Nothing gives me more joy than a dinosaur bone. Maybe a wild box turtle peeing on my hand. Or a swift fox skull. Or bear footprints. Or the view from 14,023-foot San Luis Peak.
Colorado’s natural places have always nurtured my curiosity and sense of wonder. I grew up at the base of Pikes Peak and spent my teen summers on cattle ranches near Limon and Dinosaur. Most recently I hiked 1,500 miles across Colorado on both diagonals through plains, mountains, and sagebrush steppe.
My appreciation and understanding of Colorado have been enhanced by adventures around the globe: I have boated up the Rio Negro in Brazil, hiked the Swiss Alps and Scottish countryside, explored Japan, gone on safari in Zambia, and snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. But my daily intimacy with nature is at home as I hike the hills and prairie around Boulder, binoculars in one hand and an interesting rock in the other.
Naturalist Background
- Backpacked 1,471 miles across Colorado along both diagonal transects SE-NW in 2020 and NE-SW in 2022. Spent 135 days hiking across the plains, mountains, sagebrush steppe, and desert. Listened to farmers and ranchers. Learned animal tracks and calls, plants, ecology. Mastered backpacking and maps.
- Found a dinosaur when I was 12 years old on a friend’s ranch. Dug up 18 bones myself. Then the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) hired me at age 16 to finish the excavation. The allosaurus in now on display at the museum.
- Gave online seminar for the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) on How to Plan a Transect Hike, Oct. 19, 2020.
- Completed CMC seminars on backcountry navigation and through-hike planning, 2020.
- Wilderness First Aid certification, 2018 and 2021
- Wildlands Restoration Volunteers: nature restoration crew leader, 2014–ongoing, board member, 2015–2019
- Dinosaur Ridge: children’s nature camp instructor, 2018
- Denver Museum of Nature and Science: Laramidia Project paleontology field research volunteer, 2018–2019, paleontology field assistant 1982–83
- Sky & Telescope: oversaw development of interactive star chart and amateur astronomy website, 2000–2002
- Dartmouth College: B.A. English literature, 1988; courses in chemistry, physics, geology, and animal behavior
- Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, nominated member 1985–1986
