I was blessed to be raised in the San Joaquin Valley when water was plentiful and the air was clean. On a good day, I could stand in my driveway and see the Sierra Nevada range to the East, and the Coast Range to the west. On weekends the family would pile into our VW Beetle and drive drive for hours through the mountains. Mom loved geology, and would tell us what she knew about the rock formations we drove by. Geology was in my blood by the time I entered college.
I took science courses the first three years of college at Fresno State. I couldn’t get enough Biology and Geology, so I decided to do a double major and choose a career path later on. Family plans changed, and we moved to Portland. Field trips were no longer as much fun because the rocks were buried under vegetation, and it was usually wet and cold. So, I changed course, and seven years later became a dentist. I loved my career, but never lost my passion for geology,.
Decades later, I am able to spend time studying the Missoula Floods with a great group of like minded geology enthusiasts. I love telling children about the geology of the North West, and hope to write a book
that will inspire them to explore this fascinating corner of the world.