Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/107892
this one in a parade in town and I actually got to drive it once, and I'd forgotten how much fun it is to drive a team." We talk for more than an hour, Hisey relating the history of each piece in his collection and how he came to acquire it. His descriptions are interspersed with a wry humour and stories of his life. "Our west property line was the Wyoming line, way western Nebraska. My dad's uncles own ranches and he managed them for years and years," he says. "[I] grew up ranching down there. Custom harvested for 13 years, and, when I quit doing that, I rode bulls for a living for five years, three years turned pro. Just enjoyed the good life." He's been restoring wagons, pickups and buildings for years – long before the idea for a B&B ever came up. "I've always just been motivated. I had known I wanted to share these . . . Like I say, it was a backyard party that just got out of control!" A backyard party that won't let up, I think, as the crickets join in, their serenade a soothing refrain on a sunny summer day. ℹ ghostownblues.com, facebook.com/pages/ Ghostown-Blues/208466022505794?fref=ts (for events such as concerts) p16-21_Getaways.indd 21 wild west nests Wagons A marvel of efficient use of space, sheep wagons provided a portable, compact home-away-from-home for sheepherders tending their flocks through the vast ranges of the West in the late 1800s. Two facing sheep wagons at Ghostown Blues B&B make for a cozy campsite — an intimate space for families. Inside, nods to the past include an original mirror and oil-lamp track lighting. ■ Historic Log Cabin Formerly a cowboys' line shack, this century-old cabin was moved to the site and re-assembled log by log. The restored building contains more luxury than any cowboy could ever have imagined, including a cushy queen-sized bed. ■ Homestead Cabin Once a schoolmarm's residence, this settler's cabin was later moved into town but survived the fate that ended so many of these historic buildings. Transported here in one piece and lovingly restored, it now provides a restful place for guests to lay their heads. ■ Thresherman's Wagon Threshing crews needed five meals a day, prepared over a big wood-burning stove, to fuel their back■ Sheep breaking efforts to bring in the harvest before the weather turned nasty. This cabin is built on the running gear of an earlier cook car wagon. Look closely at the underside of the running gear to spot the carved names of two girls, perhaps seeking shelter from the rain or hot sun almost a century ago. ■ The Lodge This First World War-era church has become the centrepiece of Ghostown Blues. In addition to providing seating for breakfast or Sunday cowboy brunch, the lodge is a meeting place for guests, a cool refuge on a hot day and a concert hall for folk and blues musicians. An addition on one end houses elegant washrooms and showers for guests. □ –D.N. Westworld >> spring 2 0 1 3 21 13-01-22 8:02 AM