TD Scuba recently offered a local dive trip to Bonne Terre Mine south of St. Louis.  11 scuba divers from TD Scuba car-pooled over to St. Louis, strapped on their thickest neoprene and dry suits and headed into the mine for a refreshing dive in 58 degree water.  The cold isn't the thing you will remember when you go to Bonne Terre.  When you can see over 100 feet in fresh water and start to take in the sites of an underground man-made structure which was closed in the 60s and is now full of water, the cold becomes unimportant.

We dove two dives in the mine that day.  After a brief review of basic dive skills, we were off on an underwater tour around giant columns of rock that were left in place to support the rock overhead in order to see the minerals and equipment that was just left in the mine when it closed.  It is a fantastic inland diving experience and I would recommend to anyone who has never had a chance to dive it.  The operation is well-run, our tour leaders were extremely friendly, and the water is cool but clear.