Adventures with Kym
Follow the trips and everyday adventures Kym and I have shared, from Florida waterways and beaches to national parks and destinations far beyond home.
Explore Adventures with Kym →Welcome to TimDriskell.com
This website is the story of a life spent exploring—by kayak, canoe, paddleboard, hiking trail, bicycle, climbing rope and open road. It brings together photographs and stories from Florida’s rivers and coastlines, adventures across the United States, travels through Central and South America, family history, conservation work and a lifetime of experiences outdoors.
I’m Tim Driskell, a retired USGS hydrologic technician and field biologist living in Pinellas County, Florida. I’ve spent much of my life exploring rivers, mountains, forests and coastlines—and working to understand and protect them.
Some pages document recent paddles and travels with Kym, friends and Buddyboy. Others reach back through decades of climbing, backpacking, road trips, conservation work and family memories. Together, they form an evolving personal history of the places, people and experiences that have mattered to me.
There is a lot here. This is a simple place to begin.
Choose a direction
Every doorway leads to a different part of the story. Pick the one that interests you—or wander through them all.
Paddling Adventures
Explore Florida’s rivers, springs, mangrove tunnels, coastal islands and open water through photographs, maps and firsthand stories.
Explore Paddling Adventures →Travels and Road Trips
Revisit decades of travel across the United States, Canada, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
Explore My Travels →Hiking, Climbing and Mountains
Read about backpacking, mountaineering, rock climbing and wilderness adventures—from New England to the American West and high Andes.
Head for the Mountains →Family Stories and Photographs
Meet the people who shaped my life through family photographs, memories and stories preserved across generations.
Begin with Grandpa’s Story →Conservation and Field Work
Learn about my work in hydrology, field biology and environmental protection—and why rivers, wetlands and wild places matter.
Explore Conservation →Sunsets and Everyday Florida
Not every adventure requires a distant destination. Some begin with an evening walk, Buddyboy or changing light over the Gulf.
View Sunset Adventures →About TimDriskell.com
Learn more about me, the experiences behind this collection and why I created this growing personal archive.
About Tim and the Website →A few stories to begin with
Six very different doors into the larger story—from Florida swamps to the high Andes, the Amazon and family history.
01
Kym, the Best of the Best
The person I now share so many Florida adventures, paddles, sunsets, travels, music and everyday moments with.
Meet Kym →
02
Seventeen Runs
A 16.4-mile day through the Hillsborough River’s remote maze of narrow channels, fallen trees and floodplain forest.
Paddle Seventeen Runs →
03
The 1994 Road Trip
Four months and roughly 12,000 miles out West—climbing, paddling, mountain biking and living amid huge desert landscapes.
Begin the road trip →
04
South America, 1996–97
An independent journey through Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and the Galápagos that changed the direction of my life.
Begin the journey →
05
The Smithsonian Amazon Expedition
Four weeks of biodiversity fieldwork at San Martín-3 in the remote Lower Urubamba of Peru.
Enter the rainforest →
06
Mom and Dad in the 1950s
Early photographs and family memories preserve Mom and Dad’s story during the years before—and at the beginning of—the family we came to know.
Explore Mom and Dad’s story →Finding your way around
- Most photographs can be selected to open a larger version.
- Longer adventures may include route maps, videos and related stories.
- Use the links at the top and bottom of each page to return home.
- To find a particular river, destination, person or year, use the complete sitemap.
Part travel journal.
Part family archive.
Part life outdoors.Still growing, one adventure at a time.
Part family archive.
Part life outdoors.Still growing, one adventure at a time.
The story is still being written
This website will never really be finished. I continue adding recent adventures while also recovering old photographs and stories from earlier parts of my life.
I hope you’ll choose a direction, follow a few links and enjoy exploring it with me.
—Tim Driskell