First dives of the year

[SeaRat]

Dive Site: Clackamas River, High Rocks
Dive # 04-08
Buddy: Solo
Date: July 2, 2005
Entrance Time: 2:35 PM Exit Time 3:22 PM
Bottom Time: 47 minutes
Surface Int. N/A
Altitude: ~500 ft
Decom. Stops? N/A
Air Temp.: 61 F Water Temp: 60 F Visibility: 5-7 feet
Max. depth: 20 feet Ave. Depth 12 feet
One Hour Check: Okay

Dive Plan:
Objectives: I’m bringing my housed camera (Canon F-1) in for the first time in a long time. I want to take macro photos with my macro lens. I plan to enter in the top pool, scout it out, take some photos and perhaps go downstream to where the lifeguards are to get more photos.

Observations:
The water was warmer than I expected. The lifeguards thought it was about 60 degrees, but it seemed a bit warmer and I was comfortable without gloves. The currents had changed too from last year. Where the island had blocked the current last year, it did not this year. I went out without the camera at first, and got oriented, determined whether my buoyancy was correct, and explore the amount and strength of the river currents. The currents were strong near shore, but weakened quickly as I got away from the rocks. The current went straight across the pool, then divided and half went upstream, half downstream. I was on the upstream side, and once past the surface current, found that the currents reversed. I also found out that the bottom had changed, was somewhat deeper, and more scoured than last year at this place.

I retrieved my camera housing, and went back to the bottom. I arranged the two strobes, and placed them so that they would shine close to the lens (I was using minimum focus, so it was not hard to figure out where to point the strobes). I then looked for subjects, and found some sculpin, some crayfish, and the freshwater sponge to document.

I crossed under the main current, into the other half of the top pool, and found a few more subjects to photograph.

I then allowed myself to go downstream, and got into the deeper main pool area. There I again found my friends, the red-sided shiner. Only one of them was showing red, or mating, colors. There were thirty to forty of the little fish, and they came close when I remained motionless. But it was apparent that they were not yet mating. There were a few (one or two) northern pike minnows amongst them too.

It was time to get out, so I could get back to the house, so I surfaced in the lower pool and climbed the rocks out. I left my camera and fins on the rocks, then went to my car to get out of my gear. I then came back and recovered my camera, fins and weight belt.

Special Problems and Ideas:
My camera focusing rings attachment to the lens had broken, and so it was not possible to adjust the focus.

The single AL80 tank worked very well, even with the double hose Hydro-Twin. I have stayed away from my single tanks for awhile now, but they are easier to use in the current. I experimented with different positions, and concluded that the chest-mount may not be the best position if it resulted in a much higher exhalation than normal (I turned on my back to see what it felt like). The Hydro-Twin worked very, very well. It breathed effortlessly, as it should for a balanced first stage. I'll try it again with the SPG attached tomorrow.

Equipment Used:
Full wet suit without gloves, my repaired mask, Para-Sea BC, single Al 80 tank, Sportsways Hydro-Twin double hose regulator, LP inflator (which I did not use), no SPG, scoop fins, knife, and helmet.

[SeaRat]

Dive Site: Clackamas River, High Rocks
Dive # 04-09
Buddy: Solo
Date: July 3, 2005
Entrance Time 2:50 PM
Exit Time 3:33 PM
Bottom Time: 43 minutes
Surface Int. N/A
Altitude: ~500 ft
Decom. Stops? N/A
Air Temp.: 61 F Water Temp: 49 F Visibility: 5 feet
Max. depth: 22 feet Ave. Depth 18 feet
One Hour Check: Okay

Dive Plan:
Objectives: Same dive plan as yesterday, with different dive gear. Plan to use the Dacor BC system for the first time since last year. I’ll take the camera, and hopefully get some photos of fish and things. I’ll set the focus a bit further out than yesterday.

Observations:
I got to the water, and worked the current pretty well. I took the camera right away, as I now know the area. I stayed in the shallow top pool, and crossed under the main current easily. But while there I observed five small-mouth bass in the area. One was large, and I tried to take its photo close-up. It had one eye that had been injured, and so was blind on one side. Unfortunately, the focus could not be changed, and was still focused too close for good photos of this bass.

