SP: How are you today? 

MS: Flustered. 

SP: No, you’re going to be good. Can I just get your name, date, and place of birth to start us off?

MS: Michael James Slevin, Oakland, California. 

SP: Oh, Oakland.

MS: Yeah, and what was the next one?

SP: Date of birth.

MS: 5-29-54.

SP: Nice. What was it like in Oakland?

MS: I don’t know, I  was a little baby then. It was predominantly Irish, you know, so it was, meant that you walk into everybody’s house because they all loved you and they’d give you a cookie and send you on your way. And that’s all I remember about that. My grandmother’s house, just being nostalgic.

SP: Yeah, when did you move out of Oakland? Well, your family, I guess.

MS: I was a year and four months and my brother was six months old.

SP: Okay, so you weren’t in Oakland very long then?

MS: No.

SP: And where’d you guys go after that?

MS: San Diego, I think.

SP: Nice, so further south.

MS: Yeah, I don’t really remember much. Yeah, I know we went to San Diego because I remember the ships at the harbor and stuff like that.

SP: Oh, cool.

MS: I used to go do that. By then my mother had divorced my father. I was like two and a half or three. My brother was just a year old.

SP: Do you have any other siblings or just the brother?

MS: Oh yeah, I got two sisters from separate fathers. So I got my brother, he’s solid, the rest of the fish are all just sort of floating around the ocean.

SP: And then did you grow up mostly in California or did you move to different states?

MS: Yeah, I grew up mostly in California, well all in California, but all along the California coast. And inside along Highway 99 because we were in Las Banas and Dos Palos.

SP: Cool.

MS: That area. And then I moved to L.A. to be with my mother part of the time. And part of the time I was with my father. So we were up working the sites that he’d go to work, you know, on a big job. So we’d move in the neighborhood. And so we were always moving, always doing something bad.

SP: So as you got older, did you want to stay in California?

MS: No, I wanted out. I wanted to get out and as far away as I could.

SP: Where did you go once you were able to get outside of California? Was it just here or did you go other places before?

MS: Well, where did I go? I went to Tahoe, which is kind of California.

SP: A different vibe though in Tahoe, I think. Definitely different from L.A.

MS: Sometimes. And I worked a ski lodge up there, Squaw Valley. It’s not actually, Squaw Valley’s its own entity. It’s not like Southern California Squaw Valley. Squaw Valley, if you put Squaw Valley on an envelope, you send it to there, it’ll wind up in the desert. It’s like a 200 people.

SP: Oh, wow.

MS: Live there. You know, it’s like spread all over the place. They got a little post office there and it’s, you come get your mail when you want it. So, it was important to know Squaw Valley, U.S.A. And then, where did I go? I spent a couple trips up and down California doing different jobs. Some cooking, some truck driving, some construction, you know, labor. And I got to, I was back in Squaw Valley and my friend said: We’re going, want to come? And I’m going, no, no, no, I don’t want to go. You know, I just got a new job. I just got settled into a new place. I’m staying here. Well, when they sobered me up, I was on the road. You know, I quit my job, piled in my panel truck with seven other people and came out this way. And let’s see, my friends stole 70 bucks for me for a new tire. I supposedly, well, I got a flat. And it was going to take too long to fix it. So, they said, well, we’ll go buy you, get you a new tire, put it on, all that stuff. Well, the odd thing was, they stole the tire. Got it on the truck and we’re driving down the road. And I didn’t find out that they stole it until four months later. You know, when they got drunk and they fessed up how they stole the tire so they’d have more money for drinking. That’s the kind of friends I was running with. And then we got here and we got here on Easter Sunday. The girls made us stop down the hill at a church. So, they could go in and, well, we were still all drunk by then. You know, playing Frisbee out in the parking lot. Not going in, but just waiting for the girls. And then the girls came and we came on up. Of course, my panel had no heat. So, everybody in there was all bundled up and stuff. So, there were a few people in there and everybody was in the station wagon. Uh, and got here on Easter Sunday. Back in, I don’t know, a long time ago. 

SP: Yeah, and that was your first time coming up here?

MS: Yeah, we came up just for, you know, summer jobs and a visit. Well, I didn’t bother leaving. You know, a couple of the people in our group, they all left and went back to their real lives. Some of us actually stayed up here and, I don’t know, Kelly Turner was one of them. We had Little Lou, who was a midget. Jimmy, he was a very good drunk. And then three girls were up there. Uh, yeah, that was our crew. We all got jobs over in Hamilton stores to start off with. Some of the girls went and worked at the housekeeping for one of the places. That was it. That’s how we got, that’s how I got here. And I spent a couple years.

