The first time Sen. Jack Taylor drove into Steamboat, Colo. it was dusk outside. And within 24 hours, he decided it was the place for him.

That story may sound impulsive, but not for Taylor, who has done everything from living on a house boat in New Orleans to helping establish oil refineries in Kuwait. Taylor never predicted that he would one day be elected senator for Colorado’s District 8.

This Legislative session, however, Taylor acknowledged that he is most concerned with energy development, since such projects will greatly impact his district’s economy and environment.

“I support the development of alternative energy resources, but it needs to be done in

an environmentally sound way,” Taylor said.

Taylor grew up on farm in Iowa and attended Iowa State University, where he played baseball. His team competed in the College World Series and placed third in the nation.

The senator hopped around the country after graduating college in 1957. He was stationed in U.S. Navy in Seattle after college, and it was there that he first learned how to snow ski.

He later took a job with Boeing Aerospace in New Orleans, where he worked on the Apollo Moon Landing Project.

A few years later Taylor took a job in Kuwait helping to construct and staff the country’s first oil refinery. He took the Kuwait job because there was a promise of eventually being transferred to Europe. But when those plans fell through, Taylor found himself living and working in New York, but Taylor decided that the Big Apple wasn’t for him.

In 1975, Taylor settled down in Colorado. He has established himself in Steamboat Springs, and for the next 10 years he became involved in the coal mining business. It wasn’t until 1988 that the businessman evolved into a politician.

After working on a few local campaigns and taking deeper interest in Colorado politics, Taylor ran for a seat in the Colorado State House and won in 1992. He’s been serving the in the state Legislature ever since and is one of only a few lawmakers who can boast that he’s seen three different governors hold office.

Taylor considers being a senator a full-time job, and he can often be found traveling through his district in a big yellow pick-up truck. He estimates that this session he’s logged about 35,000 miles traveling his district trying to keep in touch with constituents.

“Being a rural Legislature is a lot of work, but I do value the time I get to spend thinking about life and my job,” Taylor said of his long drives.

What he loves most about being a senator is his ability to solve problems for his constituents, but he dislikes trying to raise money.

Taylor is serving his last term, and noted that he will miss interacting with the people, but he won’t miss the “tedious lawmaking” process.