I spent some time in the deeper area, before swimming against the current back up to the top pool. There were a large number of red-sided shiners in the pool, and I again saw one or two northern pike minnows in with the school. And again, there were small fish, just larger than the red-sided shiners, and so not a threat to the fish in the school. This is in contrast to the Umpqua River system, where the Umpqua northern pike minnow would be several times larger than the red-sided shiners, and would feed on them during mating. Today, I again only saw a very few (maybe two) red-sided shiner in their red-sided mating colors.

Swimming back up into the top pool, I again found the bass, and as described above tried to photograph one, without much success (probably fuzzy dorsal fin is about all I can expect).

My regulator with the SPG worked very well (it’s one of three, now, double-hose regulators built for using both an inflator hose and an SPG), but I’m not sure about whether I want an SPG for this type of diving. I’ll probably dive without one tomorrow. The SPG, when attached to my shoulder harness,


Special Problems and Ideas:
1) The focus problem on my camera needs to be fixed. I hate not having control of the focus, even for macro shots. The camera/housing and strobes are working very well. I was using settings of 1//60th second, at F11 and F16 for most photos (I went down to F8 for one or two). This is one stop higher than I normally shoot at, but I now have two strobes, which should make up the difference.
2) I did not dive the Dacor BC. I put it on, then tried to lift my hands above my head, and could not. The harness for this is just too small for me, so I kept the Para-Sea BC, which has been my mainstay for 20 years now (I designed it, so I use it).

Equipment Used:
Full wet suit, helmet, Sportsways Hydro-Twin two-hose regulator, SPG and inflator attached to the regulator this time, scoop fins, weight belt with about twenty pounds of weight, and my camera system (Canon F-1N with Speedfinder, 50mm macro lens).

[SeaRat]

Dive Site: Clackamas River, High Rocks
Dive # 04-10
Buddy: Solo
Date: July 4, 2005
Entrance Time 1:30 PM
Exit Time 2:20 PM
Bottom Time: 50 minutes
Surface Int. N/A
Altitude: ~500 ft
Decom. Stops? N/A
Air Temp.: 61 F Water Temp: 49 F Visibility: 5 feet
Max. depth: 22 feet Ave. Depth 18 feet
One Hour Check: Okay

Dive Plan:
Objectives: This dive I plan to use my twin 42s, and the forward swimming unit I've developed.

Observations:
The water was great, and I liked not having my full wet suit. But I initially had problems with my DA Aquamaster free-flowing, so I aborted, and got my Snark III regulator. I then re-entered the water, and continued the dive. I surveyed the top pool, then went downstream. I saw more small-mouth bass, but not as many as yesterday.

In the main pool, I again noted the many red-sided shiners. I observed them for about five minutes, noting again a few red-sided ones (in mating colors), so mating should be happening soon. After surfacing briefly, I again swam upstream to the top pool, and was able to swim directly against the current in the main current today (with my forward swimming unit, or front wing). In the current at the point the river flows into the pool, I saw them--the redsided shiners spawning. There must have been thirty or forty of them, in spawning colors, swimming in the current above the rocks. In the North Umpqua River, they were in pretty deep water, amoungst large rocks. Here in the Clackamas River, the rocks are considerably smaller, fist-sized rather than arm-sized. And the behavior is a bit different too. Males were pursuing females, but up and away from the rocks, instead of down and into the rocks as I had seen many times in the North Umpqua River. I am curious whether they are "broadcast spawing" here, but did not see that. In the North Umpqua, the actual spawning occurred with them under the rocks, and the eggs adhered to the underside of the rocks. I see no eggs, but will dive later to find out if they are there, and where on the rocks they are.

I did not observe any predation on the redsided shiners by the usual preditors in the North Umpqua River, the Umpqua northern pike minnow. Perhaps this is the reason for the differences in the spawing behavior I observed here.

Special Problems and Ideas:
1) I had some problems with acid stomach, which is why I surfaced briefly. I thought about terminating the dive in the main pool, but decided to swim upsteam instead, and was happy I did.

2) The DA Aquamaste needs a rebuild. I initially though I had an exhaust problem, but tests at home determined that there is a leak in the LP seat.

Equipment Used:
Wet suit top, helmet on top of hood, DA Aquamaster (initially) and Snark III (later), scoop fins, weight belt with about 14 pounds of weight, and my forward swimming unit, or forward wing.

