In order to connect with other beings, we need to feel connected with our own soul. Women have gathered for centuries to connect. To share the unique gifts and challenges that come with being female. To set down the responsibilities of life and allow for rest and renewal. Your cozy home away from home will be Red Clover Ranch - a restored barn and cluster of Scandinavian cabins set on 79 acres amidst the rolling hills of Soldier’s Grove, Wisconsin.

Your days will be spacious and gentle. This is your time, so you get to decide how much or how little you partake in. Enjoy 3 locally sourced, home cooked meals each day. Feel at home in your body with daily movement classes or a walk in the woods. Restore your soul with sound healing, yoga nidra, body work and sauna. You will have the opportunity to learn about connection through one of the most magical and intuitive beings on the planet - the horse. We will take care of all the details - all you need to do is arrive.

Pricing: Shared Room $895-$1150
Private Room $1300
All rooms have shared bathrooms
To reserve your space, simply pay your non-refundable $500 deposit. Final payment is due by October 1st, 2024.

Space is limited. Room selection will be granted on a first come, first serve basis and are only guaranteed after paid in full. You will be able to request your roommate(s) after you deposit if paid. If you are traveling solo, we will be happy to match you with a roommate in a room with two beds.

Jill Guzman is a yoga teacher, massage therapist, iRest meditation teacher, reiki and sound practitioner. Some of her favorite places to be are with her family & friends, in nature or immersed in the mysteries of life.

Mandy Rousch is a yoga teacher and retreat leader at Root Down Yoga Studio. She is an avid equestrian and Equine Facilitated Learning Instructor. She loves creating comfortable spaces for others to gather, rest, connect and feel nourished.

They are back! Join authors and teachers Amy Shearn and Sarah McColl for the Red Clover Ranch Writing Retreat.

Participants in last year’s inaugural Red Clover Ranch Writing Retreat described the experience as magical, nourishing, and life-changing. Retreat participants have collaborated creatively, published books, flown cross-country to attend said book launches, started and revised novels, launched their own retreats…and that’s just the stuff we know about. In other words, we’re up to more than writing on this weekend and the aftereffects travel home and into real life.

This 3-night retreat includes locally sourced farm-to-table meals and cabin (or bunkhouse) accommodations at the Red Clover Ranch in the Driftless region of Wisconsin.

Red Clover’s cabins offer simple and thoughtful sleeping spaces and share a communal bathhouse with two full bathrooms, outdoor shower, sauna, and shared porch. To help you unplug and get quiet, there is no wifi in the cabins. Shared writing spaces include the Bathhouse Lounge and three separate spaces in the Barn. 

Participants can take part in two generative writing workshops, one led by memoirist Sarah McColl and one led by novelist Amy Shearn, as well as afternoon conversations and activities designed for inspiration and supportive practice. There will be open time to go deep into your own writing, explore the two mile-long trails at the Ranch, sweat it out in the sauna, or just stare off into space. Writers can also choose to have 1:1 consultations with Sarah and/or Amy if they’d like another set of eyes on their work.

This time together, and the place where we will gather, originated in creative spark and supportive relationship. Sarah and Annie have been friends for more than ten years. Amy and Sarah have been admirers of each other’s work for fifteen years. Annie and Dani’s friendship was born in this valley, where they thoughtfully hold feminine space. The Red Clover Ranch Writing Retreat is open to women, non-binary, and gender-non-conforming writers of all levels and genres. The focus will be on connecting to that vital force that is creativity and coming away feeling reenergized and whole.

This retreat might be for you if you:

• Crave supportive creative community

• Daydream about quiet time to read, write, and think

• Enjoy generative workshops and the company of other writers

• Can’t get away from kids/work/life for longer retreats

• Love super-nourishing local foods prepared and served with artistry and care

• Swoon over a starry sky

• Dig saunas and Ursa Major bath products

This retreat probably isn’t for you if:

• You don’t like smart, frisky little dogs (there’s one named Banjo)

• Aren’t comfortable walking distances of 50 yards on gravel

• Have really strict conditions under which you can write

• Can’t stand the cold (many of the shared writing spaces are outdoors or on screened porches)

• Aren’t into sharing a bathroom (even if it does have those Ursa Major products)

• A weekend alone in an airbnb is what you really need

The Food

Eating well is a way of life at Red Clover Ranch. You will be welcomed to the ranch with a cocktail (low- and no-ABV options available). At breakfast and lunch, writers have the option to sneak off with their meal to read, write, or have a solo picnic in the wild apple orchard. (We get it. Writers need alone time.) In the evenings, we’ll dine communally on Chef Dani Lind’s seasonally inspired meals, largely sourced from surrounding farms. 

The Place

Home to organic farms, artists, musicians, and other makers, the Driftless is a unique and bewitching place. Bypassed by the last glacier that flattened other areas of the upper Midwest, the region offers a dramatic ancient landscape of craggy rock faces, narrow valleys, steep hills, and forested ridges. It’s a place to embrace quiet, take deep breaths, and watch the fog lift. The  land is the ancestral home of the Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi nations.

