Cave diving in Cannonball Cave Missouri

I have been dreaming of cave diving in Missouri caves for a while now! Unlike the caves in FL and Mexico, MO caves are cold and dark with low visibility. Hannah is not too keen on this, so I'm on my own for this cave-diving trip. However, I'm not solo diving; instead, I'm diving with Earnie Wilson and Damon Shy from Ozark Dive.

We had planned to dive on Saturday (May 23). My plan was to drive 6 hours to Poplar Bluff, MO, stay overnight at the Hampton Inn, dive the next day, and drive home on Sunday morning. Earnie, Damon, and I met at the shop at 7:30 am, and I topped up my tanks with 32% Nitrox. It turned out another diver was also joining us that day, and since she's certified to Intro-to-Cave level, Earnie would be diving with her. Damon and I would be a team. All of them were in sidemount, while I was in backmount 104s.

We got all our gas fills and drove to the boat dock, which is 20 mins away. The cave we were diving is called Cannonball Cave, named for the cannonball-shaped sphere at the entrance. Getting to the cave is interesting! The entrance sits at around 40 feet at the bottom of the lake, but visibility is very bad — the first 20 feet are almost like "milk tea," and I could not see my hands when I was using the tie-off to guide me down. Once we reached the entrance, visibility improved tremendously, but it was dark because sunlight couldn't penetrate the water.

Visibility in the cave is pretty decent, somewhere around 30 feet. The cave has decent flow, making it quite a bit of work finning against it. The walls are dark, and the lights were just "eaten up" by them. The floor is very silty, so careful and conscientious finning techniques are a must here.

This was an introductory cave for me, so I didn't try anything adventurous. There are quite a few side tunnels that I'm interested in exploring next time I'm back. The cave slopes down to 300 feet, but I kept my maximum depth to my gas operating depth.

Site: Cannonball Cave

Depth: 18m

Duration: 43 mins

The town (Poplar Bluff) isn't big, and there are a few decent restaurants, though most are fast-food places. The hotel staff recommended Colton's Steak House. They have good steak and a nice family atmosphere as well.

Until next time, Cannonball Cave!

 

Off-roading at River Run Spur

It was a beautiful, cloudy day, and we decided to take LUNA for some light overlanding :) Hannah kept telling me that we do not need to be 4WD, but that's the fun of having the ability to 4WD and not doing it :P

It wasn't a long drive from home, but it was quite nice with some gravel and dirt track. It was a big loop, but due to time constraints, we only did part of it. We ended up somewhere around the mid-point and made a turn-around. It was a flooded bridge, and the water had gotten high enough that it was not passable. We guessed that this must have happened quite a few years ago, and no one had traveled through here for a while.

It was a short but super nice adventure! Summer is just around the corner, and we are definitely looking forward to going out camping in LUNA and KORU.

Welcome Luna Rover to the family

There’s something emotional about buying a new vehicle when the old one has been part of your life for so long. Recently, we welcomed a 2023 Toyota 4Runner Off-Road Premium, finished in the beautiful Lunar Rock color, into our family. We named her Luna - a quiet tribute to that soft gray-green color that seems to change with the light, somewhere between earth and sky. We have been waiting for her for the last five years, waiting, looking, planning and more waiting :) 

But Luna’s arrival also marks the closing of a long and meaningful chapter. Our faithful Jeep, affectionately known as Jeepy is approaching 300,000 miles, a number that feels less like a statistic and more like a lifetime of memories. Jeepy carried us through years of daily routines, road trips, unpredictable weather, and countless small adventures. It never demanded much and always got us home. Even now, with its age showing in every rattle and worn surface, Jeepy still feels dependable, like an old friend.

Luna represents something different, not a replacement, but a continuation. Where Jeepy symbolizes endurance and history, Luna symbolizes the future. The 4Runner Off-Road Premium feels solid and purposeful, built for roads and maybe sometimes not real roads. Sitting behind the wheel, there’s a reassuring sense that this vehicle is ready for long distances and unknown turns, maybe even another 300,000 miles.

Soon Luna will carry groceries, camping gear, luggage, dive gear, muddy shoes, and pulling Koru. For now, Luna sits beside Jeepy, the past and the future parked side by side. One nearing 300,000 miles, the other just beginning its journey.

If Jeepy taught us anything, it’s this:

A good vehicle isn’t just transportation.

It’s a witness to our life.

And Luna’s story is just beginning