Paradise Springs

[phreaticus]

Just curious....I wonder if anyone ever found a med. sized yellow mesh bag, with a number of smaller, numbered canvas bags, with rock samples in them, burried in the silt in the cavern zone, around 80-90 ft. deep...?
I was helping two buddies work on their masters in hydrology thesis, taking samples, tagging them, and putting them in the bag for later analysis, in the early days of trying to determine if ground penetrating radar could locate water-filled voids underground.
This was in 1973...we dove there every other day for three-four weeks.
They managed to weigh me down with so much rock (only had a CO2 vest as a "BC"...this was in the old days, obviously), it sank me into the silt on the bottom, at which point I prudently dumped the bag-o'-rocks!
This obviously also silted out the cavern area we were in, so we exited, expecting to find the bag on our next visit a few days later......never found it!
To affirm the fossil statements...they are all over in there at varying levels...not even counting the echinoids of various types at varying strata levels. It was, as was previously mentioned, called Archway Sink back then, for an old railroad trestle archway out on the highway where you turned east to get to the sink.

[oldguy]

Some of you really good divers please assist my poor memory. I dove Paradise twice in past years but both times had buddies that had no overhead training. I spent most of my time watching them for safety reasons. Question - At the 110' level where the cave goes down, does the "large" room turn to the right and go about 50' ? It seems like that I left my buddy posted at the sign and turned to the right and swam a short distance to an area where there was some breakdown blocking what appeared to be another tunnel (restricted) to my left. Or is this just my old nitrogen soaked brain failing me? Thanks and safe diving.

110' on air? It was the nitrogen.

[ARY]

...It seems like that I left my buddy posted at the sign and turned to the right and swam a short distance to an area where there was some breakdown blocking what appeared to be another tunnel (restricted) to my left...

I believe the sink is connected or once was to another system. That system has upstream connection to the neighbours septic tank.

[oldguy]

Yeah, a lot of sinks are connected to septic tanks.

Question - At the 110' level where the cave goes down, does the "large" room turn to the right and go about 50' ? It seems like that I left my buddy posted at the sign and turned to the right and swam a short distance to an area where there was some breakdown blocking what appeared to be another tunnel (restricted) to my left. Or is this just my old nitrogen soaked brain failing me? Thanks and safe diving.

Here's a profile and a map of Paradise Springs to help answer your question:
http://www.floridacaves.com/paradiseprofile.JPG
http://www.floridacaves.com/paradisemap.JPG

[jeandiver]

I don't know about a mesh bag BUT I found an old pair of shorts there last summer.
Won't say what kind of shorts though.

If Paradise is clear , you can actually see the steps coming down into the water from the sign at the bottom...
I love Paradise myself.
And yes , that cave can silt out FAST !!! It's get small and tight in there really fast too. And when you read the memorial left in there , it definately makes me prudent!

Jeano Beano

P.S. Now I am going to have to find that thermal vent. I have noticed some warmer water coming in from a low hanging area at about the 85 foot level. We kept moving our hands over it (in front of it actually) and it sure felt warmer!