Well, I went to work for Hamilton stores when I first got here. Hamilton stores was connected to Death Valley in the case that they worked for Furnace Creek. They owned Furnace Creek down there. And so I wound up going down there and cooking. And that’s when I met, oh, shit, what was his name? I can’t remember. I’m brain dead. And he knew Jim and Marsha. But he was a cook and knew Jim and Marsha. So that’s how I got back up here. And I went to work for Jim and Marsha, and that’s when my extent stayed. You know, I spent five years up here working for them, and then I had to run away again. Go down the hill and see where, what’s all about. And wound up working for the city of Long Beach. Cleaning out shit toilets. Cleaning out bathrooms along the beach and stuff like that. Not a very attractive job, but, you know, it wasn’t very difficult either. You didn’t have to be a mental giant. Well, you had to know not to mix ammonia and bleach, you know, in your cleaning solution. But that was about it.

SP: Yeah

MS: Been about two years doing that. And then I had to come back up here. So I came back up here and went back to work for Jim and Marsha. And because they had a place open for me to crash at. And that’s where my last chance was. That was 88, the year of the fires.

SP: So you came back for the fires.

MS: Came back for the fires, yep.

SP: I was two in 1988.

MS: Oh, you poor child.

SP: So what was it about West Yellowstone that had you coming back.

MS:  You could come here. You could make a living. You’d get in trouble once in a while, you know, with drinking and stuff. And you’d get the dunce hat. You’d sit in the corner for a while. And they’d forgive you. You know, you’re always forgiven because there’s always somebody else outdoing you. You know, it was kind of a competition without being a competition. Uh, I like that idea. And I like the idea of working seven, eight months out of the year. Having the rest off on unemployment. You know, I figured I’m getting my social security now by not working through. Instead of getting it at the end. Which has worked out pretty good, I guess. Since I don’t do anything now. You know, it’s not like I want to go visit the stars or anything. I just want to sit here and hide.

SP: That was one of the things that my mom and dad always liked about working here too. Was you’d get time off and you could collect unemployment. But because you had a callback date, it wasn’t complicated.

MS: Right.

SP: So. So did you want to cook?

MS: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I loved cooking. Um. I left out a few spots. When I was in Tahoe, I worked at a place called the Fresh Catch. And it dealt in fresh seafood. We had lobsters and we had clams flown in. And you know, all this great fresh fish, and learned a lot there. You know. Yeah, it was a good place to work. I mean, high dollar money, you know. Tips were great. You know, the cooks got tipped too, because it was a fair play. You know, where the waitress wouldn’t walk out with $300 and you’d walk out with your wage. That’s not fair. So everybody got tipped out in the kitchen every night. You know, and then they put in an envelope when they split it all up. And then they stash it for you, you know. Then you can go in and get your envelopes anytime you wanted. That was good.

SP: Yeah, that sounds good.

MS: And then they needed somebody on days to hold the kitchen together, you know. So they picked me. And well, there went the tips, of course because it was day shift and it was a night place. And then I quit there and went to a place called the Fresh, or the Cookbook.

SP: Cute.

MS: Yes. It was called Cookbook. And it was up there on Highway 50. And that was a morning place, but I mean, they had everything. They had chorizo and their normal omelet stuff. So that’s what they were known for. Breakfast, you know. They had four of us on the line and we just ran our asses off, you know, for three hours in the morning when everybody was getting up going, I don’t want to cook.

SP: So even before you got up here, you were used to working in a tourist environment because of your previous experience?

MS: Oh, yeah. This was no surprise. You know, the first person I worked for up here was Jack Hyde. I don’t know if you remember stories about Jack Hyde, but they’re all true. I worked for him for, I don’t know, five, six winters. Up until they shut down and he moved to his new place, you know, in the mall. I went in the back and he gave up the lease on the Timberline. And so I went, where did I go? I don’t know. I spent one winter over at the Holiday Inn. We had a lot of fun there. I mean, we had a good crew, a solid crew, you know, that knew what they were doing.

SP: That makes a big difference.

MS: Yeah, and gave us time to have fun, and then they blew it up. They decided to disperse us, you know, took our shiftage away, you know. And then I went, where? Oh, hell, I don’t know. I don’t remember much. I just remember you went to work, you got your money, you came home. Sometimes you had a good time in between. Sometimes, you know, you just went home. 

SP: Yeah, mom said there were some pretty good parties here.

MS: Yes. 

SP: Back in, back in the day.

MS: Back in the day. I remember one Halloween up at the, what was it? It was up on Highway 20 coming into town on the left-hand side, standalone building, green. It was a bar.

SP: I’m sure mom’s talked about it, but the name isn’t coming to me either.

MS: But anyway, to get into the Halloween party, you had to do a shot of tequila and a hit of acid. That was your entrance fee. And so we all did, and we were all just happy as hell and going back there.

SP: Yeah, no kidding.

MS: Having a good time and seeing what was what.

SP: Yeah, mom said she remembered in town, because there were a lot of bars and, I guess, like, you know, live spots for live music and stuff. She said they’d hand you a Go-Cup and you could just walk between.

