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By Neil, August 7, 2012 12:38 pm

Kate and I went to Zion last Thursday for what we thought would be a 3 day adventure. Much to our delight, however, Amy (Kate’s sister) went into labor Friday morning and so we cut short our trip a day and a half early and headed back to Salt Lake for the birth. That night Ruby was born without incident and boy is she cute.

Our newest niece Ruby

Here are a few pictures taken from our short trip to Zion National Park.

HDR of red-rock cliffs of Zion

HDR inside Zion National Park

HDR looking south from inside Zion

HDR of clouds and cliffs

Kate and Jim with 3 patriarchs cliffs behind then

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By Neil, July 14, 2012 3:19 pm

Wolf

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So here is how the Canadian adventure went.

Jim (Kate’s dad) and I drove up through West Yellowstone National Park on our way to Montana as we were intending to go to a powwow in Arlee, stopping for a little lunch and to make some phone calls. While there we went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery center to snap a few photos of the animals and one of me sitting in a giant teddy-bear couch. That night we camped somewhere in MT.

Jim was trying to take photos of people in the powwow however the organizers forbade Jim from taking photos and so we headed to Glacier National Park a little earlier than anticipated. Glacier National Park is amazing and we camped in an amazing site and then had huckleberries ice cream and cobbler at the 100 year-old Lake McDonald Lodge. The next morning we drove through the park, stopping for a hike on a glacier. At the top we found a mountain goat with a new baby that let us photograph them for over an hour. That night we slept in a teepee in Waterton Lakes National Park, the Canadian side of Glacier National Park and we went into the town of Waterton for dessert at the nearly 100 year old Prince Wales Hotel. Even though everything had closed for the evening the night manager went into the kitchen and cut us a few pieces of cake and then didn’t even charge us for it even though he knew we weren’t guests. He even stopped by as we ate to ask if we needed a glass of milk. Kind Canadians!

Continue reading 'A Summer Trip to Canada'»

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By Neil, June 24, 2012 5:12 pm

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By Neil, February 17, 2011 10:13 pm

I am going to the Everglades for spring break. I am going to sleep in a rental car the entire time. I found the following video while trying to figure out if it was illegal to sleep in a car in Florida.

Also I guess the Everglades have a huge problem with invasive species. Notably the Burmese python. If I was able to see one of these guys in the wild it would make my decade!

P.S. Shark Vs. Bear is so 2010!

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By Neil, January 12, 2011 10:07 pm

So where are a few photos from our Puerto Rico trip I thought I would share (mostly to get that picture of me off the front page).

[Show as slideshow]

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By Neil, December 30, 2010 8:05 pm

That’s right folks. Kate and I have officially been married for 4 years (but who’s counting). We celebrated this blessed anniversary with a day long trek around old San Juan, Puerto Rico. We visited the old forts, walls and barricades that are classified UNESCO World Heritage Sites (one more off my list). It was a glorious but long day. I always forget how tired you feel after a day of walking. We ate at two fantastic restaurants, one better than the other. Needless to say it was great to be back on the tourista trail with Kate. We never did mind a Latin themed vacation!

This picture is from the internet, our pics to come shortly!

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By Neil, July 25, 2008 12:20 pm

If you’re ever driving from Las Vegas to LA or San Diego and need to eat something at Baker, CA. What ever you do, DON’T EAT AT THE MAD GREEK. We got suckered in on our way down to San Diego because of the 4,000 billboards between Las Vegas and Baker advertising the place. It was very expensive and the grossest Greek food I’ve ever eaten.

