Florida Cave Diving and Fun Camping on the way there!

After Cannonball Cave, I wanted to get back into clear water, so we planned a longer trip: drive from Manhattan down to cave country, dive for 4 days, and drive back.  Total drive is around ~22 hours each way, which is too much to do in one push with a trailer, so we broke it into legs and camped along the way. Three camps total — two on the way down, one on the way back. We towed the teardrop behind the 4Runner the whole way. The gas mileage was horrible with the 4Runner/Luna towing Koru, but we didn't really get Luna for its gas efficiency 😝 .

Camp 1 - Mark Twain National Forest, MO

About 6 hours from home, so we got in with a couple hours of light left. The site is down a gravel two-track that crosses a creek, and the whole camp sits on a bench of exposed limestone right next to the water. Flat rock everywhere, which made setting up easy and made the fire pit easy to place. We ran the Solo Stove on bare rock and did not have to think about it. The next morning, we used the "crawl" function of Luna to get us over the creek and up the slope. We may not necessary need it, but it was fun!

Breakfast was bacon, fried eggs and cut melon on the rock next to the fire ring, which is about as good as camp breakfast gets.

Camp 2 - Talladega National Forest, AL

Second leg took us into Talladega National Forest. The roads turn into orange clay, with two-tracks cut through planted pine. We pulled the rig up onto a ridge and camped in the open, with a long view out over the pines on one side. It had rained just before we got there and the clay was slick. We had to engage 4WD for the whole trip in the park, with the steep ups and downs on the clay tracks. At times, it was quite nerve wrecking, but overall, it was extremely fun! The storm clouds were looming around most of the evening, but it held off. Great sunset, and we got a few photos of the rig up there.

The diving -  Florida

The contrast with Cannonball is total. Florida cave water is warm and clear, with visibility is INFINITY feet instead of 30, and there is no "milk tea" layer to get through. Sunlight actually reaches down into the entrance. Florida has been experiencing a drought spell, and most of the springs water are low. We were planning to dive Peacock Spring, but that got cancelled due to sightings of crocodile. We didn't dive Orange Grove either as the water is very low, and getting in and out of the water is such a hassle. The duckweed on the surface didn't help either.

We dove Cow Spring for two days. It was great to get familiar with Cow Spring because I got really stuck at the entrance of the cave, while laying the line. However, we now know which way to go in order not to get stuck with the restriction. On the second day, we met Mike Stine (retired professor and cave diver), and got some nerdy discussion about biology etc.

We took a day break and went did some FL "off-roading" driving at Dixie Mainline Road to Horseshoe Beach. There were signs that they were still recovering from the previous hurricane - but we really like that place, and had placed a "alert" on Zillow for housing for sale in Horseshoe Beach 😏

On the last day, we dove Ginnie's Springs. I had always wanted to try the "Catacombs", and we did it! Yay.. and it was fun.

Dive July 15

Site: Cow Spring

Depth: 23.7m

Duration: 57 mins

Dive July 16

Site: Cow Spring

Depth: 24.5m

Duration: 63 mins

Dive July 17

Site: Ginnie's Springs - Devil's Eye -> Catacombs

Depth: 28.9m

Duration: 72 mins

Camp 3 - Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park

On the way home we stopped at the Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park break up the drive. This campsite has a waterfall, a wide limestone staircase, 60 feet wide, with water coming down over four or five stepped ledges with moss. We walked down to the overlook first thing in the morning with the sun coming in through the trees. One of the best stop of the trip.

Weekend Camping Carnahan

We have been meaning to take the teardrop out for a short trip close to home, and Carnahan Creek finally worked out. Unlike our longer trips, this one needed almost no planning because the park is on the east side of Tuttle Creek Lake, about 30 minutes from Manhattan, so we loaded up after breakfast and were set up before noon. Tuttle Creek is a flood control reservoir first and a recreation lake second, so the pool level moves around a lot.

In the park, there stood Carnahan Creek Church. It is a small white building on a limestone foundation, with a sign over the door that says "Established 1867". We have seen a group that is still maintaining it, evident with the fresh paint and a new sign out at the road.

Our site was in a stand of trees (no idea what is the species 😅. The trees are packed tight enough that they blocked the wind on three sides. We had shade all afternoon and relatively clean, dry needle floor underfoot.

We went for a walk in the park the next morning, and the dogs found a seep in the woods. Not a creek but just a seep, where groundwater bleeds out slowly and the leaf litter stays saturated and breaks down into something the consistency of pudding. One of them went in first and roll in the mud pudding, while making eye contact with Hannah and I 😓. The other followed. They came out uniformly grey-black with that rotten-egg smell. We walked them to the water/ lake while they rinsed off by jumping in and out of the water.

It rained the second afternoon, which is the whole advantage for a teardrop over a tent. We sat inside with the front window streaming, chilling, radio on, chips and salsa on the table. Hannah had the Leinenkugel shandy. I had a Great Divide Titan IPA, which is all the best things a rainy afternoon actually calls for. We watched the trees move around for about a couple of hours and did nothing else.

