Jay Taylor:  

Life After high school I did some undergrad classes and then left school to work as a fisher and driver and wander the West with a rope and backpack. I finished my BS in 1990, MA in 1992, and PhD in 1996. I taught at Iowa State U. until the end of 2003, then moved to Simon Fraser University. I teach history and geography, and I research and write on the history of fisheries, recreation, and conservation. My most recent book is on the history of Yosemite rock climbing, but I am now writing books congressional conservation and a Colorado congressman named Edward Taylor, and I am building an online data project that will map federal payments to western counties for grazing, mining, timber, and waterpower receipts. The latter involves some mind-numbing data entry (over 40K total cells) but the resulting maps are fascinating . . . at least to nerds like myself. My private life circles around my daughter, who is about to enter her teens and give me yet more grief. We spend a lot of time either on adventures or planning the next foray. In my spare time I ride a bike, swim, climb a mountain or two, and travel. The main challenge is figuring out the next thing to see or do. I've done this since even before...Expand for more