[SeaRat]

Dive Site: Clackamas River, High Rocks
Dive # 05-10
Buddy: Solo
Date: July 19, 2005
Entrance Time: 4:28 PM
Exit Time: 5:25 PM
Bottom Time: 57 minutes
Surface Int. N/A
Altitude: ~500 ft
Decom. Stops? N/A
Air Temp.: 78 F Water Temp: 68 F Visibility: 5 feet
Max. depth: 22 feet Ave. Depth 15 feet
One Hour Check: OK

Dive Plan: I want to track the red-sided shiners, and hopefully see them mating.
Objectives: 1. Document the red-sided shiners mating. 2. Look around for any other biologically significant behavior.

Observations: There were no red-sided shiners anywhere. I looked it the current where I had seen them on July 4th, and in the deep water, and did not see them.

I did see some other interesting things, and photographed them. I found a small fish, which I captured and will examine shortly, and photographed it. It was dying, and could barely move. It is some kind of dace. I also captured a large-scale sucker which appeared to be dying, and paralyzed. It’s possible that this fish was in fact caught by a fisherman, hit and thrown back.

I was about to leave the water when I came across a school of what appeared to be Chinook salmon smolt. They were near where I had found the red-sided shiners schooling two weeks ago. They stayed higher in the current, however, and were obviously feeding on particles in the water. They examined everything that came near, and ate some of it.

After staying in the deep upper regions of the lower pond, I came up to see whether I could find a cell phone that had been dropped by the lifeguards. It was no where to be seen. I looked again for the school of Chinook smolt, and was startled by a concussion in the water. Apparently a young person had jumped off the cliffs near me; I waited a bit, and felt another close by, and so dove deeper and swam upstream. I had heard a boat earlier, but it was gone by now. Another jumper’s presence was made know by another large concussion near me, so I dove deeper, and headed upstream into the current.

I got to the other side of the upper pool, and swam by the gravel/sand line at about four feet to the area where the current came straight over me. I was below the current, but I could see it clearly above me. I held a large rock, to keep position, with one hand, and my camera housing with the other. As I watched the current, two inner tubes with legs came through the current, just a few feet to my right. I could see the people through the surface, and wondered if they ever thought about what was under them. Maybe next time, without the housing, I’ll just wait right there for someone to come by and pull their leg or something…but that would be mean.

I checked my pressure gauge, and found that I was at about 800 psi; it was time to exit. But a small-mouth bass swam right up to me, and I began taking his photo. After two pictures, I checked the f-stop and found it maxed out at f-22. These photos would be dark, or gone. So I again set the camera at f-11, and shot two or three more photos. I should have good head-and-pectoral photos of this bass.

It was time to exit, but I needed to swim down the current, then to my exit point. I missed the split in the current, and started going downstream (the current splits here, and part goes upstream), so I held onto boulders and swung myself into an eddie. I then swam shallower, and emerged just downcurrent (which was going upstream—confusing, but true), and noticed a bather sitting on a rock, smoking a cigarette. I kept my mouthpiece in my mouth until I was upwind of the swimmer, then emerged and talked to him. He asked what I was looking for, and I told him about the fish.

I got out of the water, still geared up except for my fins being off and attached to my BC (I can do that with my design). On shore, I removed my helmet and mask, and attached them to my BC’s chest equipment strap too. As I was walking to my van in my gear, someone who was coming down to High Rocks to swim asked if someone had drowned. I said “No, just looking for fish.”


Special Problems and Ideas:
1) The camera focus ring has yet to be fixed, and it is a handicap to not be able to focus the camera.
2) The bite tab on my twin hose regulator seems to be coming apart. In the current, it tended to loosen my grip on the mouthpiece. I’ll need to glue that down before the next dive, or replace the mouthpiece.

Equipment Used:
Scuba: single 72, with the AMF Voit Trieste II regulator/MR-12 Octopus, LP inflator and SPG; top of wet suit and hood, knife, mask and helmet; about 13 pounds of weight.

[kgehring]

Hi, Is your camera housing an ikelite? Is the problem a gear,or the lens sleeve or the lens clamp? I can see if the parts are available. Karl

[SeaRat]

Hi Karl,

The housing is an Ikelite, from the late 1980s (vintage too, you know). The focus ring is the one that clamps onto my FD 50mm macro lens for the Canon F-1N (New F-1) camera. The focus ring has a little hook on it that hooks under a pin to hold the ring in place (with foam neoprene acting like a spring to increase the tension on the hook. The hook has broken, and I'm going to try to fix it with some acetone (hopefully to weld it into place) some time this week. I'd like to use it again this weekend. But if you happen to have one of these rings, I would be interested.