The nearest airports are Madison and La Crosse, Wisconsin. You can also fly in and drive from Minneapolis-St. Paul or Chicago, both about 3.5 hours away.

About Us

Sarah and Amy are both working writers, teachers, and mothers, who know just how restorative it can be when writers get together to reactivate their creative powers. 

Sarah McColl is the author of the debut memoir, Joy Enough (Liveright Publishing/Norton, 2019). She also writes Lost Art, a monthly newsletter about the creative work of (mostly) dead women.

Her essays have appeared in Paris Review, McSweeney's, StoryQuarterly, Departures and elsewhere. She is the recipient of fellowships from MacDowell, where she was named the 2017 Mary Carswell Fellow, the Millay Colony for the Arts, Ucross Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Wrangell Mountains Center, and a Pushcart Prize nominee for her essay on singer-songwriter Connie Converse.

Before receiving her MFA at Sarah Lawrence College, Sarah was the founding editor in chief of Yahoo Food. Her food writing has been featured in print and online for Bon Appétit, House Beautiful, The Guardian, Food52, Modern Farmer, Extra Crispy and others. 

Sarah has facilitated creative writing workshops at Sarah Lawrence College, Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, Catapult, Gotham Writers’ Workshop, her own independently run workshops for writers who are mothers, and for many young writer programs including the University of Virginia, Brooklyn Friends School, and Wordstruck. She lives with her family in Northern California and fell in love with the Midwest as a college student in Minnesota.

Amy Shearn is the award-winning author of the novels Dear Edna Sloane (Red Hen Press, 2024),  Unseen City (Red Hen Press, 2020), The Mermaid of Brooklyn (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 2013), and How Far Is the Ocean From Here (Shaye Areheart/Crown, 2008). 

, Gotham Writers’ Workshops, Catapult, Story Studio Chicago, the Yale Writers' Workshop, and the Writing Co-Lab, which she helped found.

Amy's work has appeared in many publications including the New York Times Modern Love column, Slate, Poets & Writers, Literary Hub, Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living, O: The Oprah Magazine, and Coastal Living. Amy received a Promise Award from the Sustainable Arts Foundation, and has been awarded residencies at SPACE on Ryder Farm, The Unruly Retreat, and The Cabins. She has also hosted and curated many literary events in New York City, including a reading series called Lit at Lark and an author talk series, Bookish, at the Brooklyn Public Library.

Amy has an MFA from the University of Minnesota, and lives in Brooklyn with her two children. She is originally from the Chicago area.

Sarah and Amy first met in a windowless Conde Nast editorial office in 2009, when Sarah told Amy she was the cutest pregnant lady, and Amy was totally starstruck because she’d been a faithful reader of Sarah’s lifestyle blog for years. They’ve been meaning to work on something cool together ever since. Last year's writing retreat was pretty much a dream come to life.

Experience the magic of the Driftless region of Wisconsin on this perfect witchy fall weekend. Learn Talismanic jewelry design & make herb infused body oils with multi talented designer Jacki Holland. Create aromatic burn bundles & beautiful Fall Flower arrangements with designer Elizabeth Cronin of Asrai Garden & HBO’s Full Bloom. Stay at the stunning Red Clover Ranch, eat incredibly fresh and locally sourced meals by Chef Dani Lind, enjoy fall hikes, sauna, and we might even tell some spooky campfire stories.

You’re invited to a deeply nourishing retreat, in the heart of the driftless, at Red Clover Ranch! The landscape of the Ranch features ridges, valleys, streams and orchards, while the built space includes a gathering barn with screened porch, a communal bathhouse, a sauna and outdoor shower, and a full farm-to-table kitchen. It's a place where community, creativity, and nature weave together to form lasting connections and collective transformation.

Experience the seamless blending of nature, yoga, and inner parts work to support deeper self-connection and a balanced, fulfilling life.

This retreat is the culmination of years of experience and the deep bond between two long-time friends. With almost two decades of shared life adventures - Kat & Tracey bring a wealth of personal and professional insights to this restorative and empowering journey. This retreat is perfect for both newcomers and those already familiar with yoga and IFS practices, providing a nurturing space to unwind and grow.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTORS

This retreat might be for you if you:

• Have a desire to reconnect with your body 

• Daydream about a supportive environment where you are able to slow down 

• Enjoy learning new things from passionate practitioners

• Love the idea of being taken care of and nourished with farm-to-table meals 

• Swoon over starry skies and steamy saunas 

We hope you’ll say “YES!” to a meaningful journey where you can let go of daily stress, ground yourself in the present while your mind is free to wander, and nourish both your body and soul!

Have questions? Awesome, let’s connect about them! Send an email to Kat@palmandpineyoga.com today.

Take three nights/four days to imagine forward and ignite possibility in your life amid the tall pines and fields of grass, fed on glorious local foods and resting in the sweet Driftless quiet. 

