I am the youngest of four children (three boys and one girl) to two Dust Bowl Okies who migrated to the Central Valley in California. My mother, Nell, was memorialized in a famous Merle Haggard song “Okie from Muskogee” released in 1969. Well, maybe Merle was not singing about my mom, but she is an Okie from Muskogee. As was the norm in those days, my mom was a homemaker. I don’t recall her being a great cook. She made up for it by having a good heart, of which I too often took advantage. For some transgression it would be “go to your room.” No time limit, and within 15 minutes she would be there saying I could go outside if I promised to be good. Sure, I was a kid and kids don’t take such promises too seriously. I believe this leniency on the part of mom, was partially attributable to a “been there, done that” feeling since I was the last of the brood. In contemporary parlance, I was a free range kid. I got used to bugs, rocks, cuts and scrapes without constant supervision. I would make it mostly on my own, or not make it at all—and for that I’m grateful. What is more apropos for a Baby Boomer than growing up in a small town in a rural area? Not exactly “Leave it to Beaver”, but like the Beaver I was a mischievous kid. Not a bad child, but one with an abundance of energy and curiosity—if I was born decades later I would undoubtedly have been a Ritalin kid. I’m sure in my somewhat rebellious teenage years my parents secretly wished, at least once or twice, that I would run away. I fooled them and hung around.    

My first book, Why We Left the Left" was awarded Honorable Mention in the non-fiction category of the League of Utah Writers Published Book Competition in September 2013.

My second book, Challenge Authority: Memoir of a Baby Boomer, was awarded 2nd Place in the non-fiction category of the League of Utah Writers Publish Book Competition in September 2014.

I think we can all agree that nature and outdoor activity are winners. I’m fortunate that my hiking book, Hiking Southwest Utah and Adjacent Areas, Volume Two, recently won a Silver Quill Award (2nd Place) in the non-fiction category of the League of Utah Writers Published Book Contest. It is especially noteworthy, since the contest was open to any writer, not just League members.

I believe this award is due mostly to the incredible areas my wife Deb and I hike. I’m occasionally able to capture nature’s wonders in words and photos.