MS: Oh, yeah.

SP: You know, it was no big deal back then.

MS: Oh, no, no. You could, yeah, walk. This bar had this special and that bar had that special, and you’d walk between and get your cup filled up. And, you know, you’d want to take a big cup in case you’re feeling generous.

SP: That sounds really fun.

MS: It was. That’s why we hated so much development. They took that away from us, along with our humanity.

SP: And did you just, you liked the community here? Which is why you came back.

MS: Actually, I’d have to say I ignored the community. You know, I didn’t participate in much. There was a lot of stuff that I just didn’t feel comfortable doing. I mean, as far as, I just didn’t. There was a lot of things I wasn’t invited to, because of my weight, because of my size, you know.

SP: I know how that goes.

MS:  So that sort of just shut me down there. So I would just work and go home, work, go home, work, go get drunk. You know, think I was somebody. Think I had friends until I ran out of money and, you know, played that game for 20 years. Yeah, at least 20. And then I got Buku, and he just sort of stopped everything. I quit drinking. I quit going to where friends would be, or what I assumed friends would be. Now, you got to remember, we were all growing up and doing our own thing. And, you know, people were having families. And just because I wasn’t, I didn’t. So I didn’t belong. You know, I realize that fact. Not doing the pity thing, but I really hated when I started losing my friends. You know, but I instigated it because I quit drinking. You know, I just flat out quit drinking. Started picking up trash out in the woods for something to do, and spent my time out there doing that. I did that for four or five years, and then went: ungrateful fucks. 

SP: Dad had a similar experience when he stopped all the party stuff, you know. Because you become lame.

MS: Yeah.

MS: So nobody, you know, the same people don’t want to hang out with you anymore. So he had that experience as well.

MS: I think everybody does because, you know, then they go, oh, well, I’m not going to hang out I haven’t had a drink and he quit drinking. Well, yeah, but, you know, I’m married now and have kids and we’re married now and have a wife and all that stuff. And I’m going, well, good for you. You know, I quit drinking just because I quit drinking. Yeah. Because I married Buku. I did, you know. And then we started that trash thing, and then both of them have been dead for a while now. So now I just exist. You know, I sit in my trailer, watch TV, which I really like because, you know, when I’m up and moving around, my back will start to hurt. I mean, hurt really bad to where I’m crippled over, you know. But if I get to a counter and stand straight up for a few minutes, it’ll ease off, but as soon as I start moving again, it comes back. So it’s a natural, well, hell, my brain just went dead.

SP: That happens sometimes too.

MS: But it’s just a natural feeling the way it goes.

SP: Yeah.

MS: I know this happens. I feel bad because I want to go out and do things. But if I do, I have to have my walker with me or the cane if I’m just going a short distance, and it used to make me feel bad. Now it doesn’t so much, but I don’t really use it for anything but going to senior lunch. You know, if I go down to the real world, I try and stop at stores that have those carts, and I love those carts. I fell in love with them a month and a half ago when I first tried one. I’m going, I go, here, try this. And I’m going, this is okay. So what if I’m an invalid? I am. You know.

SP: I think that anything that gives people more accessibility is great.

MS: Yeah. And I can go in and get a few things if that’s what I’m doing, and lean on the cart for my strength or my upwardness.

SP: Yep.

MS: But not too much.So if I go in with a cart, hell, I’m good all day. Just leave me there. I’m okay, but the thing is, you only get so much room with a cart. And it’s kind of hard when you get in toilet paper.

SP: Yeah. It takes up the whole basket.

MS: It fills the basket.

SP: Yeah.

MS: You know, I just fear this getting old. You know, I don’t want to, I don’t want to do it.

SP: I don’t blame you there. All right. Let’s go back to 88 because the fires were such a significant event, and you said you came back here in 88.

MS: Yeah.

SP: So what did you think of that, coming back and having those major fires?

MS: Oh, I loved them.

SP: Yeah?

MS: I loved them because we wound up getting jobs out in the park, and I got to be a transporter or a transformer or some damn thing. No. I used to take a guy up to a high spot so he could relay messages over the hill.

SP: Oh, cool.

MS: So that was me. And then they’d send me around in course, around when they needed something or something done. So I got to carry firemen with some of their tools and stuff around.

SP: So were you driving like through fire?

MS: Yeah.

SP: Wow.

MS: I had my van. That’s what I had. No, I had my Nissan pickup. So I could take three or four people in the back and then one up front and tools and stuff and get them on in the park and then leave them there and drive away, and oh, gee, that tree’s burning pretty hot. I had a couple explode down behind me, and so I drove and then the tree exploded behind me and I had people tell me about it, and I’m going, well, that’s cool that I didn’t have to go after that.

SP: And how did you end up doing that? Were they just like recruiting people?