You can expect:
* guided meditations
* tarot discovery
* reflective writing 
* tactile imaginative practices 
* connection with the natural surroundings
* delicious, professionally prepared local food
* space for rest and connection with self and others

Through MEDITATION, we’ll quiet our minds and expand our field of thought.
Through TAROT, we’ll draw on intuition to explore our vast and vibrant possibilities.
Through REFLECTIVE WRITING, we’ll use playful inquiry to get beneath the surface and shake the dust off our imaginations.
Through TACTILE IMAGINATIVE PRACTICES, we’ll get our hands dirty and make ephemeral art that comes from and returns to the land.

Among all of that, we will rest. We will connect with ourselves, each other, and the land. We will wander, wonder, and let ourselves be fed by the trees and fields, locally sourced food, and caring community. 

No prior experience with meditation, writing, or art-making required!

Come wonder with us. Your life deserves it.

Your facilitators

WONDER•ING is co-designed and co-led by Lindsey Dorr-Niro (transdisciplinary visual artist, arts educator, and Indo-Tibetan Buddhist scholar/teacher) and Marty McConnell (writer, arts educator, and creativity coach).  

Lindsey Dorr-Niro is a transdisciplinary artist and educator. She received her MFA from The Yale School of Art and BFA from The University of Wisconsin-Madison, and currently teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has studied and practiced within the Gelugpa school of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism since 2009 and taught meditation since completing her 300-hour yoga teacher training with the Yoga Studies Institute in 2011. Her meditation studies include work with the Diamond Mountain, Tara Mandala, and DharmaOcean lineages. Her focus is on somatically embodied practice, with trainings cultivated through Awakening the Body, Awakening the Heart, and The Somatic Practice of Pure Awareness. She is currently studying with Ralph De La Rosa, whose work bridges Tibetan Buddhist meditation/mindfulness practice with Internal Family Systems, attachment theory, and somatic experiencing to address and heal trauma. 

Marty McConnell provides vital coaching and consulting services to people and organizations, supporting them in being planful, proactive, and powerful in building the lives and worlds they envision. She is the author of when they say you can’t go home again, what they mean is you were never there, winner of the 2017 Michael Waters Poetry Prize; her first full-length collection, wine for a shotgun, received the Silver Medal in the Independent Publishers Awards, and was a finalist for both the Audre Lorde Award and Lambda Literary Awards. She is the author Gathering Voices: Creating a Community-Based Poetry Workshop (Yes Yes Books, 2018), and the co-creator and co-editor of underbelly, a web site focused on the art and magic of poetry revision. In her work with organizations, groups, and individuals, she utilizes an inquiry-based approach grounded in curiosity, a somatic approach to intuition, and an unshakeable belief that the answers we seek lie within our brilliant ultimate selves.

Learn more about Lindsey here and here, and more about Marty here and here. 

Travel to the stunning Driftless region of Wisconsin near the Mississippi River and spend the weekend wandering through acres of fresh flowers to cut at Star Valley Flower Farm, floral arranging with Elizabeth Cronin of Asrai Garden & Full Bloom, visiting a regenerated 35 acre wildflower prairie and creating beautiful watercolors with Esther Garcia of Butterfat studios. You will also visited a lovingly developed and tended to over 35 year prairie with over 110 species of plants. It literally is a super bloom. Your master instructors teach in a friendly and easy to understand style, perfect for anyone interested in adding a solo practice of beauty to their life. No previous experience is necessary, anyone can learn and enjoy these techniques. These new skills will be yours to use and enjoy forever.

You will stay at the breathtaking Red Clover Ranch, eat incredible award winning food, forage for wildflowers on the property, enjoy a dip in the swimming hole, and fall in love with Banjo the cutest farm dog ever!! 

Join pastry chef Emily Spurlin and photographer Laura Scherb for a restorative and inspiring weekend at Red Clover Ranch. Sunbaked is a collaborative retreat focused on storytelling through food and photos. Every summer, Nature offers her bounty to us, and as creatives, we felt called to create a space to respond to that in the form of art, both the edible and the visual. We know you will be just as captivated as we are by the breathtaking natural beauty and agricultural abundance of the Driftless region of Wisconsin.

• Cake tutorial

  Instruction for making your own seasonally-inspired, naturally colored layer cake from Emily Spurlin

• Photography tutorial

  Instruction on capturing storytelling in photography—iPhone, DSLR camera, or sketchpad!— from Laura Scherb

• Local grains seminar

  Seminar on heritage grains from Halee of Meadowlark Organics

• Baking supplies

  All baking tools, supplies, and ingredients to make your cake will be provided.

• Field trips

  Excursions to farmers markets, antique stores, and nature walks to forage for flavor components

Like always you will also be lodged in our lovely accomodations, be fed from our farm to table kitchen, and full use to wander our grounds, play a game on our screen porch, take a sauna, or dip your feet in the creek.

Emily Spurlin is a chicago- based award winning pastry chef, florist, and artist. Emily uses pastry as a medium to tell stories and translate inspiration into reality, especially focusing on the natural world as her muse. Laura Scherb is a food photographer, stylist, and writer in Chicago, IL. She works in every capacity of food photography, from commercial work to editorial projects. Her passion is storytelling through light and color, and is particularly interested in shadow work.

