Beaver Lake Part 2

   Behind Mark's lake house in the woods, we've seen a few deer, including a couple of very handsome bucks who stopped to watch us, and us them.

   This morning we awoke leisurely, made a great, big breakfast together, and then headed out for more dive practice. Luck was not on our side, weather-wise, and it was pouring rain as we arrived at the boat ramp. We figured we'd be wet either way, so who cares?! Renee and I dove for 2.5 hours, using up a full tank each, and enjoyed the sight of many fish down 30-40': striped bass, spotted bass, largemouth bass, longear sunfish, bluegill, perch, and more.
   The rain and overcast sky left the water murky, and it was an interesting and somewhat nerve-wracking experience to descend, having no idea when you'd hit the bottom of the lake—until you hit it! I reminded myself that this would be good practice for night diving (and unlike night diving in the ocean, there were no large or dangerous predators to sneak up to me here), and tried to relax. After a while, I did—and I really enjoyed venturing along the lake floor, skirting the freezing-cold thermocline (about 35-40' down).
   The local dive masters had sunken some fun "treasures" to discover in this deeper part of the lake. Renee and I found two pontoon boats, two large plastic skulls, a large plastic jack-o-lantern, and a novelty oversized ketchup squeeze bottle. If that isn't random, I don't know what is!
   These dives and Chuck & Renee's camaraderie gave me much-needed confidence and excitement for the big trip. I can hardly wait to see what I discover there.

   It was rainy on the drive home, apparently... I pretty much slept the first couple of hours, and awoke once we'd returned to Missouri! The sky was dark, but there were full double-rainbows to be seen: a nice homecoming welcome. And perhaps a sign of good things to come?