MS: Hiring everybody. You know, Thunder Dick from out to Happy Hour. He got on there and then he got me a job on there because he had equipment. You know, he had a bulldozer. He had a few things like that. It was, what was his real name? Klungervich. His real name was, well, that was his last name, Klungervich. It was Karen and… they owned the Happy Hour for a while. Okay, so he got me the job out there, and I went okay. We finished up the fires and did move some equipment and stuff like that, and wound up over in Island Park to do some cleanup and stuff, and then got tired of them abusing us and I went, fuck it, I’m out of here. They go, you can’t go, you’re under contract. I go, I’m not under anything, you know. So I left and I came home and where did I go from there? Probably took some time off because I had lots of money because they paid good.

SP: Did they?

MS: Yeah, they did.

SP: When I interviewed Verlene, she said that a lot of the stuff that they paid for and how they got paid were through vouchers. Did you also have to do, like doing the direct firework, did you get vouchers or did you get an actual paycheck?

MS: I got an actual paycheck, you know, because we were, I was late to the show.

SP: Nice. But it was good money?

MS: It was. I wish I could have been there longer, you know, but so that’s what we, what else? 

SP: Were, and were you worried about staying here after the fires or were you just like, oh, that’s something that happened?

MS: Something that happened because it was so pretty that winter with all the dark charred trees in the park, you know, the white snow, it was a perfect black and white picture.

SP: Oh, wow.

MS: You know, and so those were pretty amazing, you know. We all picked a spot in the park and played games, you know, like who knows where this is? Who knows where that is? And we’re going, yep, I know where that is, right up here on the tree. We did that for a couple of years and then they got, the trees got burnt, you know. They were, they were dying. They were burnt. They weren’t this new integration into the park.

SP: And they started falling down.

MS: Then they didn’t start falling down, you know. There were a lot of them that were burnt and you thought they were going down, but nope, they’re still up. And what else? See, I don’t remember a lot about my life. I really don’t. I just, it’s just like I’ve been going through it without acknowledging it or knowing anything about it because I’ve always felt useless. So that was it.

SP: And then did you stay permanently after that or did you go?

MS: After 88?

SP: Yeah, after 88.

MS: Yeah, I’ve been here since 88 straight.

SP: And kept cooking?

MS: Yeah.

SP: Nice. I don’t like cooking. You know that. So that’s impressive to me that you stuck with it. 

MS: Well, yeah. I mean, you know, some people say, but it’s the same old bacon and eggs.

SP: Yeah.

MS: And you go, yes, but it comes in different times and different ways and, you know, different shapes and stuff like that. So there’s always a thought process going on. It’s not like you’re at a computer and just punching numbers and going, you know, you got to be able to steal and make things work when you miss something and your mother told you.

SP: Yeah, yeah. Well, and in a place like this, especially over the summer, it’s got to be really fast paced.

MS: Yes.

SP: Because there’s so many people that you have to get through the door.

MS: Uh-huh. And when I was at the last place I worked. Come on, help me.

SP: Spur, Roost, Timberline, Holiday Inn.

MS: Nope.

SP: What else was here? Ham’s.

MS: It wasn’t a real, it was a real restaurant, but it wasn’t one of those. No, not the Holiday. Loomis owned it. I only worked there for 10 years.

SP: I know, and most of the ones that I know about are the ones my mom worked at. She worked at the Spur, she worked at the Roost, she’s got fun stories about Stan Lenkowski.

MS: What the hell was that? God, this is terrible.

SP: Do you have pictures of it?

MS: No, those are my projects.

SP: Your project?

MS: Yes.

SP: Is that Buku?

MS: Yeah.

SP: Oh my gosh.

MS: Isn’t he cute and adorable?

SP: Yeah. Oh, what a cute dog. And when did you get him?

MS: Uh, I don’t know. But I got him over at, uh, a pound in Livingston, the home, he came out, he sat down next to me, he stood up, and he peed on me, and I went, that’s my dog.

SP: That’s really cute. He looked like a happy guy.

MS: He was. He was my master.

SP: That’s pretty cool. Mom loved, um, she had a big full-size van like that and loved it. Oh, what a happy dog.

MS: Is he laying in mud?

SP: No, he’s standing next to you. Is he laying in mud?

MS:  Well, that’s what he liked. That’s Two Top.

SP: Oh, that’s so cool. There’s your goofy grin, and is this, uh, when you’d go out and gather trash?

MS: They all are.

SP: Nice. You had a good setup!

MS: I had a perfect setup, and I created it.

SP: Wow. Oh, trail repairs? Awesome. You did a lot of good work, Mike.

MS: Uh-huh. But all for not. I mean.

SP: Made a difference while you were doing it.

MS: Yep, and the Forest Service did acknowledge it. They sent me a nice letter and a plaque and, uh, but I couldn’t get the town to help or support it.

SP: Which seems a little silly because the town relies on this nature stuff.