The Art of Noticing Watercolor Painting Retreat with Leslie Baum. 

Explore the landscape of the Driftless. Attune to the late summer light and how your experience of the landscape shifts with the time of day. Paint in morning, afternoon, dusk, and evening.  

This 3 night plein air painting retreat includes guided and independent painting time, opportunities to share work, morning yoga, and an evening of star gazing with a local astronomer. Explore plein air painting as an expansive pursuit, one that encompasses more than rendering a view. Embrace the creative potential of noticing our environment, slowing down, and being present. Leslie will provide prompts and invitations to guide your painting – helping to cultivate a personal painterly approach. The focus will be on imaginatively responding to what the landscape evokes - the sensations, memories, images -and how that shifts from morning to evening.

There are both single and shared room available. Please let us know if you have a preferred roommate for shared. Fee includes all meals, welcome cocktail/mocktail,  morning coffee and tea service, instruction and guidance form Leslie Baum, morning yoga, and naturalist visit. Space is Limited. Payment Plans Available.

About Leslie Baum

Seeing is a subjective experience. As a teacher or a making guide, Leslie seeks to help people explore their own unique way of seeing.

When working in plein air, there is often a desire to capture all the beauty and complexity of the landscape. However, it is also can overwhelm both painter and a painting. Her approach is to encourage the letting go, to engage in creative play, and to arrive at what is essential.
 
Why plein air or painting outside? It's dynamic. Clouds go by, light changes, time passes. It's instructive to put yourself in the position where you don't have all the control and you are in collaboration with what you are viewing. There is a deep personal value and enrichment in being outside in a multi-sensory way.  Hearing, listening, and going deep in a moment. You enter a flow state. It's so good for us.

The Art of Noticing Watercolor Painting Retreat with Leslie Baum. 

Explore the landscape of the Driftless. Attune to the late summer light and how your experience of the landscape shifts with the time of day. Paint in morning, afternoon, dusk, and evening.  

This 3 night plein air painting retreat includes guided and independent painting time, opportunities to share work, morning yoga, and an evening of star gazing with a local astronomer. Explore plein air painting as an expansive pursuit, one that encompasses more than rendering a view. Embrace the creative potential of noticing our environment, slowing down, and being present. Leslie will provide prompts and invitations to guide your painting – helping to cultivate a personal painterly approach. The focus will be on imaginatively responding to what the landscape evokes - the sensations, memories, images -and how that shifts from morning to evening.

There are both single and shared room available. Fee includes all meals, welcome cocktail/mocktail,  morning coffee and tea service, instruction and guidance form Leslie Baum, morning yoga, and naturalist visit. Space is limited. Payment Plans Available.

About Leslie Baum

Seeing is a subjective experience. As a teacher or a making guide, Leslie seeks to help people explore their own unique way of seeing.

When working in plein air, there is often a desire to capture all the beauty and complexity of the landscape. However, it is also can overwhelm both painter and a painting. Her approach is to encourage the letting go, to engage in creative play, and to arrive at what is essential.
 
Why plein air or painting outside? It's dynamic. Clouds go by, light changes, time passes. It's instructive to put yourself in the position where you don't have all the control and you are in collaboration with what you are viewing. There is a deep personal value and enrichment in being outside in a multi-sensory way.  Hearing, listening, and going deep in a moment. You enter a flow state. It's so good for us.

Stay in one of our cabins Saturday night for the For the Foreign Fields Show. Stay in one of our cabins for 2 people. We will assign you a cabin. If you want to bring more then 2 people please email us to coordinate and add-on pricing. Stay includes:

• Lodging in one of cabin rooms/cabins

• Shared upscale bathouse with Ursa Major products

• Shared kitchenette (no cooking capabilities) with shared small fridge

• Self serve Wonderstate coffee and tea

• Sauna and outdoor shower access

• Linens and towels

• Games, puzzles, etc

• Walk to show!

This price DOES NOT INCLUDE tickets to the show or taco dinner. Please also buy a ticket to the show and taco dinner.

Join Tattoo Artist and Artist Esther Garcia and Artist Rebekka Federle-McCabe in the rolling hills of the Driftless for a weekend of reconnecting with nature and exploring the delicate but simple craft of cut-paper floral illustration.

They’ve taken our inspiration for this getaway from Mrs. Mary Delaney (1700-1788), a self-taught “paper-mosaick“ maker who didn’t discover her passion for collaged botanical illustration until she was 72 years old (!). Her vivid and detailed tissue paper collages were praised by botanists of the day, and nearly 1000 of them are housed in the British Museum as part of the permanent collection. Despite such an honor, her tools were simple and her enjoyment in her work clear and apparent, and we will partake in these together.

We’ve designed this retreat to be equal parts relaxing and instructive and it requires no prior art-making experience. If Mary could, we can. 

