Charlie spent much of his childhood roaming the ridges, ‘hollers’, and trout streams of his native West Virginia. This allowed him to observe the degradation and subsequent recovery of clearcuts across vast swaths of the mountains he called home, much of which his grandfather had helped clearcut a couple of generations earlier. He later earned a bachelors degree in biology at Fairmont State, and a doctorate in cell biology from the University of Texas. Following a research and teaching career in Indiana, he and his wife Becky retired to the Colorado Rockies and became avid hikers, fishermen and explorers. They also found time to build two active and passive solar homes, chair the board of the Greater Arkansas River Nature Association, coordinate the Upper Arkansas Watershed Council, and hold offices in their local square dance club. Charlie also served as vice president of Chaffee County Habitat for Humanity, as Pueblo Presbytery liaison, and as president of the Colorado State Square Dance Association. Among their travels were a number of winter trips to Arizona, culminating in their buying a house in Gold Canyon in 2011 and becoming Arizona residents in 2014. They’ve become passionate about hiking the Superstitions, and conserving the landscape and ecosystems of these mountains.