MS: Yeah.

SP: But you had Buku there with you.

MS: That’s all that mattered.

SP: Yeah.

MS: I had my dog. I was a happy camper.

SP: Man, you got a lot of stuff out there. Did you always like being out in nature?

MS: Yeah. I liked being out in nature, but I didn’t like being there. You know, as long as I had Buku with me, I was fine. Sometimes I tried to go out without him. Not so much, you know, because I’d start hearing things in the woods and I’d start seeing things out of the corner of my eye and stuff like that.

SP: That’s what I was going to ask. Did you guys ever run into bears?

MS: Ran into a bear once. He was about 200 yards off. You know, we sat there and we waited and Buku wanted to go play and I’m going, no, no, load up. His cue was load up and then he’d get on the back, and we sat there and I didn’t know whether to take my pistol out, my .357, or take my camera out. I decided on my camera, you know, because hell, he was so far off. Neglecting the fact that I know how fast they are. You know, so I took my camera out, missed a picture, because he got away before I got my camera out.

SP: But you never had a kind of like…

MS: Close encounter?

SP: Yeah.

MS: No, no, no. With a moose we did. He went playing with a moose one time. And I told him he was going to lose that battle when… 

SP: Oh man, this is really good work. I saw the, um, the seats.

MS: The what?

SP: The seats.

MS: Oh yeah.

SP: Like car seats or something out there.

MS: Yeah, out of a van.

SP: Yeah. It’s incredible what people will leave out in the middle of nowhere.

MS: Yes.

SP: Did you always go to the same place? Like, did you always follow the same trail? Or did you just go wherever you felt like that day?

MS: I did that. You know, went and I never had a plan. Or if I had a plan, I’d blow it off because I’d go somewhere else, and it was kind of stupid because nobody knew where I was. You know, but… And then he gave me a key to the gate so I could get behind them and clean them up. Yeah.

SP: So they ended up trusting you?

MS: Oh yeah.

SP: Nice. I love that picture of him. He just looks so happy.

MS: He was.

SP: What a good dog. And I’m glad he kept you company out there.

MS: Well, if it wasn’t for him, there wouldn’t have been an out there.

SP: Oh yeah?

MS: Yeah. I wouldn’t have done that by myself.

SP: Did you ever see Bigfoot?

MS: No.

SP: Oh, that’s so cool. And there’s some beautiful pictures too of just like being out there.

MS: Yes.

SP: So do you have a favorite story or favorite thing that happened or that you experienced while you were living here? Either during the fires or while you were out doing this project or even just in town?

MS: Nope, they’re all drunk.

SP: They’re all drunk.

MS: They’re all drunken stories. You know, like it took me five hours to walk from the, what was the lariat to employee housing for the warehouse over here. Took me five hours. I was up visiting the horses and them and I went back down and I didn’t go far enough so I came back up and I went back down. Yeah. I had too much fun. I was left alone, you know, they left me alone. There was a time Tiny had to get me out of the bathroom at two o’clock in the morning when I had my head in a trash can, my ass on the shitter and I was throwin up. Not a pretty sight.

SP No. Oh, so, so much partying here.

MS: Mm-hmm.

SP: And then when you first got here, was that the era before the paved roads or?

MS: Oh, yeah.

SP: Okay.

MS: Yeah.

SP: A lot of people that I’ve talked to that seems to be a big marker like… 

MS: Well, that was 88. Yeah.

SP: Oh, they didn’t pave the roads until 88?

MS: No.

SP: Oh, wow.

MS: No, because they were paving the roads, the fires were happening, everybody was going around in circles and…

SP: Yeah, it seems like a lot for a small town to take on in one year.

MS: It was, it was, you know. Tearing up the sidewalks and pouring new ones and… All in the middle of the fires.

SP: Now, did they, like, was tourism impacted that year? Because my parents said they didn’t really close the park until, like…

MS: No, no, they did not close the park. They encouraged those stupid sons of bitches to come up in their cars and they did. And then they go, where’s the fire? You go, well, it’s right there, but the road’s closed because of the fire, so you can’t get through right now. But I’m sure if you wait 20 minutes, it’ll burn itself out. You know, there were lots of road closures because of trees falling across and stuff like that.

SP: Oh, I bet.

MS: But you had no way to tell anybody or to know yourself, you know, if you’re trying to take somebody up on top. Uh, so it was, it wasn’t terrifying because I didn’t get close enough. Well, I did get close enough to fires, what am I talking about? They didn’t seem important, you know, like they were going to burn on me. Although, I was driving down the backside of, uh, what’s the big mountain out here? In the park.

SP: Um, the one closest to us?

MS: Yeah.

SP: Haynes?

MS: No.

SP: Uh, Washburn. It’s got that trail.

