This contribution to the 75th Anniversary of the AGU is an informal and anecdotal account of the author's research interests and activities as they relate to cosmic ray investigations involving geophysics and experiments in space during the period 1947 to the 1960's. It begins with the discovery of the cosmic ray nucleonic component geomagnetic latitude effect and its application to establishing the interplanetary origin of the cosmic ray intensity vs. time variations and the concept of solar modulation. The development of the cosmic ray neutron monitor contributed not only to an understanding of interplanetary electrodynamical processes, but also to the experimental evidence for a heliosphere. The author discusses the introduction of cosmic ray physics into the International Geophysical Year (1957--58) and the post-IGY initiation at the University of Chicago of research based on experiments carried in spacecraft. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1994