Michael S

The Misadventures of a Prospecting Trip It was definitely worth it. June 2006 Sometimes what starts out crappy, ends up not so bad. I need to remember this. I was recently preparing for my prospecting trip to Alaska.  All the usual stuff.  Get a list, buy all the stuff, lay it out on the floor. […]

Thanks, Dad I am often asked why? Why did you go there? Why ghost towns? Why this ghost town? I never have an answer. I suspect my father is to blame. I was born in Ames, Iowa. My dad, Joseph John Sinnwell, was a civil servant for 35 years. Not the type we think of

The Old Man and the Stump. They laughed at him. “Stupid old man, he will never do it.” They said things like, “Is he stupid?” and “Why doesn’t he just hire somebody to do it?” “That root must go to China.” “It will take him a year to do it.” The cherry tree was over

What I like About Alaska One day I was asked why I keep going back to Alaska so I put together this brief list for him. Here they are, in no particular order: Lawn mowers on top of the roof.  Well, it was a sod roof. Saw plenty of American flags flying high on houses,

I don’t think I will be invited back. You need to understand the environment. Location:  Prestigious College Paleontology Lab   Attendees:  Lab curator, numerous professors, and a total of about 20 other people from across the USA with two-thirds of the group retired. Other than the curator and the professors, everyone else was a volunteer.

Grandkids Grandmas and Grandpas can always learn a few things when the grandkids come to visit. The usual tendency is to spoil the heck out of them and then send them packing. The reality is much different. Here are some of the things I learned recently in 2012, while we had three beautiful granddaughters ages

Wayne’s World – Back to the future In the 1970’s a good friend and I used to compete in desert races on our motorcycles. We would practice in the deserts and mountains of Arizona. On one of our trips we ended up in Cleator, out of gas, and about ten miles from our camp site.

And then the fight began. Well, it has been one heck of a day. My sides hurt so badly I can hardly move. I got a backache that won’t quit, a toe that points in the wrong direction, and a head that feels like someone is inside pounding to get out. On top of that

How to scare a bear! When I am out hunting ghost towns I like to wander into the local bar and find the “old timers.” The challenge is to see if I can get them to tell me about their past. Typically, I get skeptic looks and silence— until they realize that I just may

How I learned to like coffee During the process of growing up around coffee drinkers, some people seem to naturally develop a taste for coffee. Even my grandchildren now watch closely whenever I pour myself a cup. You can always see it in their eyes.  It’s something new that they’ve never tried. This inevitably makes