MS: Washburn. We were driving down the backside of Washburn. Trees were exploding and falling across the road, but they were always behind us. You know, and I’m going, well, I ought to get down in here and get a tree in front and a tree in back and just burn like a pig, and never happened. I mean, I had trees falling behind me and stuff. Most of the time I didn’t know it.

SP: Yeah.

MS: You know, because I was busy looking ahead at what was going to fall or explode in front of me. Nope. They all waited my turn.

SP: That was nice of them.

MS: Yes, it was. It was quite, quite enjoyable. Uh, it got smoky once where it was aggravating your breathing. You know, so they gave us cloths to wear, but it didn’t do much good. So we didn’t go there.

SP: And then, um, when the fire started getting closer to Yellowstone, Mike Breyers told me that a group of them kind of chainsawed their way through Baker’s Hole. Were you involved with like putting down the pipe or were you still driving people into?

MS: I was still in the park.

SP: Still driving people into the park? Wow. Yeah, Mike told me they blew a hole so that they could get the pump deep enough to pump water into.

MS: Pump water into the lines

SP: Yeah. Dad, um, dad stayed to help, but he sent me and my mom and grandma to Bozeman because he was like, if the town burns, I don’t want you guys here.

MS: Right.

SP: So, but he stayed to help.

MS: Save the town. Well, they did a good job of that.

SP: I mean, it seems like it. We’re still here.

MS: So. You know, left it a quarter mile outside and they put up the pipelines and tried to um, freshen up the forest so it wouldn’t burn so much because it was all a matter of moisture content.

SP: Yeah.

MS: You know, if you get something wet enough, just four percent and the path would find a different way because fire always found the least resistance. It’s like water, it finds the least resistance and goes. Uh, so that’s what happened when they saved, uh, when they tried to save Canyon. They lost a couple buildings out there. Uh, they didn’t have anything laid down.

SP: Mm-hmm.

MS: Canyon was basically my, my safe hole.

SP: Okay.

MS: Till they made us evacuate and go somewhere else. We were all there at Canyon. Then we’d go off on different places. You know, saw the grass field in Canyon before, you know, the quarter mile before burn up like that.

SP: I bet. Yeah.

MS: You know, because it was all just tall, dry grass and it just went woosh.

SP: Wow. So were you guys like living at Canyon?

MS: Yeah. So they. So they, they tried to get us out in time and then they couldn’t. So they just shielded us the best they could, you know, uh, the field burnt. Then it was perfectly good. You know, we were all good to go.

SP: Yeah. Well, yeah, the grass would have gotten fast, but there wasn’t substantial other.

MS: No, there was no wood, no fuel for it.

SP: Wow.

MS: And it was just the fires.

SP: Yeah. And then they didn’t go out until the snowfall, right?

MS: They didn’t go out for two, three years.

SP: Yeah.

MS:  You know, because it’s still smolder down below, you know, and just because you got snow on top doesn’t mean shit because all the water is going different directions. So if they have a good fire there, they can keep it going for two, three years. And that’s what happened with the fires kicking up in the park, you know, when the wind.

SP: Okay. I don’t know. That all sounds scary to me.

MS: It was just nature happening.

SP: Yeah. All right. So how do you feel about the changes that have happened since, in town, since you’ve been here? Good, good ones, bad ones.

MS: I feel they’re all evolutionary and there’s no way to stop it.

SP: So you just kind of go with the flow.

MS: Yeah. You know, I put up my wooden down and had it chopped off a couple of times and uh, like this project, you know, it was great. It ran good for four or five years, and then I decided it wasn’t worth it anymore. So I stopped it.

SP: And why did you start it? Were you just out, you know, doing your thing?

MS: I joined a club. It was an ATV club. They were in Bozeman. So it was like a long drive every, every month or so. No winter time. You know, so they didn’t know if I was going to make it or not. And we’re all down there and we’re doing, talking about things and stuff, and then come spring, they said, we all need to try something, start something, be something more than what we are, and of course I got Yellowstone Basin for a starting point. You know, it’s not like I have to pack up and go. You know, I had it in my back door. So I went out and started that, uh, first pickup, you know, was 800 pounds.

SP: Wow.

MS: You know, but there’s a lot of metal in there, you know, so it wasn’t.

SP: Yeah, I saw the picture where you picked up a whole engine.

MS: Well, yeah, that was a different one. But those were all spots around town that everybody knew and dumped there. I don’t know how that engine got out there. That seemed to be a little much, but then I had almost lost my toes on that.

SP: The engine?

MS: Yeah.

SP: Did you drop it on?

MS: Well, yeah, I put it, I was putting it on the trailer and I got it to that tipping point and I forgot to move my hand and it went down and then I moved my hand really quick and it missed. It missed. You know, I learned a lot of things.

SP: Okay, so your ATV club said that you needed to start a project, or that the club.

MS: Yeah.

SP: Needed to start a project and so yours was cleaning up the area.