Rebekka Federle-McCabe and Esther Garcia, and we will guide you step-by-step as we pick wildflowers and foliage to illustrate in Mary’s style. We have designed the instructive part of our weekend to accommodate any level of art-making confidence.  You’ll learn color mixing and matching, composition, and scissor skills in a relaxed environment with generous instructors. There will be plenty of room for play, gorgeous meals and wandering goats. Together we’ll work toward the goal of creating a beautiful keepsake of the weekend for you to take home. 

Come alone, or come with a friend; this is a magical place and we promise you won't forget the visit soon. Space is limited, vegetarian and vegan diets welcome, and payment plans available.

Rebekka Federle-McCabe

Rebekka Federle is an internationally-shown artist who is as much known for her clever and ultra-detailed collage works as for her sass and good humor, and we'll have the good luck to enjoy both her company and her skill as an instructor. She adores teaching and has previously taught collage at the Peters Valley School of Craft, and is currently gaining her MFA at the University of Chicago.  

Esther Garcia

Award-winning tattoo artist Esther Garcia is Chicago’s premier color queen and unmatched botanical enthusiast. You’ll get the opportunity to tap into her years of experience creating colors that mimics nature, her terrific compositional abilities, and her general generous loveliness. Ask her about her cats. 

The Flowers of Red Clover Ranch

Join us for a long weekend at The Ranch for The 4th of July Weekend.

Weekend Package Includes:

- Check in Thursday (4th of July) 3pm or after.

- Lodging (Price is per person, however rooms are double occupancy. Please make sure to book for the number of people coming)

- Sauna time 

- Complimentary LOW ABV cocktail or mocktail before dinner on Thursday night

- Thursday Dinner

- Friday Breakfast and WonderState Coffee and Tea Bar

- Friday Dinner

- Saturday breakfast and Wonderstate Coffee and Rishi Tea Bar

- Spend the day exploring The Beauty of The Driftless (Canoeing,  

   Biking, Hiking, Antiquing, Explore the Cute Town of Viroqua). We'll 

   give you a list! Or stay at the farm and relax, take a hike on one of 

   our trails, lounge on a porch, take a nap, etc

- Saturday Night Special Farm Dinner by Chicago's Txa Txa Club 

   This meal is open to the community as well

- Dance Party in The Barn Loft with Jamie Hayes

- Sunday morning breakfast (Check out is at 11am)

SATURDAY NIGHT FARM DINNER:

SATURDAY NIGHT FARM DINNER:

We are so so happy to welcome back Chicago's dynamic duo TXA TXA Club a Chicago supper club whose food style is playful yet intentional, integrating vast culinary influence with local, seasonal ingredients. Their dinner at Red Clover last year was one of the highlights of the season. They will delight your senses with the food they create.

As part of your weekend stay, TXATXA and Chef Dani Lind will be teaming up to create a special 4th of July community Farm Dinner on Saturday night. The dinner experience will feature a 5-course meal and is sure to be an extraordinary evening of connection and community inspired by the local bounty of Wisconsin’s Driftless region. Expect to enjoy a beautiful and surprising culinary twists on American classics.  TXATXA Club always curates their dinners around a theme. This dinners theme is:

CONSTELLATION: THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

For the beginning of the dog days of summer, the sultry season when the star system Sirius appears in the night sky just before the sun, we’ll be harnessing the heat and celebrating hot takes on hot American holiday classics. 

During the weeks between July 3 and August 11, the binary star Sirius—when one star revolves around another, or the two do-si-do around a common center—shines bright in the sky, forming the constellation of Canis Major, signifying a period of intense and feverish heat. 

It’s a time to revel in the meteorological craze, to dine and dance in the delirium of the sweltering heat. TXA TXA Club is heading back to Red Clover Ranch in the beautiful Driftless Wisconsin for a Fourth of July weekend of wayfaring and holiday fare. And while a constellation is the convening of stars—this dinner will be a constellation of radiant Midwest culinary and community magic. Come be part of it.

MENU:

FUNNEL CAKE

Shiso ranch, sunflower seed dukkah, herbs

WATERMELON SALAD

jim jaew, rushing waters trout crisp

5-SPICE WOODFIRE RIBS

Local pork, pickled rhubarb + purple cabbage chow-chow, tangerine

3 SISTERS

Meadow lark white corn grits, cayenne beans, popcorn, and summer squash

WISCONSIN BERRY + PRETZEL SALAD

Las Mujeres apple cider vinegar, goat cheese whip, fennel pollen

No BYOB. We will have specialty low-abv cocktails, curated wine selection, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages for sale.

Topping off Saturday night DJ Jamie Hayes will be hosting a dance party in the barn loft. Dance the night away, sit by the campfire with friends new and old. it’s going to be a great evening. join us!

FAQ:
Can I bring my pet? - We love dogs but for the animals that live on the property we can't have pet guests.

What should I bring? - We will send you a suggested list prior to arrival?

Do you accommodate Vegan and Vegetarian diets? - Yes we do!

