I have been writing about the landscape and history of Kentucky for many years. I am a lifelong caver who has been exploring, mapping and studying caves for more than fifty years. I am also interested in water resources, springs and springhouses, environmental issues, horses and equine history, and the history of gunpowder, among other subjects. My work has been published in such respected journals as the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society (6 times), Filson Club History Quarterly (twice), Ohio Valley History (twice), Historical Archaeology and others. I would like to share some of these stories with you on this website; you can download them for free.

The Arabian horse Massoud with Yusef Badra, a native of Syria. Kentucky horseman Keene Richards purchased this horse from Badra at Beirut  in 1852  and hired Badra to transport this and other horses to Kentucky. Painted by Edward Troye at Georgetown, Kentucky, in 1854. Private collection, courtesy of the owner.