On the weekend of 6/24-25/2000, we went up to Blue Lagoon in Huntsville, TX for Grace to complete the open water portion of her SCUBA certification with Houston SCUBA Academy. There didn't seem to be any sites on the web that mentioned much about Blue Lagoon, so I decided to post some information on my web page. In May of 1999, Grace had completed her course work for her C-card, but had developed an ear infection which prevented her from completing the open water portions of the certification. We had taken our 1999 trip to Cozumel afterwards and I was able to dive and she was not. In May/June of 2000, we went to Cozumel again and Grace was able to dive with my tanks for a couple of days and was finally motivated to complete her open water dives. After we arrived back in Houston, we scheduled her open water dives for the next mutually available weekend.
Most lakes in the Houston area (and probably most of Texas) have visibility that is probably measured in inches -- very muddy / murky water. The few places where this is not true are locations where there are more rock formations, thus reducing the amount of dissolved soil in the water. Blue Lagoon was previously a limestone quarry. It has a high pH, so there are no fish, nor are there any algae blooms to affect the visibility. Visibility was perhaps 20-30 feet when we were there. There is some soil runoff into the lake, so there is a small layer of silt at the bottom that can get stirred up by an inadvertent kick of the fins. Even with such a kick, visibility is still better any any of the other lakes on their best days.
Houston SCUBA Academy requests that its students get to the dive site by 08:30. For us, this meant getting up earlier than we even get up during the weekdays to go to work. From our house, it was approximately a 1-1/2 to 2 hour drive. It is probably best to get there early since the visibility is better and it is still relatively cool. Also, if you can get through early in the day, the drive back to Houston is less aggravating since traffic can slow to a virtual crawl as people get off the area lakes later in the afternoon.
To get to Blue Lagoon from Houston, take I-45 north to Exit 113. Watch out for the local and state donut patrols that like to supplement their income along I-45. Follow TX-19 for 4 miles until you go under an overpass (TX-35). Very soon afterwards, take the FM-2821 exit and turn left. Continue on FM-2821 for 1 mile and then take a right on TX-247. There was an Exxon station on the left corner of FM-2821 prior to the turn on TX-247. Continue on TX-247 for 5.5 miles. You will encounter a dirt road on the left and a dive flag sign on a tree. There is a Diamond Shamrock station on TX-247 a couple of miles prior to the dirt road. It is a good place to get last minute munchies or to come to for snacks for lunch if you forgot to bring your lunch.
Here's a photo of the turnoff from TX-247 to the dirt road leading to the dive site. There is a red dive flag sign on one of the trees. If you are not paying attention, you will miss it. If you are following someone, it is not advisable to have a convertible with the top down or to have the windows open on your car. Any cars in front of you will kick up quite a dust cloud. Watch out for deer in the area -- they have been known to sacrifice themselves to your front bumper.
This road is semi-paved from here to the dive site. It looks like it might have been paved at one time, but most of the pavement has disappeared and you are left with a dirt road interspersed with patches of pavement. The dive site will be on your right.
You will need to check-in with the attendants in the building closest to the entrance (it was painted green when we were there). If you are with a dive class, they will also tell you where your group is located.
Here's the entry area of the dive site. The green building at the entrance is where you pay your dive fee ($15 for divers, $5 for swimmers). The other building (which is red) is where you can get your air fills ($4 per tank).
The front entrance overlooks the lake. There are supposedly two quarries, in this area, but we have only gone to one of them.
We were located at Site #7 which is on the back side of the lake. Although it is possible to get to there in a normal automobile if you are very careful, a vehicle with a higher ground clearance will make it easier. One of the instructors had managed to get a Honda Del Sol back there without bottoming out. On the other hand, she had also managed to hit a deer on the way back to TX-247 on Saturday. A vehicle with a high ground clearance AND four wheel drive will make it extremely easy. There are some ruts in the roads and if you are not careful, they could cause you to scrape the aerodynamic fairings on some vehicles. On the other side of the lake, I saw a 2WD truck that was having problems climbing the hill that led into their site and he finally had to resort to getting a running start (in reverse) before attacking the hill.
On Saturday they did some snorkeling and a couple of other dives. I was kind of busy between keeping up with Kaitlyn and getting sunburned, so I did not get any photos on Saturday.
South view of Site #7 after arrival on Sunday.
This photo was shot right after arrival at Site #7 on Sunday
morning.
View across the lake towards the northwest.
West view across lake.
West view across lake.
North view of Site #7.
South view across lake.
South view at other site. It seems that some people come up to Blue Lagoon and camp out.
There was a small cliff slightly to the north of our site and I climbed it to get some more photos.
Southwest view from cliff.
View from cliff overlooking site.
Northwest view from cliff.
West view through rocks.
Students between dives.
Students between dives.
Here's a photo of Grace and another student prior to one of their dives on Sunday.
Here's an image of Grace and some other students between dives planning their next dive.
Here's Grace resting prior to the last dive of the day.
Kaitlyn playing in the water while no one was diving.
Students in water prior to dive.
One of the instructors talking to two of the students as they get out of the water after one of their dives for the day.
One of the instructors waiting on students to exit the water after one of their dives.
Instructor with students prior to entering the water for one of their dives. This site is located on a small rock outcropping and there is a two foot drop from the edge of the rock to the water. The rock wall goes straight down at this point, so there is not any chance of hitting the side as you jump off.
One instructor watching another instructor leave the water.
The instructors coming back to the site for the next round of dives.
Northwest view from Site #7.
All the dives on Sunday were complete and everyone had their log books signed by 12:30.
On the way back to Houston, we passed the Conroe Outlet Mall (Exit 91) and Grace had to stop there for some shopping (to celebrate her certification completion, I guess). The mall closed at 17:00 and we then headed back to Houston. I then understood why they had wanted to get through with the dives early -- the traffic was basically a crawl on the way back to Houston. It seems that everyone had finished their lake outings and were headed home at the same time.
Upon arriving home, unloading everything, and washing all the equipment, I decided that it was a good time to wash my Jeep. Although the dirt road was just dusty, the trails around the dive site had a couple of large puddles that contrasted rather nicely with my black Jeep (the mud tends to dry white colored).
Photos taken with Ricoh RDC-300 digital camera.