After a smooth night crossing from San Diego, I awoke to the sound of a freed anchor and the gentle tug as it sat firm in the sand. I rose to the deck, eyes wide once the morning’s coffee was prepared, to an almost glass-like sea near the southern tip of San Clemente Island. Cloudy skies presented a grayness over the ocean, but it was no indication of the vibrance and solitude I would soon find beneath the waves.

The two-hour drive south had ended with a spectacular sunrise, saturating the coast in a deep pink that one could feel and breathe. I arrived early to ensure I could find a much-coveted parking space. It was clear and calm—the reason I picked today for a dive trip down the coast.

This first dive would be solo, shallow and relaxing. I wandered back to the car to begin laying out my gear: a 7mm wetsuit, 5mm hooded vest, gloves, booties and, of course, my trusty camera, with wide-angle lens and dome port attached.

An avid diver for over 20 years, Brent Durand is a widely published underwater photographer and dive writer who has served as editor-in-chief of the Underwater Photography Guide and imaging expert at Scuba Diving Magazine and Sport Diver. With a reputation for insightful-yet-simple reviews and tutorial articles, he has written for most of the top dive publications. Helping hundreds of divers “take their photography to the next level,” Durand has led underwater photography workshops in California, the Bahamas, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

The parking lot was empty as we unloaded and set up our gear on a downed redwood tree trunk. Today would be a wetsuit dive, since my dive buddy and I would be doing a lot of swimming. The cool steel 117 (15L) tanks were filled to the max. Ziiiiiip.

Snap. Clip. Clip. Zzzzzzzz. Hoooofff.

“OK. Let’s do it.”

The Yukon. The ship entered service in 1963. The Yukon was mostly used as a training ship. Built on the west coast in North Vancouver, the Yukon was immediately transferred to the east coast. Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia she remained on the east coast for a year, as part of the First Canadian Escort Squadron. The Yukon escorted Queen Elizabeth II aboard the HMY Britannia on visits to several Canadian port cities. She returned to the Pacific in 1965.

The squid run is hard to predict but usually occurs in December. Avid divers surveying the canyons will see indicators of a pending squid run: a lone squid or two during a night dive, solitary egg cases attached to the substrate here and there, and moon phase clues. The most popular area for divers to experience the event is the submarine canyon of Redondo Beach in Los Angeles, as it is a very accessible night beach dive.

Yellowstone National Park is a remote wilderness. The closest major airports are six to eight hours away by car in Salt Lake City, Utah and Denver, Colorado. I started the 24-hour drive from Texas at dawn with my buddy Doug Harder. We watched as flat plains in the Texas panhandle gave way to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. We completed our drive the first day as the moon rose and continued our journey the next day.

When I set out on my journey, I was already an experienced local diver that appreciated the diversity of my Texas diving. As an underwater photographer, I thought people would learn to value and protect their waters if I created compelling imagery. Despite my experience, I didn’t know what I would see and experience on my journey. In the United States, I had only previously dived Texas and Florida.