for swimming, though a bit higher than previous visits this year, and comfortable at 83-84F.
I only took two brief underwater videos, basically to show the cloudy water conditions; I've added them to my my 2022 playlist on Youtube.

July 12 Tuesday-only roadtrip made! I went up only on Tuesday since I was needed at work on Wednesday, my one in-office day. The water was a bit cloudier than normal but much improved from last week. It was also quite warm, topping out at 88F. Surprisingly uncrowded considering the warm temperatures and time of year. I got three underwater videos this time and have posted them to my my 2022 Blue Hole playlist on Youtube.

July 19-20 Tuesday and Wednesday visit scrapped TVA "tested" the Spillway Alert System between 9 am and noon on the 19th and also on the 20th, sluicing water through the river, which made the river high-ish and cloudy for the rest of both days. The test was apparently unsuccessful as the alarm system is still not operational.

July 26-27 Tuesday and Wednesday roadtrip made! FINALLY, my first overnight visit to Blue Hole this entire summer! Great weather, warm, clear water, and some awesome folks including Cody, Tyler, Eric, Jacob, Mica, Ben, Mason, Jackson, Kennedy, Charles and many others. Water was 84-88F, just about perfect, and we had no rain or even audible thunder on either day.
Photos from this trip are now posted here on Facebook.
All of my videos from this trip are now posted in Part 2 of my 2022 Blue Hole playlists on YouTube.

August 2 Tuesday-only roadtrip cancelled TVA ran the water high from 7-11 pm on Monday night -- and I feel really sorry for anyone swimming in the river when they let the water go! -- so I decided a one-day trip wouldn't be worth it with likely cloudy water.

August 9-10 Tuesday and Wednesday roadtrip cancelled With 70-80% chances of rain and thunderstorms forecast and high temps only in the lower 80s, plus the price of gas still being $3.50+/gallon, I decided to cancel this trip.

August 23-24 Tuesday and Wednesday roadtrip cancelled Cloudy and rainy weather across the region.

September 13-14 Tuesday and Wednesday roadtrip cancelled This would have been a later-season visit after Dragon*Con, but temperatures turned much cooler and drier overnight. Oh, well.

Dates	Plans	Comments
June 15th, 2022	Wednesday-only roadtrip made!	This was a one-day "scouting mission" to check the area out on possibly the hottest day we'll see all summer, and it was a great visit, although very, VERY hot. Great to hang out with Eli, Daniel, Kendra, Noah, Aiden, Tanner, Dilon, Leah and Leo, and quite a few others as well. Water topped out at an astonishing 91F by the tunnels and the air temp was around 94F. Videos are now posted in this 2022 playlist on Youtube. Videos and photos of the Whitewater Center ruins and the area around it are now posted here in a Facebook album.
June 21st, 2022	Tuesday-only roadtrip made!	Great to hang out with Isaac, Timothy, Taylor, another Taylor, Emma, and many other cool folks! The weather was just about perfect and so was the water, at 79-83F. Pics and vids from this visit are now posted in this Facebook album and the vids have been added to my 2022 playlist on Youtube!
July 6	One-day Wednesday trip made	TVA suddenly began flowing 2,700+ cf/s through the generator and rivercourse on Tuesday morning the 5th, so I scrapped my plan to go up and stay overnight as the water would be too high for swimming. On Wednesday TVA's website indicated normal flow (-0- flow with the generator off), so I drove up for one day. Alas, the water was quite cloudy with perhaps 4-foot visibility when I first got there, improving to 6 or 7 feet when I left in advance of a thunderstorm at 7 pm. It was low enough for swimming, though a bit higher than previous visits this year, and comfortable at 83-84F. I only took two brief underwater videos, basically to show the cloudy water conditions; I've added them to my my 2022 playlist on Youtube.
July 12	Tuesday-only roadtrip made!	I went up only on Tuesday since I was needed at work on Wednesday, my one in-office day. The water was a bit cloudier than normal but much improved from last week. It was also quite warm, topping out at 88F. Surprisingly uncrowded considering the warm temperatures and time of year. I got three underwater videos this time and have posted them to my my 2022 Blue Hole playlist on Youtube.
July 19-20	Tuesday and Wednesday visit scrapped	TVA "tested" the Spillway Alert System between 9 am and noon on the 19th and also on the 20th, sluicing water through the river, which made the river high-ish and cloudy for the rest of both days. The test was apparently unsuccessful as the alarm system is still not operational.
July 26-27	Tuesday and Wednesday roadtrip made!	FINALLY, my first overnight visit to Blue Hole this entire summer! Great weather, warm, clear water, and some awesome folks including Cody, Tyler, Eric, Jacob, Mica, Ben, Mason, Jackson, Kennedy, Charles and many others. Water was 84-88F, just about perfect, and we had no rain or even audible thunder on either day. Photos from this trip are now posted here on Facebook. All of my videos from this trip are now posted in Part 2 of my 2022 Blue Hole playlists on YouTube.
August 2	Tuesday-only roadtrip cancelled	TVA ran the water high from 7-11 pm on Monday night -- and I feel really sorry for anyone swimming in the river when they let the water go! -- so I decided a one-day trip wouldn't be worth it with likely cloudy water.
August 9-10	Tuesday and Wednesday roadtrip cancelled	With 70-80% chances of rain and thunderstorms forecast and high temps only in the lower 80s, plus the price of gas still being $3.50+/gallon, I decided to cancel this trip.
August 23-24	Tuesday and Wednesday roadtrip cancelled	Cloudy and rainy weather across the region.
September 13-14	Tuesday and Wednesday roadtrip cancelled	This would have been a later-season visit after Dragon*Con, but temperatures turned much cooler and drier overnight. Oh, well.

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