I use it with a Speedfinder, and with manual wind. It really is a great little system. Originally I used it with a Subsea 150 strobe, but when the battery got to $75 each, I stopped using it. I switched to an Ikelite Substrobe MS, and then last year picked up a used Ikelite Aquashot 3 housing and it had a Substrobe AQ/S with it (got it all for $35). I put the Substrobe AQ/S on a second arm, and now shoot with two strobes, which I can balance by changing the distance from strobe to subject.

By the way, here are photos of the sculpin I took July 3rd. As you can see, the vintage photo gear works very well. In the first photo, look at how well the sculpin blends in with the sand. The second photo shows the sculpin against a leaf so you can readily see its outline. But these sculpin, in an interesting display of adaptation and camouflage, blur their own outlines so that they are almost impossible to see from the standpoint of a small animal in front of them. This is most likely the mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdi Girard.

Note that it is very easy to get close, and observe these little guys with a double hose regulator, as there is nothing to cause them to flinch. I was chasing them around with my little finger, and they were pretty territorial too. These are aggressive little fish, who don't like strange things in their territory, and who chase their own smaller buddies out of their way if they can. Last year, while I was trying to get a photo of them with a Nikonos II and a macro ring with a frame, one actually came out and ate a crawdad (crayfish) I was trying to photograph, and I was so startled that I did not get that photo either.

Note also that, in the photo of the sculpin against the sand, that this fish appears to have a parasite on its eye! This is why I like underwater photography so much, and observing these little fish (about 4 inches long); you never know what you will see.



Photos Copyright 2005, John C. Ratliff

John

[kgehring]

I have a pic of a lens clamp. I would like to email it to you to see if it is what you need. Karl

[SeaRat]

Dive Site: Clackamas River, High Rocks
Dive # 04-11
Buddy: Solo
Date: July 23, 2005
Entrance Time Unrecorded
Exit Time Unrecorded
Bottom Time: 1 hour 17 minutes
Surface Int. N/A
Altitude: ~500 ft
Decom. Stops? N/A
Air Temp.: 82 F Water Temp: 68 F Visibility: 10 feet
Max. depth: 23 feet Ave. Depth 18 feet
One Hour Check: Great, this was my best dive in a while.

[M]Dive Plan: [/M] I was going to take photos of fish, but found out one of the lifeguards had lost his sunglasses.
Objectives:
1. Find the lifeguard’s sunglasses, and
2. To make observations and photograph the fish in the area.
3. Use my UDS-1 until it was out-of-air, to get a determination as to how it breaths at very low tank pressures with the regulator/UDS-1 configuration I currently have (two hoses attached to my AIR I second stage, both from the manifold of the UDS-1.

Observations:
This was the longest dive of the year so far. I also entered the water differently this time when, with an inflated BC, I jumped into the water before putting on my fins, mask and helmet. I did that all in-water, as I did not want to sit on the rocks. The rock surface in the water is very slippery, and I did not want to chance a fall while putting on the gear. It was better to do it all in the water, as there was only a slight current at this entry point in the bottom pool. I couldn’t do this here in late winter/early spring because of the much higher water and stronger currents then.

I spent about twenty minutes looking for the sunglasses, and it was not easy. I found a pair right away, but I knew it was not his as I had seen them last Tuesday. So I went deeper, and determined that they were not on the bottom. I did find a spool of fishing line, which had line still attached to the bottom, so I cut it with my dive knife. Then I came up and searched the rock that his sunglasses had fallen into. I found a crack that they could conceivably be in, and there they were. I picked them up just as one of the lifeguards snorkeled down to tell me to search the rock with gestures. I looked a bit more, just for fun, then surfaced and handed the lifeguard the spool of fishing line. Then I handed him the sunglasses, and he was happy. These were expensive, prescriptions sunglasses, and it would have cost him quite a lot to get new ones.

I began my dive again, going down to the bottom and swimming upstream. The other lifeguard said he would follow me, but I did not see him. I went to the shallows of the upper pool, then headed for the rapids where the river empties into the upper pool. On the way, I found another pair of sunglasses and put them into my BC pocket.

