Rylee Petterson, above, of Owatonna, is the area's youngest scuba diver. Petterson trains with Beb Peoble, of Albert Lea, every two weeks at the Albert Lea Family Y. -- Andrew Dyrdal/Albert Lea Tribune

Eight-year-old Rylee Petterson follows her father everywhere.

The two have climbed Devils Tower in Wyoming’s Black Hills and skied black diamonds in Aspen, Colo.

Looking for a new challenge, the second-grader now follows her dad underwater every two weeks at the Albert Lea Family Y for scuba diving training. Her ultimate goal: scuba dive in Cozumel, Mexico.

Rylee began diving three months ago with certified open water instructor Bob Peoble, of Albert Lea. Draped in 55 pounds of scuba gear — equal her body weight — Rylee along with Peoble and her father, Jason, of Owatonna, hovers underwater learning hand signals, mask clearing, regulator recovery and how to equalize her ears.

“She’s very outgoing and loves challenges,” Peoble said. “Her dad is an advanced open water diver and she really wants to dive with him. She wants to do things dad does.”

The idea of seeing and breathing underwater has interested Rylee since a very young age.

“It’s like an adventure,” she said. “You get to see a lot of stuff.”

By 8 years old, Rylee has already seen a lot.

She’s an avid downhill skiier who began when she was 3 years old. She isn’t afraid of going fast or wiping out, either. She likes steeper slopes.

“It’s harder and more fun,” she said.

Open water instructor Bob Peoble, bottom left, scuba dives with Rylee Petterson, center, and Jason Petterson at the Albert Lea Family Y. Rylee, an eight-year old, has been diving with Peoble for three months. -- Bob Peoble/Peoble Photography

She’s also an indoor and outdoor rock climber who loves the mountains. In the winter, Rylee climbs indoors in St. Paul.

“She’s a doer not a watcher,” Jason said. “She very determined. When she puts her mind to something, she’s going to do it.”

Peoble said Rylee is quickly making progress. As the youngest diver he’s trained by three years, Peoble said Rylee pays better attention to instruction than most junior high students he’s taught and that she challenges him as an instructor.

“She’s getting better every time,” Peoble said. “And she wants to do more.”

This summer, Rylee will take the plunge into her first open water dive either in a quarry or pond. Either way, it has to be a confined environment free of boats, waves and currents.

Rylee already has experience in open water. Before she even began scuba diving she would swim to the bottom of a shallow lake at her family’s cabin and pick up shells off the floor.

Peoble, certified by the Professional Association of Dive Instructors, said Rylee can only dive with an instructor until she is 10 years old. After that, if Rylee gets her wish, she and her father will be diving in the Caribbean Sea.

So what’s Rylee’s next adventure?

“Skydiving!” she said.

Her father said she would have to wait a few years.

Jason Petterson is a 1996 graduate of Albert Lea High School. He worked as a Freeborn County sheriff’s deputy in 1999 and has since worked for the Owatonna Police Department.

Rylee Petterson

• Age: 8
• Address: Owatonna
• Family: father, Jason, mother, Kristy, brother, Tyler (5 months), sister, Payton (5 months)
• Livelihood: student at Lincoln Elementary School in Owatonna
• Interesting fact: She wants to live in Colorado.