How does the Lodging work? - If you are coming with people please let us know and we will house you together. We have a mix of room types - 2 twin beds, 1 queen bed, and 1 king bed. All rooms are double occupancy except the Bunkhouse. Please let us know you preference. Rooms are double occupancy if coming in a group

Are Fireworks allowed? - No fireworks are not allowed.

I have questions! - Please reach out to hello@redcloverranch.com

Join Anna Argeropoulos and Parisa Shirazi Chavoya of Moving Galaxy Yoga and Mindful Movement in Milwaukee for a long weekend of yoga, Saturday night sound bath, amazing food, and the beauty of the Driftless. This retreat includes:

3 nights, 4 days accommodations

• Welcome cocktail/mocktail on Thursday

• Three meals Friday and Saturday

• Send-off hearty breakfast on Sunday

• Daily yoga & mindfulness practices with Anna

• Yin and yoga nidra with Parisa on Friday

• Sound Bath with Parisa on Saturday

• Sauna, hiking, campfires, rest time, nature, good company, and more!

Anna Argeropoulos 

ERYT-500, CPT, Animal Flow L1 

Anna is a 500-Hour ERYT with 20 years of teaching experience. She is passionate about movement in all forms, and believes it to be the secret to a life well-lived. 

Anna weaves down-to-earth philosophy, creativity, laughter, exploration, and devotional chanting into every class she creates, and is happiest when among the trees and in the water. From her deep connections to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Anna has cultivated reverence, love and respect for Scandanavian sauna culture that she can’t wait to share with you. 

Expect to feel both challenged and grounded in Anna’s yoga classes, with options totake or leave anything that comes along. She loves to provide nourishing hands-onassists with every class, and retreats are the perfect time for her to focus on that.

Parisa Shirazi Chavoya 

M.Ed. RYT 200 and Sound Healer 

Parisa Shirazi Chavoya is a certified yoga teacher, sound healer and curator of Parisa Yoga Shala. Parisa finds joy in supporting others in exploring their mind, body, and spirit through trauma-informed embodiment practices. She’s especially passionate about working with beginners and individuals with chronic pain conditions! 

Parisa comes from a long lineage of Iranian dancers, musicians, singers and artists.Drawing together her love for teaching and music, she found her way to sound therapy!She loves using the power of her voice and healing vibrations to guide people into a meditative and calm state of being

Please join us to celebrate the onset of Summer and draw energy and connection from nature and an awesome group of women, in one of the most spectacular natural areas in the region.  Red Clover Ranch is nestled in the hills of the Driftless, a unique area of the Midwest known for its beautiful vistas, unusual topography, organic food, hiking and biking trails, excellent trout fishing and welcoming people. 

This retreat is meant to be both energizing and relaxing, so we’ve organized a schedule of activities that balance the two.  Retreat programming includes canoeing, hiking, guided stargazing, yoga and breathwork, and plenty of unscheduled time to reflect and rest. All activities will be facilitated, but our primary goal is to create a space that promotes self care, so participation is optional. 

This retreat is also meant to be a space of communion and connection. With so much responsibility and change in our lives, we know how important it is to make space for rest and reflection.  We also know that creating space to intentionally connect with others and with nature can help us process and support each other through these shifts.  Please reach out if you have any questions or want to learn more about the planned activities.  We welcome cis women, non-cis women, non-cis men, non-binary and gender fluid individuals.

Sample Schedule:

Friday - Arrive anytime after 3pm

Yoga (daily asana, meditation and breathwork practices)

Hike

Dinner

Sauna

Saturday

Yoga (daily asana, meditation and breathwork practices)

Breakfast

Canoe Trip with Packed Lunch

Rest/Free Time/Sauna 

Dinner 

Guided Stargazing with Driftless Astronomer John Heasley

Sunday

Yoga (daily asana, meditation and breathwork practices)

Breakfast

Hike at Wildcat Mountain State Park

Lunch 

Yoga (daily asana, meditation and breathwork practices)

Rest/Free Time

Dinner

Sauna

Monday - Depart at 11am

Yoga (daily asana, meditation and breathwork practices)

Breakfast 

Departure

-----------

Retreat Facilitators:

Elise Zelechowski

Originally from Chicago, Elise now lives in the Driftless where she’s working on bringing equitable energy resources to rural communities.  She's also farming on 20 acres of land near Red Clover Ranch, making wine and cider as Las Mujeres. She spends her free time exploring the nature around Southwest Wisconsin and volunteering with local organizations to conserve it.

Elizabeth Shaw

Elizabeth is a coach, outdoorswoman, yogi and traveler. After fifteen years of executive leadership in public education systems, Elizabeth now works with mission-driven leaders as an executive coach, facilitator and strategic advisor. She supports clients to lead with their intuition, notice their body’s wisdom, root in the collective, and reconnect with the natural world. Elizabeth lives with her partner and four children in Chicago, and is a yoga teacher and a NOLS-certified Wilderness First Responder.