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By Neil, April 1, 2008 10:37 pm

The Junkyard

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So, Jim found a red Ford F150 pickup in a small junkyard off I-15 in Willard, Utah. Apparently he memorized the mile marker and on a return trip exited the freeway, found the owner of the truck, and convinced him to trade it straight-up for a working, but probably not for long, BMW. About a week later I drove the deathtrap Beamer up to Willard to make the trade and to help Jim load the truck onto a trailer to haul the truck home. Here is my recounting of the adventure that ensued:

I was ready at 8:15 to drive the BMW up to Willard, however problems at the trailer rental company made Jim two hours late. We arrived at the junkyard in Willard at 10 AM. We parked the cars outside the junkyard squished between I-15 and an active railroad track

Our first bit of excitement happened after we parked the cars and went up to talk to the father of man whose truck Jim was getting. The father had torn down the fence between the junk yard and I-5 and had proceeded to try and pull the truck through the fence. When it turned out we couldn’t find the key to unlock the steering wheel the old man went into his son’s trailer to see if he could find one. After 20 minutes or so he came out saying he couldn’t find the key and that we would have to do things differently. This meant we would have to pull the truck onto the shoulder of the freeway and load it there. While we were discussing the possibility the son came running out of his trailer (see blue tarp-covered structure in photo below) and started to threaten to kill his father. The guy ran up to the father, who was sitting on the tractor, and started swearing, swinging, and then reached for his boot knife on his belt. This, of course, was more then enough for Jim and I and we fled down the hill to our cars, got inside, and started to move.

When the kid went back inside his trailer Jim ventured up to see if everything was alright (by this I mean if he was still going to get the truck). Things were ok so I was invited back to the help load the truck from my lookout spot in the car. We got the car ready and then moved our cars onto the freeway shoulder so we could begin loading the truck. After about 10 minutes the man whose truck we were loading came up to help us. His father had gone and he seemed calm and helpful. He had gone back to look for the key and could not find it but told us that if we took him to his storage shed we would be able to get it. On the way to the storage shed, Jim made me ride in the back of the car, right behind the guy. When we had a free moment Jim told me the plan, if the guy tried to do anything funny I was to choke him from behind while Jim punched him in the face. Luckily nothing happened and the guy was nice enough to put all his knifes (2 or 3 of them) away for the ride home.

On the ride back to the trucks, the man proceeded to tell us all his family problems about how his father used to beat him and today was the day he took it no more. He showed his dad that he wasn’t a kid any more and that he would fight back. The story goes as follows. Father walked into the guy’s dilapidated trailer and asked him for the key. Something happened and the father slapped the kid across the face. The kid got angry at his father and started yelling at him and telling him things he remembered from his childhood. That is when the father walked out of the trailer and moved the truck to the side of the freeway. After this story the guys mother called and they proceeded to talk about all the crazy things that had happened to this kid during his childhood…I won’t mention them as to keep this post lighthearted.

We loaded the truck onto a trailer just wide enough to fit it. Since we couldn’t find a key and the wheels were locked slightly turned to the left, it had a hell of a time getting the truck onto the trailer. Once it was on we tied it down and got ready to go. In case you forgot Jim was trading the guy an old working BMW that was too junkie and old to put any more money into- for the non functioning pickup. Jim went down to the guy and tried to get him to sign the lease, during which the kid’s father showed up and they both started dancing around Jim and the papers like a pair of wrestlers waiting for the referee to say go. Jim finally told them he just wanted the papers signed and then he would leave them to their bloodbath. The son signed the papers and while walking up the hill to the cars told Jim he didn’t want the BMW. He didn’t deserve it. Jim, of course, just wanted to get rid of the thing and told him he had to take it. We jumped into the truck and headed for the hills…going 50 mph because we were hauling more than the truck could handle. What was supposed to be a nice hour or two turned out to take the whole day, nearly included a knife fight, and I was giving instructions to choke a man if he acted up, in other words…. just your average adventure with Jim Kelly.

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By kate, January 22, 2008 8:00 pm

There are times a trip will provide you a fresh perspective & gratitude for your home. There are also times where a trip will make you wonder, “Why the H do I still live in Utah when places like San Francisco exist??” This weekend was one of those times. We headed to the city by the bay to celebrate civil rights in style (note: in Utah ML King day is officially called “Civil Rights day”). It was as fun as eating dippin’ dots at a summer rodeo and felt as fancy-free.

