[title subtitle=”story: Marcus Coker | images: courtesy StoneWind Retreat”][/title]
Halfway between Fort Smith and Fayetteville, Arkansas, off I-540, lies a little town called Chester. There’s an antique mall, a café, and a couple of churches, one on either side of the railroad tracks, and not a whole lot else. But snake your way up the mountain, past the part of the road where the pavement ends, and you’ll find yourself at StoneWind Retreat, a 160-acre piece of heaven-on-earth.
At the entrance to the property, there’s a wooden bin with a sign that reads, “The Worry Box: Leave your worries here. You can pick them up when you leave if you want them. Otherwise, we’ll take them away.” It may sound too good to be true, but it’s not.
On top of the mountain, the sky seems to stretch out endlessly, and the treetops create a blanket of color beneath the horizon. On either side of the gravel road, large stones stand like sentinels guarding the property. Where the road splits, one way goes to the office, which is housed in a red barn. The other way goes to the yurts where guests stay.
If you don’t know, a yurt is basically a big, round tent. It looks somewhat like a silo. StoneWind has eight of them, and they come fully furnished with a queen-sized bed; kitchen, bath, and laundry rooms; dishes and flatware; and coffee, tea, and condiments. “All guests need to bring is their own food,” says Suzanne Parnell, owner of StoneWind Retreat. “Most people come here to rest because they’re exhausted. So we work hard so they don’t have to. This is the place to de-stress.”
Suzanne says, “Most folks close the door and say, ‘Leave us alone.’” Spend a night in one of the StoneWind yurts, and you’ll know why. They’re 709 square feet, and it’s 16 feet up to the skylight in the middle of the room. They have both central heat and air and a gas log fireplace. But it’s more than just the open, comfortable space. Suzanne says, “There was a Native American elder named Black Elk that said, ‘What’s wrong with people is they live in square houses.’ There’s a different energy in round buildings. There aren’t right angles that block your view. It’s a calming, friendly feeling.”
For those who venture outside the yurts, there’s plenty to do, especially if you like walking or hiking. “We have trails on the property, and the Ozark National Forest is our western boundary. So you can knock yourself out,” says Suzanne as she smiles. “Devil’s Den State Park is seventeen miles if you go up 540, or it’s a three day hike. And if you like animals, we have a lot of deer. One night I counted forty-seven.”
StoneWind Retreat opened in September of 2007 and seems to be the perfect spot to rest, relax, and rejuvenate. That being said, it almost didn’t happen. “Sometimes you have to go a long way out of your way to get where you are going,” says Suzanne. “Initially, this was a different project.”
In 2004, Suzanne purchased the land in Chester with the intention of building a nonprofit organization called Warrior’s Way – a place of rest, recuperation, and holistic healing for veterans. Construction began in 2005. “Because of some tax issues, we had to be done in six months. Someone suggested yurts because they’re very tough and guaranteed for fifteen years. They can stand up to eighty-mile-an-hour winds and ten inches of snow. Plus, five guys and I can put one up in eight hours.” So that’s what they did.
However, in 2007, the IRS wouldn’t grant nonprofit status for a place of residency like Warrior’s Way. “Our backers for the nonprofit backed out, and there wasn’t time to do something different. The IRS did grant us nonprofit status to teach holistic healing classes, but we had these yurts and had to do something with them for profit.”
That’s how the retreat center was born. “I couldn’t decide what to call it. But the two things we have the most of here are stones and wind. There was already a place called WindStone, so StoneWind it was.” It’s turned out to be a fitting choice. “We’re right in the middle of the Boston Mountains, and Arkansas has some of the oldest rock formations in the nation. On site, we have a beautiful stone garden and lots of large stones that are perfect for resting or meditating.” Appropriately, one guest said, “This place rocks!”
For those that choose to spend their time in the yurts, StoneWind has a DVD and VHS lending library and WiFi access. But many people go to StoneWind to get away from technology. “In nature, your spirit remembers what it feels like before we were driven by our devices. We used to deal with stressful events stretched out over time. Now we do it over a day, or an hour. Stress is higher in the cities than anybody realizes. Humans didn’t evolve emotionally or biologically to multitask at the level we are being asked to on a daily basis. So when people come here, all that falls away.”
Life on the mountain is much simpler. If you want, you can grill your own food or get a massage. Suzanne even offers an introductory class in meditation. “Silence is a hard thing to find. That’s why we say that silence is golden. If you don’t get some silence, you can’t hear yourself think and you don’t really know who you are. So you either have to meditate or come to a place like StoneWind.”
When the sun goes down, the stars come out. And because each yurt comes furnished with a privacy deck and hot tub, many guests spend their nights in a pool of hot water under a blanket of stars. “The thing people forget if they live in the city is what the night sky looks like without light pollution. Here we have no light pollution, so you literally see millions of stars and the swirls of the Milky Way.”
On StoneWind’s website, Suzanne keeps a “leaf watch” meter. “People call at the first of September to see what color the leaves are. Five percent red, ten percent yellow. It’s not scientific, but it keeps them from calling every day. People love the colors in the fall. But I think every season here is beautiful in its own way.”
One couple said that being at StoneWind rejuvenated their marriage and helped them set priorities in their everyday life once they got home. “People need a place where they can go and rethink boundaries. The spiritual advice to ‘go sit on the mountain’ is as old as life itself.”
In today’s fast-paced life, StoneWind is one opportunity for people to get back to nature, reconnect with the earth, and decide what matters most. The pleasures there are simple ones, but perhaps they are the ones we need the most. A night under the stars, a walk along a trail, the beauty of changing leaves – all these things remind us that our time on earth is limited, life is a gift, and good things are better when they are shared with the ones you love.
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Rates range from $145 to $195 a night, with typically a two night minimum stay.
Suggested for adults, but children allowed on a limited basis.
No motorcycles or ATVs (for safety and noise reasons).
Bring bug spray for hiking.
StoneWind also has a 1,600 square foot conference center for meetings, weddings, and receptions. They also have an on-site minister for weddings and elopements.
For more information, visit stonewindretreat.com.