Experience the magic of the Driftless region of Wisconsin on this perfect witchy fall weekend. Learn Talismanic jewelry design & make herb infused body oils with multi talented designer Jacki Holland. Create aromatic burn bundles & beautiful Fall Flower arrangements with designer Elizabeth Cronin of Asrai Garden & HBO’s Full Bloom. Stay at the stunning Red Clover Ranch, eat incredibly fresh and locally sourced meals by Chef Dani Lind, enjoy fall hikes with farm goats, connect to the Divine through tarot and oracle deck readings & take part in full moon rituals under the full Hunter Moon on October 28th. We might even tell some spooky campfire stories.

Join us for our Fall Weekend at The Ranch to enjoy the Fall Colors, Good Food, and a Dance Party

What's Included (prices are for 2 people. Extra people can be added for an extra fee):

- Check in Friday 3pm or after

- Stay in one of our cabins

- Sauna on from 4pm-6pm daily

- Complimentary LOW ABV cocktail before dinner on Friday night

- Friday Dinner

- Friday Campfire

- Saturday breakfast

- Spend the day exploring The Beauty of The Driftless (Canoeing,  

   Biking, Hiking, Antiquing, Explore the Cute Town of Viroqua). We will give you a list! Or stay at the farm and relax, take a hike on one of our trails, lounge on a porch, take a nap, etc

- Saturday Night Special Ranch Dinner - This Month’s Dinner at The Ranch is Venezuelan inspired. We will be joined by Leopoldo Bello. This meal is open to the community as well.

- DJ Dance Party with Bumbac Joe (a.k.a Leopoldo Bello) and DJ Jamie Hayes. Bumbac Joe a Venezuelan born in Lima - is a DJ, composer, sound experimenter, and night worker based in Chicago since 2014, who explores nightlife as a tool for expression.

With more than 20 years of experience, being part of projects like SantaLaDiabla Danceteria or BarraBar back in Caracas-Venezuela, or El Sombrero del Abuelo band in Madrid-Spain, with vinyls released on record labels like Sonorama (CHI) and Gozadera (NY), with tracks included in compilations like Situation Chicago, Venezuela Dance vol. I, mixed session featured at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, named by NPR one of the five latin artist to check, winner of the best local dance producer on Chicago’s Readers 2016, and curating a weekly party named Arepa Boogie, for more than a year at one of the coolest jazz club of the city, Dorian’s, Bumbac Joe is ambassador of musical nomadism. 

- Sunday morning breakfast (Check out is at 11am)

If you're feeling stuck in your writing process, stalled on your fiction or memoir project, hungry for creative community, or just ready for a revitalizing break, please join Writers Amy Shearn and Sarah McColl ,October 6-9, 2023, for the Red Clover Ranch Writing Retreat. 

This 3-night retreat includes locally sourced farm-to-table meals and cabin accommodations at the Red Clover Ranch in the Driftless region of Wisconsin where the conditions for clarity, quiet, and awe are part of the natural landscape. This retreat is open to writers of all genres and all levels who are looking to connect (or reconnect) with their creativity. Workshops will be generative, and you can use the time to add to something you're already writing, or to create something brand new.

Participants can take part in two generative writing workshops, one led by memoirist Sarah McColl and one led by novelist Amy Shearn. There will be open time to go deep into your own writing, explore the two mile-long trails at the Ranch, sweat it out in the sauna, or just stare off into space. On our last night, all writers will be invited to share their work at an open mic. Writers can also choose to have a 1:1 consultation with Sarah or Amy if they’d like another set of eyes on their work.

A long weekend can be deeply restorative and inspiring, while also fitting within the realities of life. We hope this opportunity is a good fit for parents, working writers, or anyone else with a complicated schedule. The focus will be on connecting to that vital force that is creativity, and coming away feeling reenergized and whole. 

About Sarah and Amy:

Sarah and Amy are both working writers, teachers, and mothers, who know just how restorative it can be when writers get together to reactivate their creative powers. 

Sarah McColl is the author of the debut memoir, Joy Enough (Liveright Publishing/Norton, 2019). She also writes Lost Art, a monthly newsletter about the creative work of (mostly) dead women.

Her essays have appeared in Paris Review, McSweeney's, StoryQuarterly, Departures and elsewhere. She is the recipient of fellowships from MacDowell, where she was named the 2017 Mary Carswell Fellow, the Millay Colony for the Arts, Ucross Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Wrangell Mountains Center, and a Pushcart Prize nominee for her essay on singer-songwriter Connie Converse.

Before receiving her MFA at Sarah Lawrence College, Sarah was the founding editor in chief of Yahoo Food. Her food writing has been featured in print and online for Bon Appétit, House Beautiful, The Guardian, Food52, Modern Farmer, Extra Crispy and others. 

Sarah has facilitated creative writing workshops at Sarah Lawrence College, Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, Catapult, Gotham Writers’ Workshop, her own independently run workshops for writers who are mothers, and for many young writer programs including the University of Virginia, Brooklyn Friends School, and Wordstruck. She lives with her family in Northern California and fell in love with the Midwest as a college student in Minnesota.

