Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/201540
Allan Casey Gordon Olson be out in this piney air, with a real destination as my goal. It's not every day you get to visit neighbours via ski. We smudge on some wax and set off, passing the snowed-in concert stage and beneath a hoop of cheerful Christmas lights that mark the trailhead. I turn off my headlamp, allowing my eyes to adjust and see Orion blazing up there in the south. Ness Creek trails are set with a quad, not a snowmobile, so the trail sides are packed as well and that makes for good poling. The corridors are fairly narrow, and this too gives the route an intimate feel you can sense even in the dark. And they stick to classic mode – so leave your skate-style ski gear at home. Ness Creek is not about speed. At the Nordic Ness Loppet held just a few days prior, the 60-odd entrants didn't even keep track of their distance. We reach the barn-sized studio and find the students engaged in a talking circle. Of course, we are invited to join in. The "kids" – nearly all of whom are 18 or older and have come to Maverick as refugees from a mainstream school system that didn't work for them – have likewise found sanctuary amid the communal, tree-planter's splendour of Ness Creek. "This place is like another home for me," says a young woman sitting on the floor drawing. "You don't have worry, stress, issues. You've got the work you are doing, and the people you are with, and it's simple and awesome." Gord is a good talker, and the young people listen intently when he tells them that he first experienced this land on horseback and how that magical summer chasing cows along Ness Creek was the best of his life. He also reveals how his father longed to quit his off-farm jobs and ranch full-time if only it would pay. We leave the young Mavericks – some of whom will sleep outdoors in quinzhees (snow shelters) in temperatures that will dip below -20 C – and return north to our accommodations. I am grateful to sleep in a heated cabin, which has just been handsomely built by festival president Kerri Fischer. The cabin, named Eugene, is warm, smells of oiled wood and has two beds with From warm conversations with good friends to the sound of children's laughter, the holidays are a time for celebration and staying connected to life's most joyous sounds. Come see us today for a complimentary hearing evaluation and no-obligation hearing aid trial*. CAA Member Benefits Include: • 15% off hearing aids • 15% off everyday listening products • 5 years of free batteries with hearing aid purchase 1.800.563.4327(HEAR) or connecthearing.ca/CAA The reasons to come see us are worth celebrating. VAC accepted. *Private clients only. Lyric, BAHA and Econoaids excluded. Cannot be combined with any other offer or previous purchase and is non-redeemable for cash. Licensed by Saskatchewan Health. ®CAA and CAA logo trademarks owned by, and use is granted by, the Canadian Automobile Association.™CAA Rewards is used by the Canadian Automobile Association. WestWorld p14-19_Getaway_OutAbout.indd 17 >> w i n t e r 2 0 1 3 17 13-10-18 10:15 AM