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

First long trip with Koru - cave diving adventures

Work has been getting in the way of enjoying Koru. We went camping at Pottawatomie County State Lake #2 (Pott #2) which is about 30 mins drive from home for a weekend. It is easy to take all these things for granted, and forget that there are beautiful camping spots within an hour from home! However, Hannah and I are itching about doing a longer trip with Koru. 

Along came the opportunity! We had planned to go cave diving in Florida AGAIN, and we decided to camp with Koru along the way, rather than staying in AirBnBs. After all, this is one of the reason for buying a teardrop, so that we do not need to spend tons of money on way-to-expensive AirBnBs. So we loaded up Koru with all the essentials (it took us so much shorter time than loading up the car with cooler, food and drinks, and all the dog and diving essentials), and we were on the road!

Camping in Koru is VERY NICE! After the challenge of backing Koru into the camping site (which I am getting better at after each try), we set up the kitchen, make a little supper and we can just relax and enjoy the nature. And when the night comes, we make the bed in seconds, and we are in bed. It is absolutely great to be lying in bed, with the heat on (when it is cold outside), and watching the stars as we dozed off into dreamland. A plus was Hannah's glowing nails in the pitch dark camping site 😍. Note to self - we need a have some sort of app where we can have records of where we camped and our reviews - because I cannot remember any of these when it is time to write the blog!

 

Although camping with Koru on the way to and from Florida was a blast, cave diving was not really too successful on this trip. Hannah was experiencing ear equalizing issues on our first dive, and had to call the dive early. She was experiencing a bit of vertigo, and it wasn't any fun for her. However, the fun thing that came out from the dive was that we had our first sighting of the otters at Peacock Spring!!!

Site: Peacock Olsen Sink

Duration: 52 mins

Max depth: 20.4 m

After the first dive, Rye started to feel sick - he wasn't eating and was throwing up his food. So between Hannah's ear, Rye's tummy and also (probably) my laziness, we didn't dive for the next 3 days. During the 3 days, we just relaxed, enjoy the company of friends and ate oysters!

Finally, everyone felt better on the forth day, and we decided to do a long, staged dive at Madison Blue! It was not exactly swimming weather (it was cold), so other than a few swimmers, we had the whole place (including the Madison Blue Cave) to ourselves. It was a long dive, which lasted almost 2 hours. Instead of going through the main lane to the sign board, we went through the "rabbit hole",  and hopped over to the main line at the sign board. The amount of gear is getting bit much and heavy - there's double 104s tanks on our back, a AL80 tank on our side, lights, regulators, and there isn't much "estate" on our (especially Hannah's) torso. It was a nice long dive, and at the end of the dive, both Hannah and I were exhausted... hmmm... maybe, time to explore using DPV for longer dives in the future 😃

Site: Madison Blue Main Line

Duration: 117 mins

Max depth: 24.0 m

Koru

Koru (pronounced "kor-roo") is a Māori word meaning "loop" or "coil," representing a spiral shape from a newly unfurling silver fern frond, symbolizing new life, growth, strength, peace, and continuous change, and is central to Maori art and culture. It also signifies new beginnings, harmony, and the cycle of life.

Ever since we moved back to US in 2016 after our life in New Zealand, we have been thinking about the time we spent traveling around NZ in our campervan. Hannah has since then been researching on what campervan and options we can get, and after a long going to-and-fro between having a campervan and a tow-behind camper trailer, we were going to make a decision between two teardrop RV -NuCamp and Vistabule. The reason for the teardrop is because we didn't really want nor need a huge trailer, and having a small teardrop to replace our tent camping seems like a very good idea! We rented a NuCamp a few years ago, and although we liked it, I think both of us decided that the Vistabule is for us.

Fast forward 9 years later, an opportunity presented itself! There was a "sale" at Vistabule, and they also launched a financing option, and furthermore, they are very close to making the 1000th unit! So, after a quick deliberation, we went ahead and placed our order for a Vistabule.

The rationale is that 1)we have been spending too much cost doing AirBnB every time we traveled to FL for cave diving; 2)the Vistabule will make use get out more often (camping, enjoying nature, relax); 3) getting up from a Vistabule is definitely easier on us after a long run (we are using this as a motivation to start our ultra-race again).

The company is super responsive, and we were kept updated at every stage of assembling our Vistabule. An on September 24, 2025, we drove to Minnesota (Vistabule factory) to pick up Koru (Vistabule #969). We were super excited, with me having a tint of nervousness because I don't really have tons of experience with driving a trailer. Trust me - I have learnt all I can from YouTube videos on how to reverse a trailer :) 

Our first night was spent near the factory to ensure that we can get help from them if needed. All's well, and the next day, we were en-route back to Kansas. Driving was relatively easy, without really too much differences in terms of gas consumption, but reverse is DEFINITELY something I need to get some experience in. I was really glad that there wasn't really too many people watching me when I was trying to reverse out of the tight space after filling the butane cylinder - well, it ended well with the butane-filling guy reversing it out for me!

Meanwhile, Hannah and I are excited about new beginnings with Koru. Keep an eye out for our new adventures.