Meyer-Kaiser lab

The entrance to Ginnie Springs. Yes, that is a  "no diving" sign, but what they mean is no  jumping head-first off the stairs. Yes, those are our bail-out tanks at the bottom: my husband likes to launch them like rockets into the water. For our last dive in Florida, I wanted to back off a little and do something fun. Sometimes, on the last day of a dive trip, I succumb to exhaustion and end up cancelling - it's happened to me multiple times. But this year, I was determined to follow through. No cancelling at the last minute, no waking up and deciding I couldn't go. Our last dive in Florida was my 400th SCUBA dive, and if I didn't follow through, I would end up having my 400th dive somewhere boring - like my local pond  back home. I chose for my 400th dive to be in a cave system called Ginnie Springs. Ginnie is massive - you could probably spend every dive for a year exploring it and still not get bored. At the surface, Ginnie's crystal-clear water is usually f...

The Peacock map with our route in green I blew bubbles out through my nose and mouth as I rose through the water. I carried my rebreather on my back and a bail-out tank under each arm. Above me, I could see the reflective plane of the water's surface. My neoprene hood breached the surface, and through my clear SCUBA mask, I could see a little boy on the stairs. He waved "hello" to me, and then his brother and mom joined. I waved back, then sank once again into the depths.  An hour and a half later, I surfaced again - this time at the other end of the cave. Three girls swam at the surface. Their legs were covered in fabric cones with patterns like scales: mermaid tails. Bikini tops and bright blue and purple eye shadow matched their tails perfectly. When my head was just below the surface, one of the mermaids took a deep breath and dove head-first into the water. Her bright red hair streamed behind her, and she waved as she flipped her tail to propel herself back to the su...

The entrance to Little River There are tons of caves in central Florida. Each morning, my husband and I wake up, assemble our gear, and discuss where we want to dive for the day. The last two times I've made trips to cave country (2021 and 2023), one of the caves called Little River was closed and inaccessible. In fact, in 2021, we stopped by to check on it and found an alligator swimming just above the cave entrance - that's a pretty good sign you should not get in the water! This year, Little River was thankfully open and alligator-free, so we were able to explore! Little River is in a state park. The Suwanee River runs swiftly by, and the Little River entrance rests in a sort of cul de sac stretching off the side of the river. Crystal-clear water covers the algae-infested river floor. A stone wall surrounds the cave entrance, and concrete steps lead from the gravel parking lot down to the water's edge. My husband and I parked our truck and opened the tailgate - we had a ...

My current location: cave country Friends, I am in Florida! My husband, Carl, and I are in cave country. If you say "cave country" to most technical SCUBA divers, they will know exactly what you are talking about. If you explain to anyone other than a technical SCUBA diver that you are driving 20 hours to spend Christmas vacation in rural north-central Florida, they will think you are insane. But I assure you, friends, it is worth it.  The state of Florida sits on a series of limestone caves. Natural springs are everywhere. Water rushes through a complex network of passages and bubbles up to the surface. If you are an adventurous person, you can swim down to the bottom of any river, lake, pond, or sink and find your way into a water-filled cave. If you have your dive gear, you might even explore further.  I was trained as a cave diver a few years ago. I even did my closed-circuit rebreather training in a cavern in this part of Florida. There are plenty of caves to explore ...