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Arlington, Texas 76010
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Been There and Done That....

Dive Valhalla Missile Silo!

By Debra Yates Welch

That's it in a nutshell.... No, no just kidding there's more than that to this dive. Actually this is one of the more "thrilling" dives I have done in a while. 11 divers assembled  in Arlington, Texas for the caravan to get us to the dive site just outside Abilene, Texas. 180 miles each way and we made it in about 3 hours 10 minutes with two stops in between. Not bad for 6 cars and we didn't even lose anybody. I won't give you the exact coordinates ( we have a GPS and tracked the whole trip) because I think I would be taking something away from you by not allowing you to read the directions the dive shop who owns the facility provides. The road is marked only by a small dive flag and is removed after each group leaves. The road is TOP SECRET and the way to get the secret is to pay just like we did! The topside of the site has a fair amount of parking and accommodated all our cars just fine. Below are the pictures of the lot, and entrance to the Silo. 

Launch doors - Top to dive silo	Entrance stairs to silo

We received the grand tour and we were all interested in the site itself and asked a few questions. We  made our way down the stairs and through the hallways and rapped on the blast doors. You start to realize this is one cool hole in the ground...literally! The inside of the dive part of the silo itself is a cool 68 degrees and the water temp ranges from 57 degrees at about 110 feet to a water level temp of 61 degrees. You will need a hood, gloves, and at least a 5mm wetsuit/semi-dry suit or dry suit. 

Entrance stairs going down	hallway

Hallway	Hallway, stairs to changing room

Balcony view of changing room right side	Balcony view of changing room left side

First team of divers gearing up	Stairway Down to Platform - careful here the stairway moves!

Troy W. and Rick R. watch the divers descend after giant striding off of the platform	Stairs out of silo, the light what a beautiful sight!

Exit out of changing room- straight ahead is the silo and up the stairs is the main exit	Glenn J. heading up the stairs to the main exit

Jeff J. preparing the blast door for closing	Look out blast door closing!

Our tent and snack bar we set up, is that Kelly sleeping?	Why yes it is! Kelly B. warming up in the sun after the cold water dive.

Packing up in the parking lot after the dive	The military crew...Let's EAT!

That's it. The dive site itself should not be missed if you can get here within a days drive. I don't know that I would make a big trip out here unless you just have to have this one in your dive book. I would recommend that you bring a computer for one of two reasons on this dive. Number one  it is an altitude dive, number two you will need it to judge your descent rate and ascent rate. This can be a VERY disorientating dive. I am an experienced diver and I descended to fast with no visual point, but a rope surrounded by a curved wall and lots of cold water. It was very cold, and once  I hit about 75 feet,  I over breathed my regulator ( goodbye Oasis, hello Mares) which brought me into a mild panic. I ascended for what I thought was only a couple of feet to catch my breath and get my bearings and before I knew it another diver ( who actually thought I was his buddy, it's so dark) was grabbing my BCD and holding me down. I looked down at my depth gauge and I was in 34 feet of water and no where to go but up. I dumped what air I could and did a 3 minute safety stop with my buddy. Total dive time with safety stop, 8 minutes. Bottom line, ascend slowly and get used to the water and your surroundings. The silo is about 60 feet wide and 130 feet deep with the debris field at about 110 feet. You really can't go past 110 feet. That's it, it's a concrete hole filled with water and it's cold. I found this dive site thrilling, historical and a bit of an oddity. How many people do you know that can say they dove in a missile silo? I know of 11 people today. 

To find out more and plan your trip to Valhalla contact Family Scuba in Midland, Texas !

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