MS: Yeah. You know, I’m going, well, here we are. I can clean up trails and stuff. You know, got lots of them around, and so I got that first bunch. And after I got that first bunch, I had a little conversation with the Forest Service. Because they’re saying, oh, we don’t have any dump to put that in. We don’t have any dumping fees and stuff. And I go, well, there’s a pile. You do with it what you want. It’s all nice and clean right there at the sign. It’s all good, and so they cleaned it up, and after that, I made a deal with the refuse people out at the dump. Yeah. That I would clean up around the outside of the dump that they would let me use to dump. So that worked pretty good. So I didn’t have any dumping fees. So, I mean.

SP: Smart deal.

MS: Well, I was going to clean it up anyway.

SP: Yeah.

MS: So might as well have it in there.

SP: So once you started cleaning up places where people, you know, had been dumping their stuff, did they stop doing that? Or did you have to clean up the same places?

MA: No, they stopped. Well, except for the rainier guy. He’d have a 12-pack, and he’d go out there. And he’d sit in the woods and he’d dump it down. But he kept it all…

SP: Contained?

MS: Contained, yes.

SP: Yeah.

MS: So I’d just go over and pick up six or eight of them. And go, yeah, well, he got half lit. You know.

SP: Well, cool. Well, for the years that you did it, I’m sure it made a big difference for the people that were going out behind you.

MS: Yeah. And, you know, there was times when I had people tell me where the trash was. And I’m going, okay, well, I’ll get to that in a couple of days. They go, no, it’s got to go now, and I’m going, it’ll go in a couple of days. You know, because I’m going, I’m not your servant.

SP: Yeah. Well, and if they knew where the trash was, why didn’t they take the initiative?

MS: Well, because that wasn’t their job.

SP: It wasn’t your job either and you could have used the help.

MS: Yeah, but that’s just the way they are. You know, they sit there and they look at it and they go, hmm.

SP: Somebody else’s problem.

MS: Yes.

SP: Kick it down the –

MS:  Here, maybe I can add to it.

SP: Yeah, kick it down the road. So if you could change one thing about West Yellowstone, what would you and what would it be?

MS: I would lose the greed, you know.

SP: Verlene said something very similar.

MS: I would lose the greed.

SP: Yeah.

MS: We used to be a nice little community, you know, that cared for each other and knew who the fuck-ups were and they all protected us. But now you can’t trust anybody to do anything, you know. They go, yeah, well, we’re going to. We got 40 acres out here just waiting to have houses or whatever put on it. Had it for three years now. And what’s done? They’re too busy in litigation and comments and, you know, taking ideas and stuff and biding their time and seeing how many people will forget what it’s for. Then they’ll come in and put up a hotel or two and await their third, you know. It’s all about gathering the money. You know, gathering the businesses to create the money. And the 100-day period we have. Yeah. We got 100 days in the summertime to make their money.

SP: That’s true. That’s true, and housing is a problem. It is such a problem here.

MS: Yeah. And it always will be because you can make more money occupying a house for 10 days a month than you can from a renter, and a renter, you can’t keep track on their housing. So they can go in and destroy it and stuff and the young drunks coming through town, guys and gals, don’t give a shit about it. The drug users don’t give a shit about it. You know, nobody has a place they can call home that’s like a home. I mean, I remember where every place was considered a home. You know, you just had that feeling. You had that timing to where you went and put this much effort into it. It would give you this much reward and we all have our limitations on what we want to have as a reward or need as a reward. People’s education has a lot to do with it. OK, they have a fancier house. They’re smarter. They earned it. They got it. But I got a house too. I got a nice little setup going.

SP: Yeah.

MS: So what’s the difference?

SP: Yeah, I don’t know if you saw the new housing survey that they’re doing or not. One of the questions is about kind of the size of house. The, you know, like how many bedrooms or whatever and I was like, what are they thinking about doing with this 80 acres that this is even a, you know, but something that, you know, would work for you probably wouldn’t work for a family.

MS: No, no. I mean, you could have gotten a family in my trailer years ago, but they took out one of the bedrooms. There was two bedrooms at one time. They took out the kitchen. You know, that’s where my inside shop is and toy rooms and stuff. And then they don’t have, I don’t have a table or a dining room in my place. It’s something else. I don’t know what. But, no, I mean, you know, nice little one bedrooms are fun. Two bedrooms, three bedrooms, but you can’t, you can’t build a community just by going with the three bedrooms and the four bedrooms because it’s a nice Mormon family or something like that. Or a nice Christian family. We can forget the Mormons. We can go with the Christians or a Mexican family where they put 20 kids in a room. You just don’t build to need anymore. They build to, yeah.

SP: Money. Yeah, I think I agree with you on that one. And do you have any advice for anybody coming into West Yellowstone that wants to make this their home?

