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Show WASATCH MOUNTAIN TIMES A NEW YEAR4 BETTER TR By Orr Terre LIKE TO SPEND TIME OUTDOORS, I JUST DON’T NEED TO WORK UP a sweat to become “one” with nature. When you pull apart the word recreate — to “re” “create” — you have a much closer idea what I seek when I lace up my hiking boots. A few years back, I developed a New Year’s Day tradition, which takes me far from the skiing crowds (who can be maddening) and from the television bowl games served up with black-eyed peas. Admittedly, it’s not a day trip for everyone. But I find when I mix the spiritual with a few spirits, I tap into endorphins that lead me where angels fear to tread The road to Huntsville is actually not one but several. Take I-80 past Coalville to Echo. Then follow I-84 past the sleepy towns of Henefer and Morgan, past mink farms and sheep ranches and places where horses grow heavy coats for winter. Get off at Exit 96 - Snow Basin, Nordic Valley, Powder Mountain and Huntsville. Over Trapper’s Loop, take a right at the stop sign and right again past the American Legion Hall. When you get to the end of the road, it forks. But there, a handcarved sign, in scripted letters, says simply, Monastery. Trappist monks came to the Ogden Valley in 1947 and established an abbey Today, there are only 12 such monasteries in the United States. When you turn off the road to Our Lady of the Holy Trinity, you enter a treelined lane — cottonwoods, | think. You are also in the flyway of eagles and f hawks and songbirds I have yet to name. But don’t expect something out of “The Name of the Rose” there is nothing medieval about the structures you'll find. In fact, I laughed out loud the first time I saw the quadrangle of quonset buildings the it have been sprayed with 2 urethan foam and painted in off-white Still, the pastoral valley always takes my breath away. The nearly 3,000 acres holds more than 300 head of cattle the monks raise, along with poultry and barley and wheat. The abbey is world-famous for its flavored creamed honeys and sells 15 different flavors, from lemon to rum Seven special times a day, you can enter the chapel, see the magnificent stained glass window and feel the quiet You can also hear the monks chant. For those who loved the, chart-busting “Chant,” by the Spanish Benedictine monks, here’s a chance to hear music at the source. There are 33 monks who live at the abbey Ae most chants include nearly two dozen men, of all ages, in white flowing robes, who take their places as the bells ring to call them to prayer. Chants are, simply, prayers sung. Often, when I sit up in the balcony with my eyes closed, I think | hear the voice of a cantor I used to know. Making a joyful noise unto the Lord transcends denomination | On New Year’s Day, I aim for the service at 12:15 p.m. It lasts just ten minutes. I try to arrive at least ten minutes before, so I can watch the monks enter the chapel, one by one, bow to the altar and find their respective space. After the chant, I stay in place until the last monk has returned to his cloistered world, then | zip up my parka and walk. First 1 go down the lane about a mile and then I walk along the property fence-line, surveying the rolling hills and watching for wildlife. 1 review my year. I dream about my future. I quietly praise the day. And I always work up a mean appetite I try to get back to the car close to 2:00 ‘cause the Shooting Star will be open by then, I drive away from the spiritual and on to the spirited. Once you hit the main road again, you turn right, away from the American Legion and go maybe five blocks and turn left, where the sign says, “Huntsville 1860.” Drive three blocks, turn left at 7400 East, and you're smack dab in the cen- The Shooting Star is the wooden- fronted building on your right. This time of year, it has the tinsel star lit up on the roo Built in 1879, The Shooting Star Saloon is the oldest, continuously operating bar in Utah. No cocktail lounge or private club with umbrella-ed drinks. This is a tavern where you can order beer — or you can order beer. You got Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson on the juke box. Stuffed animal heads and behinds on the walls. Dollar bills stuck up on the ceiling. Great writing on the bathroom walls. And you have the most amazing cheeseburger you will ever try to wrap your lips around. When you push back the bar door, you have to adjust your eyes, it’s a dark place with fake Tiffany pool table lights and neon beer signs. In the front, there are a handful of booths across from the bar and in the back — you just knew it — there’s a pool table. You order at the bar. There are no waitresses on duty — ever. There are other lesser burgers, but don’t bother. As long as you’re going for beef, anyway, you want the Star Burger — two beef patties, topped with a grilled Polish knackwurst, melted cheese, onions, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup on a toasted bun. Served with chips — the salty, greasy kind you’d never be caught buying by the bagful. New Year’s Day has always been real quiet at the Shooting Star. I’m told the night before is pretty wild»dn-the summer, it can be hard to find-a booth on the weekends — between the bikers and the Beemers — the watering hole isn’t such a secret anymore. But the first day.of January, I can grab a booth, pull out my journal and write down some of those thoughts that surfaced during my walk. HERE IS SOMETHING SOOTHING ABOUT LISTENING TO A COUPLE OF guys rack up balls on the pool table. Listen to them break. Hit the pockets. Right on cue. All the while, hearing Patsy croon, .crazy for loving you. It is the kind of stuff that keeps you sane. They sell long-sleeve T shirts with the Shooting Star logo and I buy a new one each year — extra large (1 sleep in it, OK?) — before I leave. It takes a minute always to adjust to the light, as I step back outside and onto the wooden sidewalk. Snow removal isn’t a big priority in Huntsville, so the streets are most often snow packed. Every year, I've seen an honest-to-goodness open sleigh on the city streets, drawn by huge work horses with bells around their necks. It is filled with laughing children and driven by an older couple. One of these years, I'll screw up my courage and ask if I can hop on for a ride. The park is just down the block from the saloon. Around the corner, there are houses, preserved out of some Victorian era, all covered in lights and snow and greenery. I walk until I think I have worked off at least one of the beef patties. By the time I drive back alongside the century-old path of the railroad, counting freight cars from Ogden to Echo, I have entered The Zone. For me, it is a place where I have seen eagles, heard voices on high as well as“high voices. I felt the wind in my face and on my back and I have laughed with snowflakes. There is a superstition (among the Irish, anyway) that the way you spend the first day of the year is the way the year is bent. I try to aim for a balance of adventure and peace. It makes me hopeful for a happy, new, year. ter of town Terri Orr has just written her first book, “Sister’s In Silence, "to be released in 1995. She is a former editor of The Park Record newspaper in Park City. A SINGLE Day! And Now Take ie Ski 5 AREAS IN (801) 534-1907 eat eee a 150 West 500 South Salt Lake City, UT 84101 are etme Meer $10 off Ski 5 areas ina single day! And now take $10 off. Ski as many as five resorts in a single day offering the most breathtaking scenery i entire Wasatch Range — the world famous Ski Utah Interconnect Tour Ski in Park City, Solitude, Brighion, Alta, Snowbird and the spectacularly scenic back country terrain between the ski area. Present this coupon when paying for your tour and ten dollars will be deducted from the regular $95 price of the tour which includes professional guide service,o ale luncheon, retum transportation, stunning alpine scenery and Ski Utah Interconnect Adventure tour pins, For information and reservations contact (801) 534-1907 re This. ticket cannot be combined with any disate count. Offer expires at the end of the 1994-95 LI l/ \ ! Interconnect Tour season. Utdh Ski Association Makes CALL SPACE Sense 801-649-8046 SOON February Issue January 12th RESERVATION DEADLINE ae ae poo era ner eet es ad aoa PAGE 18 |