Diving into another world in the Columbia Basin

The farmland of Grant County has a secret.

Beneath the fields of potatoes, corn and mint lies a link to another world.

A gnarled rusty pipe sticking out of the earth leads the way.

Climb down 15 ladder rungs passing through a 3-foot thick concrete wall and descend into a Titan I missile complex, abandoned since 1965.

The pipes, hatches, springs, wires, eye wash station, elevator shafts and light fixtures remain preserved underground.

Walk a couple of hundred yards through four tunnels filled with waist-deep water and find yourself standing on a precipice.

If you could see into the pitch-black nothingness, you'd know you were standing over a 107-foot abyss, filled with crystal clear water and the cribwork that used to hold a 98-foot-long nuclear missile.

For the last 15 years or so, Walla Walla's Gene Bruns has been visiting the complex and exploring its depths.

Bruns' UnderSea Adventures, a Kennewick scuba diving shop, has leased the site from a Royal City farmer and for the past year and a half has been taking groups inside the complex, which is about 74 miles north of the Tri-Cities.

"When they shut the lights off and turned off the pumps, that is how they left it," Bruns said. "It is kind of neat to see what was built in there underground and how things were set up. You can still see the big hoses they used to pump the liquid oxygen into (the missiles)."

Bruns and a crew of dive masters, including his son, David, and Brett Butcher, both of Pasco, lead groups through the maze of tunnels that eventually lead to the launch silos.

All three silos are flooded with ground water, as a stream flows through the underground caverns. The military kept it dry with pumps and after the site was decommissioned, a salvage company bought it and stripped out everything of value.

When the salvage company left, the pumps were turned off and the launch silos and surrounding tunnels slowly filled with water, creating one of the most unique dive sites in the world.

"I had a fantastic time. There is a lot of history there," said diver Stuart Leitch of Edmonton, Alberta, who recently dove the depths of the silo. "The biggest thing was looking at all the stuff that is down there. It is part of our heritage, and our history. It was really neat.

"Looking at the big ramps at the bottom with the springs -- it was massive down there. Everything was in mega size. It met all expectations, absolutely."

Leitch was one of seven from Edmonton to dive the site last weekend. The Canadians drove 14 hours to explore the Cold War-era missile complex.

Bruns said the eeriness of seeing history come to life is what draws divers from throughout the world, including the group from Canada.

"I'm an electrician by trade and it is really difficult to see, 'Danger: High Voltage' and you are floating in water beside it, you know what I mean?" Leitch said. "There is an oxymoron there, right? It just looks like they left everything."

The dive is not for novices. It requires advanced scuba certification, but that has not stopped people from traveling from all over the world to see a part of history. A group came from the United Kingdom in 2011 and Bruns booked a group from Australia for 2013.

Experienced divers like the site because it combines a night dive, a wreck dive and a deep dive.

The silo is 160 feet deep and 44 feet in diameter; the water level is at 110 feet. Advanced divers also can swim through some of the fully engulfed tunnels to see the equipment rooms.

All of which make it a bucket list dive for Lorne Garred, who owns The Dive Outfitters in Edmonton.

"It's something different," he said. "Something cool."

Divers also have a new reason to go to Royal City, as the Professional Association of Diving Instructors recently announced a new missile silo diver distinctive specialty certification.

The Royal City area complex was one of 18 Titan I missile sites built in the United States, with three in Eastern Washington. The other two are owned by Bari Hotchkiss, a California businessman, and are near Moses Lake and Odessa.

With more than 2,500 feet of tunnels, three launch silos and two giant domes which housed a powerhouse and control room, the Titan I sites, built from 1959-62, were only operational from 1962-65.

They were phased out to make way for the Titan II missiles, which could travel nearly 3,000 miles farther, doubled the megaton yield of the missile and didn't require dangerous liquid oxygen for power.

Bruns' missile dive site is only partially underwater, as there is a dry side which includes the two giant domes and two radar antenna rooms. UnderSea Adventures takes its groups into the dry side after diving the two silos. The third silo is filled with dangerous hanging objects and the company does not take the public inside, though Bruns has dived it in the past.

An Atlas missile site in Abilene, Texas, is open for diving, but it is an empty concrete structure -- nothing like the Grant County site.

The 66-year-old Bruns first found out about the dive from crop duster Bruce Eskildsen of Desert Aire, who knew the farmer who leased the complex. Bruns and his friends would dive there and after many years decided to sign a lease, insure the site and open it up to the public.

UnderSea Adventures takes groups in most weekends during the summer and a few weekends a month during the winter. The water is a constant 54 degrees, making the dive accessible year-round.

Which is something plenty have taken advantage of.

"No one is coming out here to dive the Columbia River," Bruns said. "Now we've become a destination. Who would've thought? Out here in the desert?"

-- Craig Craker: 509-582-1509; ccraker@tricityherald.com

Cost of the dive

Equipment: $1,200 to $3,000

Training: Four classes in a one-month span to learn how to scuba dive. One weekend course to gain your advanced training. Next class starts June 4 and costs $465 for the course and $89.95 for the required text.

The dive: $145 to go into the Titan I site; $20 to $30 to get the missile silo T-shirt.

For more information: Call 509-735-0735; visit 6855 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite G, Kennewick, 99336; or log on to www.UnderSeaAdventures.net.

This story was originally published May 6, 2012 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Diving into another world in the Columbia Basin."