There were no fish of note right there, but a little further I spotted two small-mouth bass. The focus was not good for them (I had preset the focus very close), but I tried the camera a very small sculpin near a snail. Wouldn’t you know it, I had forgotten to take the camera off of “safety” for the shutter release, so there will be no photos this dive. I swam to the far side of the pool, then went downstream. I found a credit card, and put it into my pocket too. On the way downstream, I ran into a pretty good current that I needed to go through. It was going toward the rapids on the bottom, and I wanted to go downstream, so I had to traverse it at an angle. I then went over some very large rocks, and up swam a live salmon about a 18 inches (half a meter or so) long. It looked at me, then swam leisurely off. It seemed to know that my camera would not work.

I was in the deep area, and surfaced to talk to the lifeguards, and give them the camera. I looked for the sunglasses, and they were gone. Apparently that current had opened up my BC pocked, and they had tumbled out.

I was down to just under 1000 psi in the UDS-1. I wanted to swim hard and work hard to use up the air in the unit. I went to the bottom, and again swam upstream. I was pleased at how the UDS-1 was performing through this whole dive. Breathing was very easy, and the unit itself was well balanced and streamlined in the current. It fits well on my back, and is about as good as it gets for in-water handling (this, after a lot of balancing with weights inside the system to make it balanced on my back—experimentation from about three years ago). I swam again to the rapids, under the current, and then back out. Half way back, I was reading zero on my SPG, but still breathing nicely. About a minute later, I felt the first tug of out-of-air on my breathing system. I then counted, and I had ten breaths before it was almost completely gone, and I tripped the J-reserve. The 1000 psi in my reserve cylinder quickly equalized into the other two cylinders, and I had about 400 psi remaining. I surfaced, and switched to my snorkel.

The lifeguards helped me out of the water and onto the rocks. As I was getting out, I noted a number of newly hatched fish in the shallows where I was exiting. Apparently, the red-sided shiners, and other fish, have now hatched. I must have seen the tail-end of the spawning two weeks ago in that dive. It was a great dive. The only problem with the UDS-1 system was the hike out of the water and back to the car. It was about 150 yards, and about 200 feet up the hill to get to the car.

Special Problems and Ideas:
Sometimes, the intricacies of underwater photography are such that if one step in missed, the opportunities are also missed. Such was the case today, where simply not taking the lock lever off the “safety” position prior to putting it into the housing kept me from taking any photographs while in the water.

Equipment Used:
UDS-1 system by U.S. Divers, an AIR I second stage by Scubapro, with two LP hoses coming from the manifold/first stage of the UDS-1. My octopus second stage was a Dacor Pacer, so this was a fully integrated rig too. I wore a wetsuit top, boots and hood, my helmet (with snorkel attached), scoop fins and knife. I had about 12 pounds of weight on the weight belt.

Here's a photo of the small-mouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui Lacedede) I saw several weeks ago, and photographed at that time. It's the same size as the ones I saw today.

Copyright 2005, John C. Ratliff

John

[Linda]

Very cool dive logs with the photos, John - it's almost like being there!

Thanks for posting the great pics.

[nemrod]

Yes, thanks for your efforts to report your good old fashion local dives. Your reports are almost as a good as a SeaHunt episode. James

[RMannix]

7/16 Dove the Heroine wreck off Charlestowne, RI. Depth 75, bottom temp 52. Gentle current but 1/4 mile vis fog all the way out and back (25 miles one way)
Only vintage gear was twin 72's and my Scubapro Mk7.
Shot 26 minutes of video in near 30 foot vis, edited down to 8 minute 25MB .wmv Windows Media Player video

7/23 Dove Grecian wreck 5 mi south of Block Island, depth 100 bottom temp 45 and cold enough to fog the inside of my Ikelite housing for my digital Olympus. Followed up by a dive on the Pinnacle (2 acre boulder pile fom the ice age in 70 feet rising to 35). Got just a handful of useable pics. Current was strong and didn't want to push around the video and lights.

the pics and video are available on my site,
68.60.223.114/lib5.asp
Wreck descriptions and history available there too

[RMannix]

Finally got to use my royal on a real dive, Dove the Heroine again, solo as my buddies crapped out. Breathed great, forgot I was using a 2 hose.
Depth 75, vis not as good as 3 weeks before, 15-20 mostly 15. Cooled down to 48 on the bottom too.
Used an 80 with an H-valve, royal on the main post, conshelf 14 on the other with spg, 2nd stage and AIR2. I like this config better than using a banjo fitting and hookah adapter, works with my double 72's/Sherwood dual outlet manifold too.
Set my digital camera on top of the wreck and shot a few seconds of Quicktime video of myself

68.60.223.114/video/self_portrait.MOV

[Buzz]

Wow....look at all those D rings....

