Born in 1942 I attended local public schools in Western Illinois near the Mississippi & Rock Rivers where I spent much of my free time exploring the local stretches. I was very active in the Boy Scouts. I attended Western Illinois University (BS in Ed) and Indiana University (MS & PhD). I met my wife of 52 years while doing an Ecology Project in graduate school. I came to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the Fall of 1969 when I was hired to teach botany. I was there until I retired in 2010. During my time in California, I was an early participant of the Environmental Movement. Through most of the years I was active in the local Chapter of the California Native Plant Society and Population Connection (formally ZPG). After growing up in the Midwest and coming to California I fell in love with the new experience of real hills and mountains. I spent much of my free time backpacking in the mountains, especially the Sierra Nevada.