About Us

Written by Clear Creek Crystals Founder:

Stuart O. Schmitt, Capt, USN, Ret.

F-14
The lead airplane is flown by me, the Commanding Officer of VF-111 Sundowners

It could take a life time to complete this page but I will try to keep it brief. How does an egotistical Navy fighter pilot become a crystal miner? I guess there comes a time when anyone can wake up and say, "There has to be more to life than this."

I was born in a small Iowa town, Nichols, in 1942. After graduating from high school in the top 50% of my class as salutatorian (only four in my class), I went to Iowa State University. College was fun and I learned how to pass tests without learning very much. I graduated with an electrical engineering degree and a commission as Ensign in the U.S. Navy. I reported to flight training in Pensacola, Florida in July 1964 with a new wife and ready for a new life. Finally, motivated to accomplish something, the Navy provided many opportunities to achieve. After 24 years, around 5000 flight hours, and about 1000 carrier landings, I reached my level of incompetence. My last assignment was Navy Deputy Program Manager for the joint service National Aerospace Plane Program (NASP). My ego loved the job but I was unhappy. I didn’t know how to quit or retire so I managed to get myself fired by putting the Secretary of the Air Force staff on report for Fraud, Waste & Abuse. Navy Captains were not suppose to put their bosses on report.

I retired in August, 1988, and my search for what I wanted to do with the rest of my life began. It took a year and a half to discover that what I wanted to be was HAPPY. My ego didn’t much care for my decision to sell everything we owned, buy a motor home and travel around the country (at age 47 an adult should really be doing something responsible with his life). You can't imagine how freeing it was to not be possessed by my possessions.

My search for happiness ended when I took a week long course called Avatar. It was during this course that I learned and experienced that my beliefs were responsible for creating the events I experienced in my life, and I could deliberately change my beliefs to create what I wanted to experience.  

One day I decided to deliberately become a crystal miner. I have many other identities (husband, father, gardener, fisherman, Avatar Master, etc.), but as I continue on my wandering path I move ever closer to what I call, God. In my own way, I am contributing to the creation of an enlightened civilization. Somehow, crystal mining is suppose to be on my path.