Tag Archives: SCUBA Diving

SCUBA Regulator

God is amazing! Yesterday after work I met up with some friends from Seattle who were visiting the area. Originally we were going to hit the water and do some SCUBA diving as we used to dive together years ago before they moved. As a big scuba enthusiast, I was really looking forward to getting back in the water. If you haven’t done scuba before, I’d definitely recommend making sure you get some womens wetsuits and go diving at some point in your life. It’s such a great rush and this is why I was so excited to go diving with my friends again. Sadly, however, we had to call of the dive due to an eye infection… “(

Yet we did get to have a wonderful chat in a local coffee shop, remembering old times and the years that have went by. In some ways the chat was even better than the proposed dive as we had a chance to hear each other’s hearts – not to mention the occasional SCUBA tale. πŸ˜›

Near the end of our visit the unexpected happened – they gave me a regulator!!!!! (Be still my heart!!!)

For those of you not familiar with diving, the regulator is THE most valuable and important piece of equipment on a dive. Its job is to connect the diver with the air tank as well as provides air to the diver’s BCD or Buoyancy Compensator Device (i.e. the vest the diver wears to control their depth). All very, very, very important tasks…

And now, thanks to the generosity of God’s people, I have one – which will go a long ways in helping me get back into the water on a regular basis. (I had stop diving a few years ago due to the cost and logistics of renting equipment….)

Now all I need to get is an air tank and a dive suit (either a 7mm wetsuit or a dry suit)… time to start monitoring craigslist! πŸ˜€

Fly Fishing The Payette

Let the record be set – I am not an avid fisherman. Growing up my father tried his best to teach me the skills of casting and catching fish on our Icelandic camping trip. We hired a 4×4 camper van Iceland based to drive to the best spots – however, the odds where stacked against me as I usually found myself in the water instead on the bank holding a rod. (This would be why I took up SCUBA diving!)

Even with this history, there was something that kept drawing me to fly fishing. It seemed so graceful and active all at the same time. No longer are you sitting on bank with a beer in hand waiting for a fish to bite. Nor are you zipping around on your boat casting and reeling and casting and reeling…..

With fly fishing it is a smooth graceful cast – dodging vegetation and the line eating trees – up stream with the peaceful, relaxing pause as the fly floats downstream in the current. Theeeeeennnnn repeat. Over and over as you stand among the clear mountain streams and rivers praying to the Lord Most High.

Well…at least that’s what happened yesterday morning about ten miles north of Crouch on the Middle Fork of the Payette River. Undecided[@more@]

It was wonderful! We drove up into the mountains late Sunday night hunting for a place to camp. Finally about 10 or 10:30 pm, we arrived at a narrow 4×4 trail that led up to a beautiful campsite next to a rushing stream coming off the mountain sloops. We had put an air mattress in the bed of the truck before we left the house to use at the camp. To be honest I was a little worried that it would rain on the drive over and make the air mattress damp. Luckily that didn’t happen, but I’ve been thinking of getting a truck cover (like those on https://www.peragon.com/truck-tonneau-covers/ just in case I decide to take a mattress in the back again In the end it was all worth it, we were able to go right to sleep with the help of our air mattress.

Early the next morning (Monday), I awake to the rising sun and the chirping of the birds. It was wonderful! Laughing

I grabbed my fishing gear and headed down to the river to see what I could catch. At first it was very disappointing as there wasn’t a fish in slight. Wondering up and down the river, I began to ask the Creator if He would at least let me see a fish – I don’t have to catch it. Just seeing that there was something living the water would be enough!!! (Bear tracks on the bank suggested that there was living beings on the shore!)

Casting once again into the waters, I let the fly float down stream before flicking it upwards….only this time, something was wrong. Sigh. I had caught a rock….only if it was a rock, why was it moving?!

Glory be to the Lord Most High! He had allowed me to catch a beautiful rainbow trout!! (never mind the fact it was only 6 inches long). In fact, this fish was the very first fish I had caught using a fly rod. Much happiness! Laughing

Prologue:

I released the trout as it wasn’t big enough to eat, then went on to catch two more small trouts….granted it could have been the same one as it was in or near the same location. Tongue out

A Little Help Here??? Please!!!

Tomorrow is my eighth wedding anniversary and I’m soooo dead (well, in my own mind as my wife is too sweet to actually do anything…besides look at me with that face after reading this post.. sorry baby, it had to be done). Undecided Forget diamonds or anything like that as that would get me into worse trouble…

What I need is some ideas on what to do for our anniversary that we have never done before. That’s the rule.

Only I’m out of ideas – so I need you guy’s help to figure out what to do tomorrow for our anniversary. Smile

To help with this blogosphere help-line, here is a list of things we have done in the past for our anniversary and which are now off the table:

  • Scuba diving
  • Camping (I wonder if it counts if we camp somewhere we’ve never been?)
  • Romantic evening (yeah – I rock!) Cool
  • Olive Garden
  • Various other restaurants
  • Movies (unless we can think of a movie theaters we’ve never been too – but is still within an hours drive – no D.C. theaters please).
  • Rock climbing – wait a minute… I don’t think we’ve done that as a couple..hmmm
  • Skydiving (yeah, we’ve never done that but I can guarantee you that the Mrs won’t do it.)
  • Romantic Picnic (Tyler rose garden, the rose capital of the WORLD – “I Rock” number 2) Cool

Sigh… are you beginning to my dilemma? Frown

Cast your votes – we have a tad over 24 hours to bail Ardell out of a danager can of soup (clam chowder).