About Us!
Freshwater greetings from fabulous Las Vegas!

Mission Scuba is the pet project of the Howard family of Henderson, Nevada.  We all enjoy scuba diving, but primarily, Russ (Dad), is the driving force behind the website.

We are firm believers that a certification does not make you an expert, or even qualified, to dive a particular specialty, but we do believe that pursuing further certifications exposes you to more training, different styles of teaching, and of course, more experience, which ultimately helps you become a better (and safer) diver. We urge you to seek out the best instruction you can reasonably afford.

Our certifications include:

Russ (Dad): PADI Instructor, PADI EFR (First Aid & CPR) Instructor, PADI Divemaster, PADI O2 First Aid, PADI D-Sat Tec Diver, SSI DiveCon, TDI Nitrox, TDI Advanced Nitrox, TDI Decompression Procedures, TDI Extended Range, TDI Trimix, DAN Oxygen Provider, IANTD Normoxic Trimix.

Michelle (Mom): PADI Master Diver, PADI Advanced Open Water, SSI Stress & Rescue, DAN Oxygen Provider, PADI O2 First Aid, TDI Nitrox, TDI Advanced Nitrox, TDI Decompression Procedures, IANTD Technical Diver, and PADI D-Sat Tec Diver.

Andrew (11 years old): PADI Open Water (junior), DAN Oxygen Provider, and PADI O2 First Aid.

Courtney (11 years old): PADI Open Water (junior), DAN Oxygen Provider, and PADI O2 First Aid.

We have a rare and exciting treat right here in our back yard.

Roughly 75 years ago, deep in Black Canyon, more than 30 miles from the nearest town, the first dynamite blast marked the start of the construction of Hoover Dam.  That first summer, temperatures down in the canyon topped 119 degrees and from June 25th-July 26th 1931, fourteen men on the Hoover Dam construction crew died of heat prostration.

The story of the construction of Hoover Dam is amazing.  The engineering marvels, and the struggle of the workers and their triumph over the brutal desert climate makes this incredible feat such a remarkable accomplishment.  

For the technical diver, there are amazingly preserved remnants of the dam construction deep below the surface.   Most of the structures and railways were removed before the canyon was flooded, but foundations, railbeds, cabling, huge piles of aggregate, train hoppers, concrete tunnels, and more still remains.

We aggressively explore the Boulder Basin and Black Canyon near the dam using written history, old photos and terrain maps as guides, in hopes of finding more undiscovered goodies long since submerged.