My Memorial Weekend was incredible. Our friend Bob Rawlinson from Canada wanted to dive Bonne Terre Mine so I set up a fun weekend for him. We biked, dived, and floated. My buddy Joseph met us after Trail 3 and we all headed to Eminence, MO to complete the long weekend together. Thank you Dive Staff for making his time safe and enjoyable. Bob felt very included at the Staff BBQ and wants to return to complete more dives including his AOW. He also wants to visit Maya Palms in March 2009.

On Thursday I picked Bob up at the airport and first headed to the dive shop so he could pick up his rental wetsuit. We ran into Barb and Wes who were doing the same thing for Wes. After lots of laughs Bob and I headed to a restaurant called the Atomic Cowboy which had fantastic TexMex food.

After dinner we went to Soulard to see the St Louis “French Quarters” and listen to bands.

Friday we biked the Katy Trail which is a converted Rails to Trails which follows the Missouri River through wine country

The Katy Trail passes many Missouri wineries and we stopped at a microbrewery in Augusta for beverage and BBQ.

On Saturday and Sunday we dove Trails 1-4 at Bonne Terre Mine. Bob wants to return to dive more trails and take his Advanced Open Water Class.

Saturday night Wes fixed the dive staff Marinated Pork Steaks. These were a real treat. We all sat around staff quarters eating and laughing until late in the evening. The staff made Bob feel very welcomed.

After our Sunday morning Trail Joseph met us bringing chicken salad, chips, iced beverages, cheese and crackers, and other picnic supplies. That was a nice surprise. We were hungry after our dive but also wanted to get on the road to Eminence. We found a nice picnic area near a fire tower and enjoyed lunch.

It’s a little freaky climbing a fire tower because of the threat of falling but the view from the top is awesome. All the trees were green and we could see the top of Taum Sauk Mountain.

We stopped by Blue Springs (see picture at the top of this page) and Alley Springs. This whole area of Missouri is loaded with natural springs

Monday we rented one kayak and one canoe and then traded spots throughout the day so that we all got to visit with each other and experience being in the kayak. The canoe carried our lunch and beverages. This arrangement worked nicely.

Except for a few quiet fishermen we did not see anyone else on the river all day. We stopped on gravel bars to eat and swim.

Joel put our kayak and canoe on the trailer and took us back to our car. The weekend was over and TomTom took us back home.

Bob plans to dive Bonne Terre Mine at least once each year and wants to visit Maya Palms in March 2009. Joseph wants to get certified so that he can dive with me at Bonne Terre Mine and on beautiful reef in The Philippines.

Thanks everyone for the wonderful weekend!

Your Buddy,

Steve Branom