Scuba Adventurer arrived at Wilson Lake
on Saturday 10-Aug-2002. We headed directly for the dam to take a look
at the water. The water looked clear, and anticipated good diving on
Sunday. We headed to Wilson State Park where we set up camp next to the
water and visited for a while. There had not been much rain in the area
which prevented open fires, so we drove into Wilson to eat at the Wilson
Recreation Center. This is a nice place with an atmosphere mixed between
a diner, restaurant and bar and grill. There dinners were priced
reasonably with chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn salad
and tea for less then $6.00.
After eating, we drove around the small town and got back  to
camp just in time to see the sun dimming, the sky turn various shades of
pink and purple as the sun set sending shimmers of light across the
water. The sun could actually be seen lowering behind the hills on the opposite
side of the lake, taking only a few  minutes
from seeing the entire sun to it totally disappearing. As the sun set
the moon appeared and a silence came across the lake. Darkness
slowly came over the campground giving a peaceful tranquility in the
silence of the night under brightly lit stars.
As the night went on a strong wind came, which cooled off the area.
Awaking on Sunday, the winds were still constant. We broke down camp and
drove to the dam to find that the high winds had sent large waves
crashing into the shore all night, relentlessly stirring up the
water. The water was slightly tinted brown and was not as inviting as
the previous day. Entering the water on the Lucas Park side of the dam
there was a gradual slope with a bottom consisting of mud and sand.
During the first few minutes the visibility was only inches but improved
to about 1 foot at 10 feet deep and about 1.5 feet at 20 feet. The fish
seemed to be curious but stayed just outside of full visibility casting
dark shadows as they circled. There did not seem to be much obstacles or
fishing line during the dive, but proceeded slowly throughout the entire
dive.
We toured the country side from one end of the lake to
the other  taking
dirt roads that led down to the water at different points. Some of these
roads had spectacular views of hills and valleys sloping down to the
waters edge. Some had tall weeds next to the road only giving a quick glimpse
of the terrain during small breaks in the plant life. On these back
roads there were very few people around and not a lot in wildlife for
that matter, only seeing
birds quick to fly out from the brush as we drove by. We headed into the
wildlife areas and found much of the same with the exception of cows in
the surrounding fields. There were many sites to that captured our imagination
and
interest from the rolling prairies to the old antique looking farm
equipment left abandoned but not forgotten. The most interesting
features of this area was the many strange rock formations that thinly
extended from the ground and exploded into bulkiness at the top, some
almost resembling mushrooms.
Overall this was a relaxing trip giving us time to
talk, gaze at the bright night stars and take in the beauty of the
northern Kansas prairies open up and reveal an impressive lake.
Dive Safe and Have Fun!
Article provided by:
Scuba Adventurer
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