[SeaRat]

Well, it's been a while since I've posted my dives on this thread. So instead of my dive log, I'll show the dive site and some of the important photos and observations I've made here. First, the dive site.

High Rocks is an interesting area of the Clackamas River, and fits my criterion for a dive site:

--It must be challenging so I can get a workout.
--It must have varied aquatic life that I find interesting.
--It must be within 1/2 hour drive time from home.

In addition, there are lifeguards stationed here all summer, so that makes my solo diving somewhat safer.

So I started diving High Rocks several years ago, and have been observing it closely for seasonal and yearly changes. Both have occurred.

High Rocks are known in the area as a fun place to swim, and amongst the police and emergency medical squads as a place where people have drowned. Because of the "high rocks," it is a fun place to jump into the river. But sometimes people have fun prematurely, when it's spring and the water is still cold. This is what led to some deaths about three years ago, and the establishment of the lifeguards there. But later in the summer, people congregate. Here are some of the photos I've taken of the area:
""
If you look at this photo closely, you'll see one young fellow upside down on his way to the water's surface. This is why the lifeguards are necessary in the summer. At one point, I noted a swimmer in the lifeguard's chair, sitting there looking confused. He had dislocated his shoulder, and was trying to figure out whether he would have a friend take him to the hospital or go via ambulance (which he could not afford). Here's a closeup of the jumper above:

I like to dive here, as it is challenging yet divable most of the time. (You'll note that I have looked over the area in the Spring and decided not to dive due to high currents.) This is what I call the "top hole" at High Rocks. It is the first hole, with current coming into it in two places. The current you see is one branch of the river. Last year, there was an island in the center; this year there is not in the early spring, but it appeard in August as the water level went down. There is another main current on the far shore coming into the hole. In the current you see in the photo, which is in the top three feet (one meter) of water, there are trout feeding in the summer, and sometimes salmon smolt too. The water in the area on the right is about 15 feet (three meters) deep, witht a sandy bottom and different aquatic life than is in the rocky areas.

Below is a photo of the lifeguard's area, basically a tent on the rocks above the lower hole. I also dive the lower hole, as it has different fish, and some interesting things to find. I have found a watch (which I still sometimes use), two necklesses, and very nice pocket knife, amongst other things, here.

Photos Copyright 2005, John C. Ratliff

At times, the current here is too strong to swim against, in which case I exit downstream and climb up the rocks to get out. It makes a pretty good workout on a weekend, and adds variety to my exercise program.

Why am I showing you this on a vintage diving site? Well, this is where I use my vintage diving equipment. I find it very good for my photography, and my underwater observations. I'll discuss this below as I get time to enter more on my latest dives. Maybe tomorrow...

[duckbill]

Hey John!
I see you are not the only diver there! Oh, wait....they are different types of divers Some of them look like they need certification ;D
Thankyou for inspiring me to start river diving. Here I was, getting all depressed because gas prices started limiting my ocean diving 3-plus hours away, when right here 4 miles away was the Feather River.
Let's see... On my first dive I found a set of old WWII dogtags: one was a man's and the other was a woman's. I looked up the last name in our local phone book and there was only one listing for it. I went to the address and knocked on the door. Turned out that a boy about 15 years old had lost them about two weeks before while jumping off a rope swing. They belonged to his grandparents and he was wearing them as keepsakes. He was so happy and surprised when he saw them in my hand and said he thought he'd never see them again. I was glad I took the time.
Then, today, I just returned a wallet to a man a few towns away who had lost it as he slipped on the rocks while holding it in his hand to go fishing with his grandsons. The wallet had washed down about 1/8th of a mile or so. I was a little concerned about returning the wallet because I didn't want to get accused of anything. You see, there was no cash in it and ,for all I knew, it had been stolen and dumped in the river. But such was not the case and this find had a happy ending too.
Who knows what's next!
BCNU, Terry