# Morrison Springs



## Bigg J (Nov 7, 2007)

Hey guys, whats the word on morrison springs, they open yet, anybody been?


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## jlbdvm (Nov 12, 2007)

stay tuned for a report soon!

Jay


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## Capt. AHO (Oct 2, 2007)

Is it open yet. Anybody know?


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## jlbdvm (Nov 12, 2007)

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma">The <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">NEW[/I] Morrison Springs Park<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma"><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma"> Driving down Florida State Highway 81 south of I-10 and Ponce de Leon, Florida, four diving buddies are going to dive Morrison Springs prior to the grand opening of the new park. The springs have been closed for nearly one year for renovation and new construction. Divers from all over the country have dove the pristine Walton County waters for many years. The water is crystal clear and a cool 68 degrees. As we turn on County Road 181 heading towards Morrison Springs Road, we are anticipating seeing the NEW Park.<o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma"> The first thing we notice is a newly paved road leading toward the park?s entrance. A clean, attractive brick paved parking lot awaits this truck load of divers. The large, beautiful oak trees populate the new parking lot to help shade the area. No more dirt and sand parking as we were accustomed to at this dive spot. Tarps are no longer needed for the diver's equipment to protect it from the dirt and sand. We gather our dive gear and head to the new dive platform located near the opening of the springs cavern. We notice a nice large Scuba gear wash station with running water located near the parking lot. One part of the new construction is a wide wooden walkway through the large cypress trees to the floating dive platform. At the end of the walkway, a tank rack is available for the diver to place his tanks for the final preparation for the dive. A short aluminum non-skid ramp leads to the floating platform.<o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma"> The grounds of the park are very appealing to the natural area and do not take away the beauty of the Florida Panhandle. The new bath house with outside wash-off showers is located near the entrance of the park. A spacious pavilion with fans looks out over the springs. This new structure can accommodate many visitors. The pavilion sits a short distance from the clear waters of the springs.<o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma"> The four of us don our dive equipment and off we go. It's been awhile since I have been diving, well at least 3 weeks. One diver is a frequent diver (it helps when you work at a dive shop). The other two divers have been diving with me at other local springs. Three of us are diving a 32% Nitrox mixture and the other diver is diving air. Our goal and plan with today?s dive was to police the underwater areas and check some connections for the county.<o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma"> We begin our dive in the clear, cold waters. Descending to approximately 25 feet, we find the familiar cypress log spanning the opening to the depth of the spring. As we bailed off the underwater log, the bottom of the spring is our destination. One can feel the rush of spring water as he descends. A rope is secured and available for the diver to pull himself against the water outflow, if needed. Divers can see the outflow of water by the floating particles headed toward the surface. As I clear the openings, you see the large underwater cavern. The deepest area of the spring is about 86 feet depending on the level of the Choctawhatchee River in which the spring flows into. All the familiar statutes and ornaments are waiting to greet the divers. We finished our dive of 30 minutes and headed toward the surface. We gathered debris on the way out if the springs and deposited it in the appropriate trash containers. The springs were pretty clean only a few beer cans and bottles were found. Why would anybody throw such trash into the springs!! We removed some monofilament line with hooks and sinkers, also.<o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma"> The four of us exited the water by walking out toward the beach to start our surface interval. We are planning a second dive into the springs so our minimum surface interval was at least 1 hour, diving the Nitrox mixture. We talked and snacked during our surface time. Most of our conversations consisted of the same old stuff (previous dives, dive stories, i.e. lies) but the main topic was how nice the new park is. We all agreed the park is very nice and only a few modifications were needed to accommodate the divers better. After conversing a bit more it was time to immerse ourselves back into the clear waters.<o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma"> This time only three of us were going to dive. Thanks to Nitrox our surface interval is much shorter than diving air. We ready our gear and prepare to dive. The three of us hit the water under threatening skies! Rain clouds were in the area. After entering the water, we made our way to the familiar cypress log over the springs. We continue our descent to the depths of the spring again. The springs have many freshwater eels and numerous fish inhabiting the depths of the water. We finished our half hour dive and headed to the shallows after making another sweep of the area to clear it of any debris missed on the first dive. As we retrieve the last of the visible underwater debris and make one more visual inspection of the underwater structures, we reluctantly head to the shallows to exit the water. The underwater diver training platform is still located in 13 feet of water. This platform is also a great place to do your safety stop. We did our safety stop here on the first dive. One needs to be careful while on the deck of the platform because roughness of the surface.<o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma"> Morrison Springs is a divers delight and the new amenities enhance the beautiful scenery of the area. I really enjoyed the day helping the county and helping my need to get wet! Everyone should dive Morrison Springs! Walton County - a job well done!! <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma"><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma">Jay<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma"><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma">Photos to follow soon!<o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma"><o></o>


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## Brandy (Sep 28, 2007)

Way to go Jay. The first to dive Morrisons! Its an awsome place to go during winter.


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## dkdiver (Oct 15, 2007)

Thanks for the report!


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## freespool50 (Sep 29, 2007)

VERY NICE REPORT:clap

look forward to diving there soon


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## Framerguy (Oct 2, 2007)

To answer the original question, no, the park isn't open to the public yet.

I went up to Ponce de Leon on Saturday and the lady there told me to go down and take a look. So I left and drove on down and took a short walk through the park. It is all that the poster said it was and will be a very nice place to go with the family or friends but it is still blocked off and some of the buildings aren't quite done yet.

My only concern is that Walton county is overseeing the operation of the park and they aren't charging a single penny to go there. I wonder how long they will be able to keep it maintained and clean if they have absolutely no income nor any full time dedicated employees to take care of it?? That was my purpose for going there in the first place, I wanted to find out any information on jobs in the new park and I thought that somebody at Ponce might have information on it. At the time, I was under the impression that it was going to be a state operated park like Ponce and all the other area state parks.

Time will tell, I suppose.


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## Clay-Doh (Oct 2, 2007)

Sweet report Dr. Jay!!!!!!!! :bowdown Man I wish I coulda went with you....but I got slammed, like I thought I would. Soryy I didnt call you back, but I am really glad you got the right "connections", got to inspect it, and help clean it up a lil too!



Please tell me you got some pics!??!?! At least above water of the park man?


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## jlbdvm (Nov 12, 2007)

here some photos! The divers underwater was morrison springs last fall before work!


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## jlbdvm (Nov 12, 2007)

i goofed the photo alignment! oh well!

Jay


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## Clay-Doh (Oct 2, 2007)

Sweet Dr. Jay! I'm lovin the new setup there! If only there was some cabins to rent to take your family for the weekend!



Thanx for postin up!


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