MS: Be prepared to change. You know, change your mind on things. Change your needs on things because we don’t have a Walmart. We don’t have a Kmart. We’re 100 miles from anything that, you know, is of any use to you. Accept that fact. You know, don’t start changing what we have here because you know better because the winter will tear you down. The summer will kill you. You know, it takes a special individual to want to live here. Or to live here. I came here to hide. You know, hide from the world. Hide from relationships. Hide from everything, you know. I got to town. I was Fat Mike. That’s how they knew me. And that was good. I had a nickname. A true acronym but a nickname.

SP: Yeah. And is there anything else that you wanted to add? Anything you wish I would have asked? Feeling pretty good?

MS: I guess. I don’t know. I don’t know how these things work.

SP: It’s just about your stories and your experience and…

MS: Well, yeah, but mine don’t count.

SP: Of course it does.

MS: No, I was a nobody who came to town. I did one nice thing for the Forest Service and that was it. Rest of the time I just… 

SP: It sounds to me like you busted your butt pretty hard with the fires. Helping out there.

MS: No, I didn’t. No, the fires, we all just sat back and took their money. You know, it’s just like them bringing the military in to run up and down hills they already put out. You know, it’s just a do thing. Count, make the morning count. Yeah, run them up and down the hill. You know, there was a lot of stupid things.

SP: That’s what mom said about it too.

MS: There was a lot of stupid things in a fire. I mean, even the way they set backfires. They set backfires on the ridge there when they knew the wind was coming in. You know, they knew the wind was going to pick up and at two o’clock it was going to pick up and it was going to go the wrong direction.

SP: And did that kind of stuff make it worse?

MS: Oh yeah.

SP: Oh yay.

MS: You get them intelligent people in who don’t know this area and yep, they’ll burn it all down.

SP: All right, well, thank you for sitting down with me and doing this.

MS: Sure, it’s like an everyday talk.

SP: Yeah, I love talking to you anyway, so getting some of these stories was really cool. I didn’t realize you were so involved with, you know, hauling people around and doing those sorts of things.

MS: Well, I wasn’t really involved. I was way low on the scale. I went in late and just did.

SP: Yeah, and then this. So cool. Cleaning stuff up.

MS: And that is what I’m proudest of. That’s awesome. In my whole life, that is what I’m proudest of.

SP: Yeah, well, and I like your pictures of the trail repairs too because some of them, where was that big hole? There was like a deep, deep hole that you filled in. Some of them looked pretty bad before you got in there and there it is. That one. That’s crazy.

MS: Oh yeah, but that was on the road. That was just a washout. That was easy. That was just filling it in. Two days later, they took the grader up and did it anyway. Yes, that’s me being happy. On Two Top.

SP: And what a beautiful place to be doing it too. Just out there, you, your dog, the fresh air. Nobody to bother you.

MS: Not a soul.

SP: Yeah, this feels like a very, very Mikey thing to do. It’s pretty too.

MS: Yes.

SP: Beautiful view.

MS: But yeah, I got my piece of junk in there. I mean, I’d have tires fall off it and put them back on and change them out.

SP: The amount surprised the Forest Service. It’s a lot of junk.

MS: Yes.

SP: No wonder they were surprised. You show up with that and they’re just like, what are we supposed to do with that?

MS: Uh-huh. Well, you saw my trailer. Well, it was just full of stuff that I collected from out in the woods, and I filled that up probably four times during the years. You know, not counting the little trips I made.

SP: Yeah. And most of what you found, was it mostly all just junk? Or did you ever find any cool treasures out there?

MS: Oh, no, I found cool treasures.

SP: Did you?

MS: Oh, yeah. I found Leathermans.

SP: Really?

MS: Yeah.

SP: Wow.

MS: Because people would stop to repair their snowmobiles and stuff and just lose them.

SP: Oh, yeah?

MS: You know, I found cameras. I found, yeah.

SP: Wow. How cool.

MS: Well, yeah, it was fun. You know, you go by and you look and you think, did I just see that? I found a pistol out there. Yes.

SP: Wow.

MS: It was just laying there like it was a toy and a snowcat had just run over it. You know, so you, really? Let me check that out, see if it’s real. And I did, and it was, and I went, yahoo. Then I went to the cop shop. Had him check the serial number, see if anybody reported it. I think they said, do you want to turn this in? I go, hell no. This is mine.

SP: Finders keepers, right?

MS: Yep.

SP: Cool.

MS: Well, it was a .40 caliber, you know, which is a hot load. Then I traded it off for a .45.

SP: Well, that’s kind of neat, too, because you wouldn’t have had it to trade if you hadn’t been out there digging around.

MS: Right.

SP: So, cool.

MS: Yeah. Then I’d have been one gun short.

SP: All right. Well, I think if you’re feeling good, we can end there. You can have a good rest of your day.

MS: Be done with me.

SP: Nope. You’re still tethered to me for, what, months and months and months now.