Stewardship
Leap of Faith
We are two women of spirit who became custodians of Ancient Echoes at Kelly Place in January of 2021. Traveling through the Southwest Covid style in our Four Runner packed with gear and a pop-up tent, the previous September, we stumbled upon this hidden gem with a thought to camp here for one night.
Driving through the magical McElmo Canyon at dusk, we saw a small sign on the driveway into "Kelly Place" that the place was for sale. Lo and behold, after sleeping under a blanket of stars the likes of which we had never experienced (and we were from Montana - Big Sky Country!), having our hearts and imagination captured by the red cliffs, azure skies and a chorus of bird song, a dizzying 18 hours later we decided we would return home to Bozeman, sell all of our assets, press pause on our vocations, and become the stewards of this unusual and magical place.
No compromise situation
Thus began a humbling creative journey into choices and values, the challenge of restoration, and genuine questions of water, sun and dirt.
We are re-wilding the grounds with drought resistant grasses and native plants with aims for xeriscape. Last year we went solar! with the help of an energy grant
Our choices in building materials are sustainable whether it is pulling from our scrap pile for reuse and upcycle or using products that make eco-sense and don't polute our living environs such as marmoleum flooring, clay tile and clay paint and being willing to pay now for system upgrades such as heat pumps throughout without trading beauty for function.
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We are very grateful to live in sanity and beauty and to share in active generosity the abundant resources that abide here. With genuine hospitality, welcome!
We are the 3rd generation of proprietors since George and Sue Kelly made this their retirement home in the early 1960's.
We expanded the namesake from Kelly Place to Ancient Echoes at Kelly Place to reflect the generations of inhabitants seen and unseen that have dwelled here for centuries,
check out our personal websites at the links above
Our professional backgrounds have been in human potential through both personal and transpersonal modes of therapy, transformation, art , design and creativity. We bring all of these aspects of our lives to this place and growth edges alike.
For us, the idea of 'owning' such a place is unfathomable, but we may care-take, listen to, create with and share mindfully what is here.