Blue Hole Summer 2011 Roadtrip Diary

Here's the final update for my 2011 journeys up to Tennessee and to Blue Hole. :)

Dates Plans Comments

June 15th and 16th Wednesday and Thursday Roadtrip made! Some really rough weather chased us out of the river about 3 hours after we got there on Wednesday, and although the water was fairly clear, there wasn't much sun, so I didn't get any underwater pics or video. Thursday was sunny and clear, but the water was about 4 inches higher and cloudier due to all the rainfall overnight so, again, I didn't try to get any underwater shots.

June 29th and 30th Wednesday and Thursday Roadtrip made! Went up solo this time since no-one had quite the right days off work (or, in my friend Ripper's case, he was back in Florida). Really awesome weather both days and I spent many hours in the river on both Wed. and Thurs...and I'm quite sunburnt to show for it! Still, it was well-worth it. Met and befriended several cool people including David and his wife Noell, both of whom have since become Facebook friends, Andrew and family, Dylan and friends (whose names I forget now), and several others. June 2011 pics are now posted here!

July 13th and 14th Wednesday and Thursday Roadtrip made! Went up this time with my friend Jason and his wife's kid Adam riding along. Not quite as awesome as last time but still really good. There was a storm in the area when we first arrived but rainfall remained light and we were grateful for the lingering high cloud cover.... The second day featured a few close-passing thunderstorms but it didn't rain until late on Thursday and even that was fairly light. Saw David and his wife Noelle again on Thursday along with quite a few other cool people. Both days also included the Church of the Compulsive Shampooers, who shampooed their hair right in the river. Hope it didn't kill off too many fish! Sadly didn't get any pics or video this time, mostly due to cloud-cover, stirred-up shampoo-water, or plain forgetfulness....

July 27th and 28th Wednesday and Thursday Roadtrip made! Really awesome weather both days, with no rain at all in the vicinity and enough sun that I got pretty well toasted. Convoyed up on the first day with my friends Lance and Jeff -- their first time to Blue Hole -- and they enjoyed it a lot. They returned to Atlanta Wednesday night to see to their injured dog and I stayed overnight in Cleveland and returned on Thursday. Got some videos of the more difficult tunnels on Wednesday including Chris, Zak, another Chris, Eddie and others, and on Thursday I sold an AquaSphere Seal mask to my friends David and Noelle for $15 (normally they're $25) and another "pro" goggles to a kid and his mom for $10. All in all, a lot of fun both days. Underwater vids of Chris, Zak and friends making it through some of the more challenging underwater tunnels are in this YouTube playlist from 2011!

August 10th and 11th Wednesday and Thursday Roadtrip made! Great weather on Wednesday and some high clouds on Thursday, which may have helped me burn a little less on this trip. :) No rain at all in the area, either. My friends Lance and Jeff returned for a one-day visit on Wednesday again as they had to work on Thursday, and also saw other familiar faces including David, Noelle, Chris and the guy with the white wolf. Some vids taken along the route from Cleveland and featuring the scenic river gorge are now posted in this 2011 video playlist on YouTube!

August 24th and 25th Wednesday and Thursday Roadtrip made! For this probably-last roadtrip for 2011, my friend Ripper, just returned from florida, came along. As usual for this late in the season there weren't too many people up there since school is back in session. Weather was great both days and it was nice having the area almost to ourselves for much of the time. Met some really cool folks including Brett, Gene and James. Pics for this last run are here.

Dates	Plans	Comments
June 15th and 16th	Wednesday and Thursday Roadtrip made!	Some really rough weather chased us out of the river about 3 hours after we got there on Wednesday, and although the water was fairly clear, there wasn't much sun, so I didn't get any underwater pics or video. Thursday was sunny and clear, but the water was about 4 inches higher and cloudier due to all the rainfall overnight so, again, I didn't try to get any underwater shots.
June 29th and 30th	Wednesday and Thursday Roadtrip made!	Went up solo this time since no-one had quite the right days off work (or, in my friend Ripper's case, he was back in Florida). Really awesome weather both days and I spent many hours in the river on both Wed. and Thurs...and I'm quite sunburnt to show for it! Still, it was well-worth it. Met and befriended several cool people including David and his wife Noell, both of whom have since become Facebook friends, Andrew and family, Dylan and friends (whose names I forget now), and several others. June 2011 pics are now posted here!
July 13th and 14th	Wednesday and Thursday Roadtrip made!	Went up this time with my friend Jason and his wife's kid Adam riding along. Not quite as awesome as last time but still really good. There was a storm in the area when we first arrived but rainfall remained light and we were grateful for the lingering high cloud cover.... The second day featured a few close-passing thunderstorms but it didn't rain until late on Thursday and even that was fairly light. Saw David and his wife Noelle again on Thursday along with quite a few other cool people. Both days also included the Church of the Compulsive Shampooers, who shampooed their hair right in the river. Hope it didn't kill off too many fish! Sadly didn't get any pics or video this time, mostly due to cloud-cover, stirred-up shampoo-water, or plain forgetfulness....
July 27th and 28th	Wednesday and Thursday Roadtrip made!	Really awesome weather both days, with no rain at all in the vicinity and enough sun that I got pretty well toasted. Convoyed up on the first day with my friends Lance and Jeff -- their first time to Blue Hole -- and they enjoyed it a lot. They returned to Atlanta Wednesday night to see to their injured dog and I stayed overnight in Cleveland and returned on Thursday. Got some videos of the more difficult tunnels on Wednesday including Chris, Zak, another Chris, Eddie and others, and on Thursday I sold an AquaSphere Seal mask to my friends David and Noelle for $15 (normally they're $25) and another "pro" goggles to a kid and his mom for $10. All in all, a lot of fun both days. Underwater vids of Chris, Zak and friends making it through some of the more challenging underwater tunnels are in this YouTube playlist from 2011!
August 10th and 11th	Wednesday and Thursday Roadtrip made!	Great weather on Wednesday and some high clouds on Thursday, which may have helped me burn a little less on this trip. :) No rain at all in the area, either. My friends Lance and Jeff returned for a one-day visit on Wednesday again as they had to work on Thursday, and also saw other familiar faces including David, Noelle, Chris and the guy with the white wolf. Some vids taken along the route from Cleveland and featuring the scenic river gorge are now posted in this 2011 video playlist on YouTube!
August 24th and 25th	Wednesday and Thursday Roadtrip made!	For this probably-last roadtrip for 2011, my friend Ripper, just returned from florida, came along. As usual for this late in the season there weren't too many people up there since school is back in session. Weather was great both days and it was nice having the area almost to ourselves for much of the time. Met some really cool folks including Brett, Gene and James. Pics for this last run are here.

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