We stopped first in Berkeley which, after seeing a few stop signs grafitied with “driving” underneath STOP, Neil was in love with. After eating at Alice Water’s restaurant Chez Panisse, it was all I could do to convince Neil to come home with me back to Utah at all. It lightened our pockebook a little, but made our minds soar with delicious possibilities.

We stayed right downtown San Francisco in the Nob Hill area of the city with Neil’s college roomate Heber. He has a beautiful apartment, and was a gracious host. We toured around downtown, Fishermans warf, SFMOMA, Golden Gate park/bridge all without hats or gloves or snowboots. In fact, the weather was delightful. I would brace myself for the bitter cold when exiting a building as I normally do in Utah, only to be confronted with a mild breeze. Ahhhhhhhh.

We did a little shopping at gloriously cheap H&M and Zara, ate at a great vegetarian Indian place, found a Trader Joes and had a generally good time.

What also enhanced the enjoyment of this superb weekend was likely the fact that we took a “vegan break” for pretty much the entire trip and ended up eating stuff found in the picture below.

When I finally persuaded Neil to get in the car & come home on Monday we headed back. We had to lie to the checkpoint guard at the Tahoe pass and say “All wheel drive, yep. Uh-huh no problem.” These white lies were the only way we avoided buying chains and were able to keep going on I-80. Our little Scion handled the snow like a true champion and passed several “SUVs” on the way.

She brought us safely home to Utah. Where it had snowed during our absence. The temperature was in the teens. Our house was freezing. Why do we live in Utah, again?

It’s true what Rudyard Kipling said, “San Francisco has only one drawback. ‘Tis hard to leave.”

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By kate, December 23, 2007 7:24 pm

Hello all friends, family and internet wanderers. Feliz Navidad to all.

2007 has been filled with happiness & wonderful adventures for the Kelly/Ransom family. We started off 2007 being married, which was a first for both of us. So far, so good. We worked and lived in Provo, Utah until April. We then headed off to Guatemala & Southern Mexico for a belated honeymoon tour. We lived on an archeology compound, which looks pretty much exactly what you imagine in your mind when you hear the two words “archeology” and “compound” together. It was AMAZINGLY, INDESCRIBABLY, INCREDIBLY FUN. The foundation was located in San Cristobal de Las Casas in the Central highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. Neil got to organize artifacts, help digitize them and practice his Spanish. Kate got to work very intensively with the young Mormon girls in the area as a youth leader & volunteer with different agencies, including Habitat for Humanity. We made it to several surrounding indigenous villages, and up to Mexico City. We tasted delicious food, met wonderful people & bought a lot of tacky Mexican handicrafts.

Upon returning to the U.S. we crossed the border in Tijuana by foot & met up with Kate’s family in San Diego. It was a fun trip that involved Sea World.

Since September we have been living in Salt Lake City, smack-dab in the middle of downtown. We are a few blocks from the Temple & from the City library. Neil is working for the International Rescue Committee as a refugee caseworker. Last year 950 refugees were relocated to Salt Lake from nations like Burma, Somalia, Iraq, Burundi, Eritrea etc. He helps them transition to life in America from the airport to getting a new job to enrolling their children in school. While it has been interesting & rewarding, case work has made him realize that he wants to continue his schooling. He plans on going to grad school in the Fall, possibly in sustainable development & conservation biology.

Kate works with refugees & also immigrants at the English Skills Learning Center, a non-profit that trains volunteer tutors to help people learn English. She is in a 10 month Americorps position developing a program where elementary schools provide English classes to the parents at the schools. So far she has got 5 Salt Lake schools up and running and the program is very popular with the parents, who so desperately need English skills. She is applying to law schools to enter in September of 2008 (please cross your fingers).

We love living in Salt Lake & are learning all of the interesting & unique places to shop, eat and visit in the valley. We find that most of them are on the west side where all of the refugees live.

We are so grateful to all who have supported us in our endeavors. We have learned much & have much yet to learn. We hope 2008 brings challenges, blessings & new adventures.

May the best times you’ve ever had be the worst you’ll every see!

Love,

Kate and Neil