About Us

I grew up on a horse farm in rural Missouri - Stonebridge Stables, and enlisted in the Air Force mostly to get to Alaska. The Air Force had other plans: I was assigned to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base, supporting Kennedy Space Center instead. Never did make it to Alaska.

After my discharge, the Air Force hired me back as a civilian diver, and I spent seven years on the Eastern Test Range — Ascension Island, the Lesser Antilles, the Bahamas, Grand Turk, Puerto Rico. Cave dives and lobster in the South Atlantic, windsurfing and night diving on the side, and I taught myself flintknapping in the obsidian fields of Ascension Island. I hiked every volcano on that island, no matter how painful. I was in California for the first landing test of the Space Shuttle Enterprise, one of the more electric moments of that whole stretch.

When the diving job ended, I hit the lottery a second time: hired at Kennedy Space Center during the Shuttle program, where I still work today as a Fiber Optic Specialist. Forty years now of exploring the space center's deepest tunnels, alligator-filled swamps, and tallest launch towers and getting paid for it. I still duck at the sonic booms when SpaceX boosters land back at the Cape.

My sons grew up doing the same, years of exploring KSC and Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge together, watching shuttle launches as a family. They're grown now and off on their own adventures.

Somewhere in there, my wife and I discovered the "No Motor Zone" of KSC and got hooked on fishing and paddling it, the addiction this whole site grew out of. We've since completed the MR340 three times: 340 miles down the Missouri River, Kansas City to St. Louis, 88-hour limit, sleep optional. About a third to half of the 600 racers who start it don't finish. We have.

Back in Missouri, our family fought a multi-year battle with the EPA, DNR, and an oil company over a pipeline leak on O'Day Creek in eastern Missouri, a fight defined mostly by how much power and money an oil company can bring to bear on the regulators meant to police it. That story is long enough that it has its own page: [Pipeline Leak on O'Day Creek].

These days, the diving, the space center, the paddling, the Florida history has become material for writing. My fiction and nonfiction books are on Amazon, and I'm at work on the next one, Surviving Kennedy Space Center, pulling back the curtain on the Shuttle and Artemis programs.

Kayaking?

The MR340 is 340 miles down the Missouri River from Kansas City to just upstream of St. Louis, Missouri. 88 hour time limit. Sleep optional. What an adventure!

"Lets get this done" (start of the MR340)

No Motor Zone of Kennedy Space Center

Family battle with the EPA, DNR and an oil company to clean up their pipe line leak in eastern Missouri. Due to the length of that fight, I made a separate page: Pipeline leak on the O'Day Creek.

Power and money= the oil company owns the regulatory organizations.

O'Day Creek in east Missouri

"After the storm"

Air Force days: In support of the Air Force Eastern Test Range, duty was to exotic locations (to me anyway) Ascension Island, the Lesser Antilles, the Bahamas, followed by travel to the less exotic....Nevada, Texas, California, North and south Florida.

Was in California for the first landing test of the Space Shuttle Enterprise. Exciting time in the California desert

The years of diving......Pan Am Divers

Honorable discharge from the USAF and then hired by the Air Force as a diver.....go figure...And back to Ascension Island, the Lesser Antilles, Grand Turk, Grand Bahama and Puerto Rico.

Seven years, all expenses paid to dive and dive and..... lots of lobster. Took up wind surfing and night diving.

Taught myself Flintknapping in the Obsidian fields of Ascension Island.

My job as a diver for the USAF.....Cave dives & lobsters in our spare time. Ascension Island South Atlantic

I hiked every volcano on Ascension Island, no matter how painful.

My Wahoo caught on Grand Turk Island.

(Long way from the midwest)

Best Map I have found of Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding rivers.

Photo credit: Mine!

Picture from Launch Pad 39B to pad 39A on KSC

My three sons on a trip to Missouri,

Johnson Shut Ins State Park

Sons are grown and moved on to their own adventures: Clean up of a homeless camp on the beach.

The Missouri River MR340

Three times entered and completed the worlds longest non stop river kayak race the MR340 340 miles down the Missouri River from Kansas City to just upstream of St. Louis, Missouri. 88 hour time limit.

Had to point out the word "completed" because one third to one half of the 600 racers drop out from injury or exhaustion.

Goal: Another run at the MR340 race, for it is an awesome adventure!

A side effect of this race hobby: Lots of unused boats and gear--and any excuse to paddle!

Thought it was only fair to share the boats to show others some of the remote wilderness areas of the east coast of Florida.

Admission: And still have not made it to Alaska...... But have done the MR340 three times....

The elusive MR340 race finish line!

So I mostly over skipped the entire nightmare scenario of having to fight with an oil company when their pipeline burst. Reason for passing? because it did not happen in Florida and it is a long read and was a long nightmare. However it might be of some interest & posted the link twice on this page:

Pipeline break on the O'Day Creek