Started with the 0430 start to the site, 185 miles of driving to get to
the park gate by opening to make sure we got in, only a small number of cave
divers allowed at a time.  Arrived right on time to be dive group #2, and
pleasantly surprised to see the first pair also friends, who we didn't
expect to see this weekend.  My 2 buddies arrived minutes after me.

  We prepped our gear, and helped dg #1 put their gear in a good sized
sinkhole where they were diving from.  Multiple stages & scooters for them,
as well as rebreathers, so helping was just a very neighborly thing to do.
;-)

   When we were set up, left my truck in main parking (my family inside,
still napping) and rode over to another upstream sinkhole out in the woods.
Parked their truck, and carried a video camera, lights & extra lighting, a
couple stages and our fins & masks back to the sink.  Walked maybe 100 yards
along a path, brushing past tick-laden bushes to the sink, where I got my
first look at our entry point, a small mud pit with muddy banks on 2 sides
and a short step down on the other two, maybe 8 x 12 feet, most shallow.  My
first though was "we're gonna go in that?"

   Back at the truck we put on wetsuits / drysuit, slid on the doubles and
walked back to the sink, getting in and attaching our lights and their
stages.  Plan was guy with the 150 watt halogen first, me in the middle,
video in the rear, entry order reversed.  Watched the camera guy disappear,
then followed down a narrow, muddy shaft with zero vis, following the wall /
line slowly down until I broke into the top of a dome room.  Water suddenly
became crystal clear, at a comfy 69 deg F.  I swam out of the way of the
shaft, looked over at the camera and watched the third guy slide into the
room.  Descended out of the domed room down the line into a tunnel with a
fairly good current, to a
tee with the main line.  Headed downstream for a fun ride though a winding
tunnel perhaps big enough to drive a bus through, if not for the turns.
What is in its natural state total darkness seemed like daylight with the
mixture of halogen & HID illumination as we glided through the limestone.
The natural beauty of which I find hard to describe, except as fascinating
as any coral reef.

   A few minutes later, as I noticed we were getting a little shallower,
lead guy tapped his light on another tee, marking another small sinkhole, a
possible emergency exit. Tunnel went deeper again, noticeable mainly by
watching
depth gauge, as we continues our "dream flight" through the aquifer.  The
tunnel started looking very familiar at this point, from earlier upstream
dives.  After about 18 minutes, 1500 ft of drifting from the entry sink, we
came to the beginning of the line, popping into the main sink in time to see
dg #1 getting set, spare scooters in tow, ready to enter the tunnel we had
just exited, now posing for the video camera.  After a bit of swimming
around this sink, we made an exit to drop off the extra gear we had.  Total
dive time was 46 min at 91 ffw max.

   Passing lightning causing swimming closure had us taking an extended
break before heading back into the big sink for another shorter traverse.
Headed to the downstream tunnel to pick up the end of the line (big sink has
a distinct upstream / downstream side, line has a gap to make it less
inviting to OW & cavern divers who also dive it), following it into an even
stronger current.  After a short ride, rounded a corner, noticing the tunnel
heading up towards a long, low oval of turquoise light.  Water rushes
through this large crevice with enough volume to classify it as a first
magnitude spring.  Lining up in the cavern zone, we prepared for being
squirted into the basin one at a time, to the surprise of some of the
swimmers enjoying a beautiful crystal clear swimming hole.  Total dive time
was 15 min at 93 ffw max.

   We started the charcoal for lunch, hoping mother nature would give us a
long enough break to enjoy it.  While it readied, we picked up the truck
that was parked in the woods, set the table and got ready to enjoy some BBQ
chicken.  Then got the word that bubbles were spotted in the sink basin, so
quickly met dg #1, stripped them of their stages and scooters, pulled them
out of the water and up the stairs, then ate lunch while they completed
their deco.

   After lunch, and loading up dg #1, sky started to darken again, so
figured we'd get in a repeat of the short traverse, not having time to set
up the long one.  Two of us returned to the sink and dropped back down to
the downstream tunnel, drifted through, and blew into an empty spring
basin......the storm blew in faster than we figured, while we were in the
tunnel, so we made a fast exit.  Total dive time was 15 min at 93 ffw max.

   To cap off a rainy day of picnicking & diving, my family joined my two
buddies and the other diver's party for dinner at a local Chinese place.
Then the long drive home, listening to the snoring of two exhausted teens
and the radio with my SO.  All told, a fantastically enjoyable Father's Day.

Curtis