Today I’m once again joining Nikki and Ben from Teach Me to Dive to explore Ririe Reservoir. If you didn’t see my last video about diving in Yellowstone Lake, make sure to check that out to learn more about them and to see the incredible spires and underwater geysers hidden in Yellowstone National Park.

I want to send out a huge thank you to Idaho Dive Pirates for taking great care of me and Abby on my quick stopover to dive in Idaho. Check out their classes and international trips here.

I had some trouble at the beginning of this dive due to slightly stuffed sinuses. I have experienced this before and felt comfortable continuing, but I’d like to talk about diving when sick. The general rule is-don’t do it. But I know that fellow instructors will chuckle at that because a lot of us have been diving when we haven’t felt 100%. This may have been due to pressure from bosses or our own needs to make money to survive. It happens.

The consequences of diving while congested can range from experiencing slight discomfort during descents and ascents to very real baurotramas, so really it’s not worth the risk.

This dive was a lot of fun for me because I haven’t been seeing a lot of underwater creatures in the last couple of months. It’s part of the reason I’m ready to head back to Washington and the ocean. Puget Sound… I’m coming for you.

I’m forever blown away by the passion of scuba divers in land-locked states. There aren’t a lot of options for dive sites out here, but all of these people make the most of what’s available to them. 

It’s moments like these that make me feel so fortunate for what I’m doing right now. Thanks to teaching on YouTube, I’m able to go to these new places, meet different diver communities, and connect people around the country, teaching what I learn along the way. I’m incredibly grateful to you for watching and joining the journey.

See what trips are coming up. I always give my community first dibs on spots, so you can sign up for Patreon (and get trip discounts) or my email list to be the first to know about new expeditions in the future.