Grad Weekend Epic's

For Travis's graduation we had two adventures occurring simultaneously. One, was a weekend of cycling that he had planned, and the second was the bbq/party the day of the ceremony.

Travis went on a bike ride Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On his ride on Friday he was joined by his dad (Bob), his uncle (Greg), Cullen, Tim, Bob, and Gary. The seven of them set off at a screaming pace where the covered their first three miles in forty five minutes. Tim got a flat in the first mile and it took twenty minutes to fix it. Then, Gary ran into the entrance barrier of the bike path. Luckily the 3 foot tall post didn't damage Gary or his bike. After the group finally got rocking and rolling they covered 70 miles and climbed over 4000 feet.

Saturday was the day of fun. Travis's ceremony went from 9 am until 11:30am. Right after the ceremony he set out on his bike again. This time he was accompanied by his dad, Cullen, Tim, and Richard. The did a shorter ride but still a solid ride of two hours, 30 miles, and over 2000 feet of climbing. Directly upon their return the BBQ/Party was under way. Everyone who was anyone was at the party. There was even a piñata at the party.

 (Video Credit: Nina Caldwell) 

Sorry about your 5 iron Dan!

After a long day and night of fun Travis was up early at 5 am to cook breakfast before his third and final bike ride of the weekend. The Sunday ride was probably the most difficult of the weekend. The group consisted of his dad, his uncle, Cullen, Tim, and Caleb. The ride was a 55 mile ride where the group climbed almost 5000 feet.

All-in-all the graduation weekend was as epic as you would come to expect from Team Kettle. Now there is only one member of Team Kettle left to graduate and we will be looking forward to next year when we can celebrate her graduation.

Graduation '08

A post by Travis:

Graduating has stirred a long time love-hate relationship within me. I have wanted to graduate for quite some time. Of course, that is to be expected when it took me six years to complete my degree. However, I cannot say that I was excited about the ceremony of graduation. Graduation ceremonies have seemed like a pointless tradition that was outdated, overrated, and awkward. 

As I stood in alphabetical order within my major before we were escorted into the football stadium awkward was the best way to describe how I felt. Hot might be a better adjective, but that was more due to the black robes. But once I was sitting out in the field with the rest of my graduating class I felt more pride then I had expected to. As the guest and student speakers gave their spiels I couldn't help but feel proud for myself and all the other graduates that day.

As much as I had been dreading going through the ceremony I ended up enjoying it that much more. Now, don't get me wrong, the ceremony was long, hot, and I wanted to be somewhere else. However, I could not be happier that I sat through the speeches and then walked across the stage to receive the piece of paper that says "this is not your diploma."

Lava Beds National Monument

Team Kettle made a quick trip this weekend to Lava Beds National Monument along with our friend Emilie. Lava Beds National Monument is in Northern California and Southern Oregon. It is about two and a half hours from I-5, just about an hour outside of Klamath Falls in Southern Oregon.
The first stop in our trip was at Petroglyph Point. This is where the Modoc Indians, that once inhabited the land, paddled out in boats on the lake that used to exist to a volcanic tuff island, and carved symbols into the soft rock.



We also stopped to enjoy the beautiful scenery of this area.

Next we arrived at our camp site. For only $10 a night this place is a steal, and has a truly incredible view.


Finally we got to explore the caves. The caves vary greatly in difficulty, from a cave with a lighted path to those where you must duck and crawl.



This was a fantastic overnight trip for Team Kettle. The geology is stunning. The history is fascinating. The views are breathtaking. We strongly recommend this trip. And we strongly endorse enhancing the trip with a bag of Death Valley Chipotle chips!

sustainable |səˈstānəbəl|

Team Kettle wants to be more like Kettle Foods: sustainable (and awesome, but we’ll get to that later). Kettle Foods is all about conserving our natural resources by using renewable energy and putting the less-than-perfect potato chips and potatoes back to work on farms. We thought it would be great if we tried just a little harder to be a more sustainable ourselves.
Our first step in this quest was to start using a clothesline. This cuts way back on energy used by a regular tumble dryer. It is also probably one of the easiest ways to conserve energy and dramatically reduce your electricity bill (or save your laundromat quarters). Plus your laundry will smell like “spring breeze”.
Our next step was to start a compost. We just happened to have this wonderful compost bin in our yard, but you can build your own or use numerous other recycled materials for your container. Like us, you will quickly be amazed at how much food waste your household produces, and eventually, what beautiful soil all that waste produces. There are many online guides to help get your compost going, and many more friendly people at your local grange or growers market that would be more than happy to help.

Team Kettle’s next and most important step in our tiny mission to help save the planet was to plant a mini garden. Dan and Travis built 3 small (about 2’ x 2’) raised beds. Verelle added the soil and plants. Herbs, flowers and veggies were planted. Starters were bought at the weekly growers market and more starters and soil were purchased from the local grange co-op. We were all surprised at how simple and fun the whole process has been so far.


Growing your own food is one of the best things that we all can do for the planet, no matter how small of a space you have. Lots of food can be grown even in the smallest containers. Just imagine if everybody grew their own tomatoes. Think of all the fuel that would be saved transporting the tomatoes from the farm to the grocery store to your home! More importantly, think of the tasty bags of Backyard Barbeque chips that you could eat while working in the yard!

This is what happens when you grow catnip.

If anyone figures out how to grow a bag of Kettle Chips, please contact us IMMEDIATELY! We have a generous cash reward awaiting you.
This is our now-more-sustainable little urban yard.