About Myself,
Dr. Michael Poe
It was at the early age of 11, after reading a Donald Duck comic about an Egyptian pyramid that I started reading about Archaeology in the local city library and decided on a career in that field. After reading everything in the children and adult section of the library on the subject, I went on my first archaeological (actually paleontology) dig at a cemetery (well, it was because workmen digging into the soil to start a foundation of a mausoleum that they discovered a prehistoric 3 toed horse). Having exhausted the college library and some more volunteer digs and volunteer museum work in San Diego I finally started college and before graduating with a BA at San Diego State University had already become the youngest paid archaeologist in charge of an excavation.
My other school work including a Masters at UCLA and a PhD in Archeology at the University of Chicago. I have excavated in various places in Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico. I spent 3 years working in Egypt, and several more years as a consultant with the World Heritage Commission traveling around the world for the United Nations evaluating archaeology sites for consideration as a World Heritage Site. I also spent a number of years as head archaeologist for the San Emidigio Ranch in Kern County for a land development company.
While out in the field I took hundreds of photographs (before the invention of digital cameras) of archaeology sites and the surrounding landscape. Eventually I added wildlife and birds to my photography list. I think that my work on adobe structures in California and New Mexico, and brick/stone walls and ruined buildings in the Southwest and Egypt expanded my interest in Architectural Archaeology to include abandoned historic buildings and any interesting historical buildings in general.
This blog is a reflection of my varied interests. Currently residing in Oregon, I will be quickly adding more Northwest photographs before moving later this year to New Mexico.
My wife, Joanna Linsley-Poe has similar interests and has a two blogs on WordPress; one on ancient foods at ancientfoods.wordpress.com, and another entitled My Niche in Time at endureforte.wordpress.com. You will be seeing some of her photos on this blog.
Some posts will be samples of a much larger article on the blog. For example there will be a post on Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque but a much longer article will be posted as well. There are just a whole lot of photos on that site as well as other places that we have been to that merits something longer than just a short blog piece.
So consider this blog a kind of photograph and travel log for the Northwest and Southwest areas of the United States.
Some trips I will be doing in the future may include the entire route 101Highway from San Diego California to Tacoma Washington. I may also eventually travel Route 66 from California to New Mexico (perhaps I can convince my wife to travel thru Texas to Chicago on the rest of the route!)
I might scan in some of my slides and offer more areas for the viewers and readers.
Born: 1948
Past Membership: Ventura Archaeological Association
Oregon Archaeological Association
American Institute of Archaeology
Society of Egyptian Archaeology
Order of the Blue Carbuncle (Baker Street Irregular Society)
Northwest by Southwest Photos 