Daniel Tyler has lived an eclectic life. From his childhood in Pennsylvania to retirement in Colorado, he has enjoyed the privileges that accompany good family, solid health, reasonable smarts, and financial security. Although educated mostly away from home, Daniel was greatly impacted by time spent working on his father's Crystal River Ranch in Carbondale, Colorado. Figuring out how to be self-sufficient, how to fix things, how to deal with unexpected trauma, and how to lead others were lessons that had incalculable value later in life. As an instructor pilot in the United States Air Force, this work experience was applied to teaching student pilots. When he left the USAF, he continued to pursue these interests over a forty-year career at Hawaii's Punahou School, Albuquerque Academy, and Colorado State University. As a historian at CSU, he developed a passion for writing and published several books on water rights and development in the American West. In 2022, he wrote about his ancestors' legacy in Buck's County, Pennsylvania. recounts Daniel's personal journey that started in 1933.