ADAM HAYDOCK

Eb Allen over the bow.

The last dive of the trip we dove the Eb Allen.  This is one of the Preserves classic dives with a ship at around 100 ft to the dirt and buoyed!! The Eb Allen was going to New York and was hit on its portside and tore a large hole into the hull.  She sank and rests upright with its windless and rudder in tact as well as the frame and hull are pretty in tact. 


torn hole that brought the ship to its demise.

We made a 20 minute dive and as I got down to the wreck, I found that my lens was fogged out due to opening the camera out in the damp weather which pretty much destroyed my pictures. some of these pics are from mike apke but overall it was a nice last dive. 

lower deck of the EB Allen

I made my last deco ascent to the surface and shortly after I saw a lift bag and my buddy pop out of the water.  I guess he wasn't able to find the anchor line as the viz was only about 30 ft.  This was an amazing trip and I cant wait to come back to thunder bay for more deep shipwreck diving.  We also have some sinkholes to check out too!

in the lower deck.

coming out of the lower deck inside the Pewabic

divers going down to salvage the pewabic

in the lower deck looking up on the Pewabic.

Shipwreck of the New Orleans midship next to broken mast.

Broken midship with some penetration under the lower deck.

bow of the new orleans We got down to a depth of 125 ft and found the temp to be about the same and the viz to be just a bit less at around 60 ft.There was a little penetration to be had but mainly we admired her shear size and workmanship this wooden steamer had. We ascended without any issues and or decompression times went smooth.  What a great day of shipwreck diving on the great lakes!!

Shipwreck of The New Orleans.

John J Audubon's Stearn starboard quarter

John J Audubon masts are intact but broken hardware lay on the deck.

John J Audubon

We entered the lower deck and found ourselves at 155 ft but I wasn't able to get the right picture as my camera flash was not set up properly and our bottom time was running out so we ascended following our deco schedules and got to the surface at the right time ready for our next dive on the New Orleans.


John J Audubon

Tom Shahaf inside the Lumberman (photo by Mark Shahaf)

Milwaukee on the horizon on board with Shipwreck Explorers (Photo taken by Mark Shahaf)

The Lumberman was Built in 1862 as a transport for lumber but foundered in April 1893 during a storm.  She is at around 55 ft of water and provides a good look as to the the construction concepts and workman ship of her time as she is still in decent shape.  She is one of the very few ships to have a double centerboard construction. We had up to 3ft waves and winds up to 10 MPH but the Molly V was able to cut through the conditions and get us to the buoy to make our first dive on the Lumberman in good time.  The temp was a bit cooler out on the lake which made wearing a drysuit pleasant unlike how the heat of the summer can cook you  like slow roasted beef brisket.    

Mark Shahaf over the Lumberman (photo taken by Tom Shahaf)

We were suppose to go to the Fireboat but we were not able to find the exact location so we decided to make our second dive on the Prins Willem V.  the Prins Willem V is a dutch steel freighter that sank in 1954 when it ran into the tow cable that the Gillen Tug was using to pull a barge.  The max depth is around 90 ft on this ship and she rests at a 45 degree angle on her starboard side slowly sinking into the bottoms muddy composition. We made our decent on the Willie and went around some of the ships bow quarters and starboard section.  We entered the ship behind the wheelhouse and slowly swam through the ships small inner rooms.  Our push ended when Mikes Primary light stopped working so I came back around and we made our ascent back onto the boat.  
These two wreck were a real treat to experience and I am glad I was able to go with an experienced group of divers and Shipwreck Explorers.

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Prins Willem V (photo taken by Mark Shahaf)

MEADOW HOT SPRING

meadow hot spring-crystal clear water-temp 85-depth 30 ft

Tabernacle Lava Tube Breakdown entrance

inside entrance Tabernacle Lava Tube

Tabernacle lava tube passage

Red Scoria basalt Tabernacle Lava tube

WILLIS CREEK

WILLIS CREEK

Bryce Canyon

We got to the Bryce Canyon visitor center and waited in the expected long line to get more information on where to camp for the next two nights. We get to speak to a ranger and the conversation went like this,..."Hello, where are some good places to camp for the next two nights"... (Fuzzy dirty Santa looking ranger)..."Yeaaaa, all of the parks I have been at, 'and I have not been to them all, but the ones I've been to, have designated campgrounds".  He than gave me this look like I am some idiot.  "Are you fucking kidding me right now" I thought to myself in exactly .3 seconds.   It took another .2 seconds to think, 'Yea I'm thinking I want to high five your face with that yellow stapler on your desk but I'm just to sore from being in the last national park to do that.' Another .3 to interrupt that may not be the best idea (thank you, reasoning), and another .2 to reply "tell me more about the north campground"?   

FAIRLYLAND LOOP TRAILHEAD

We found the right camp site and we quickly got set up in one of the last spots the campground had. Thankfully we got the spot right next to the first hike we were going to do, the Fairyland Loop trail.  Another couple joined our camp site for the night as they could not find another location which was nice because they paid for the spot for us. We got to sleep early and wanted to get an early start to the day.

FAIRYLAND LOOP

We woke up early the following day after a cold night of sleeping on the wrong side of the tent.  Cooked up the usual grub from the massive bag of dried foods we collected from REI and started our run on the fairlyland loop trail.  From what we understood, this trail seemed to be only 3-4 miles, but at around mile 8 we found that to not be the case. This loop was no joke!, there were ups, downs, curve to the left, curve to the right, zig zag, and even go in circles as we weaved through the hoodoos of this alien like landscape.  Pine trees and mineral deposits peppered the lands with brilliant fairy dust colors of red, yellow, white, and pink.  We made our dazzling finish to the loop in good time so we went to the lodge for a nice lunch.  There was one more hike I wanted to accomplish before I could say Bryce Canyon has been seen.  The Navajo Loop Trail.

THOR'S HAMMER-NAVAJO LOOP

We started our decent into the popular 1 mile down and up trail zig zaging through tall pine trees and hoodoo pillars. The Last forth of the loop trail was closed use to debris falling so we made it to the section that was closed off and took a brief power break from the "where does the trail go" questions. I took some snap shots and than be back tracked toward the entrance where we came from.  Expect to see a lot of people from all around the world here but also expect to see something that you have never seen before when you go to Bryce Canyon.  I'm not much for the tourist places but this place is worth a visit.


NAVAJO LOOP

Rappelling the Golden Cathedral

  The hike down to the Escalante river was a bit more challenging....actually it was a mini Shit Show, but I expected nothing less as descending 1300 ft within a 2 mile period can get interesting.   We got to the river and started following the trail, crossing the river at times, to the mouth of neon canyon.  The Neon Canyon Campground has a nice Oak Tree surrounded by wheat grass, bitter brush, and a beautiful maroon varnished wall as a backdrop which made this canyon a welcoming shimmer. We set up camp and proceeded to Ringtail Canyon. 

hike to ringtail slot canyon

ringtail slot canyon

We got the the first keeper pot hole and decided to turn back as we knew we could get out from where we were but it appeared we could have breached over this keeper with a challenge.  Maybe next time

ringtail slot canyon

ringtail slot canyon

Neon Canyon

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