Amy Shearn is the award-winning author of the novels Unseen City (Red Hen Press, 2020), The Mermaid of Brooklyn (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 2013), and How Far Is the Ocean From Here (Shaye Areheart/Crown, 2008). Her next novel, Dear Edna Sloane, comes out in 2023 from Red Hen Press.

She has worked as an editor at Medium, JSTOR, Conde Nast, and other organizations, and has taught creative writing at NYU, Sackett Street Writers Workshop, Gotham Writers’ Workshops, Catapult, Story Studio Chicago, the Yale Writers' Workshop, and the Writing Co-Lab, which she helped found.

Amy's work has appeared in many publications including the New York Times Modern Love column, Slate, Poets & Writers, Literary Hub, Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living, O: The Oprah Magazine, and Coastal Living. Amy received a Promise Award from the Sustainable Arts Foundation, and has been awarded residencies at SPACE on Ryder Farm, The Unruly Retreat, and The Cabins. She has also hosted and curated many literary events in New York City, including a reading series called Lit at Lark and an author talk series, Bookish, at the Brooklyn Public Library.

Amy has an MFA from the University of Minnesota, and lives in Brooklyn with her two children. She is originally from the Chicago area.

Sarah and Amy first met in a windowless Conde Nast editorial office in 2009, when Sarah told Amy she was the cutest pregnant lady, and Amy was totally starstruck because she’d been a faithful reader of Sarah’s lifestyle blog for years. They’ve been meaning to work on something cool together ever since.

Come to Red Clover Ranch, for a 2-night, 3-day retreat with Dushaun Branch to rest, move, and connect. Join us in a tranquil and picturesque setting for rejuvenating Hatha yoga sessions led by the expert guidance of yoga instructor DuShaun Branch Pollard. This women’s retreat offers a rejuvenating and inspiring experience, connecting like-minded individuals to share stories and envision future goals together. This will be a truly special weekend with DuShaun.

About DuShaun:

DuShaun has been practicing for almost 13 years and fell in love with yoga because it allowed her to find peace of mind while moving her body. As a yoga student, DuShaun noticed that in the majority of her classes she was the only black and plus sized person in the room. This inspired her to become a practitioner to bring yoga to more people who looked like her. 

“DuShaun is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200) through the Yoga Alliance and was certified through Bloom Yoga Studio in June of 2020. In addition, she received her 95-hour Children’s Yoga Certification from Mission Propelle in the summer of 2018.

DuShaun previously worked in higher education and a community organizer in North Lawndale, a community on the west side of Chicago. Because of her former work, DuShaun is focused on bringing yoga to youth, activists, and organizers. She believes people not only need rest and relaxation, but resistance; yoga is a powerful way to tap into the balance of ease and positive effort. DuShaun teaches through the lens of equity and trauma-informed, hosting classes in “non-traditional” settings all over the city. She intends on taking down as many barriers as possible to bring yoga to those who are looking for calm and relaxed minds. DuShaun truly believes yoga is for all, and shares that throughout Chicago and beyond. 

WONDER•ING 2023: CURIOUSER & CURIOUSER 

Take this weekend to reconnect with your sense of curiosity and awe. Together we will revitalize our creative selves through meditative practices, exploratory writing, imaginative exploration of the natural world, playful making, and more. No prior experience with meditation or writing required!

Day 1 (afternoon/evening): Setting sacred space for exploration and play

Day 2 (full day): Calling in our curious selves

Day 3 (full day): Dwelling deeply in the wonder-full now

Day 4 (morning): Imagining gloriously forward

You can expect:

* guided meditations

* facilitated exploratory writing 

* tactile imaginative practices 

* connection with the natural surroundings

* space for rest and connection with self and others

Co-led by Lindsey Dorr-Niro (transdisciplinary visual artist, arts educator, and Indo-Tibetan Buddhist scholar/teacher) and Marty McConnell (writer, arts educator, and creativity coach).

Lindsey Dorr-Niro is a transdisciplinary artist and educator living and working in Chicago, Illinois. She received her MFA from The Yale School of Art and BFA from The University of Wisconsin-Madison and currently teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has studied and practiced within the Gelugpa school of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism since 2009 and taught meditation since completing her 300-hour yoga teacher training with the Yoga Studies Institute in 2011. Her meditation studies include work with the Diamond Mountain, Tara Mandala, and DharmaOcean lineages. Her focus is on somatically embodied practice, with trainings cultivated through Awakening the Body, Awakening the Heart, and The Somatic Practice of Pure Awareness. She is currently studying meditation with Ralph De La Rosa, whose work bridges Tibetan Buddhist meditation/mindfulness practice with Internal Family Systems, attachment theory, and somatic experiencing to address and heal trauma. 

Marty McConnell provides vital coaching and consulting services to people and organizations, supporting them in being planful, proactive, and powerful in building the lives and worlds they envision. She is the author of when they say you can’t go home again, what they mean is you were never there, winner of the 2017 Michael Waters Poetry Prize; her first full-length collection, wine for a shotgun, received the Silver Medal in the Independent Publishers Awards, and was a finalist for both the Audre Lorde Award and a Lambda Literary Award. She is the author Gathering Voices: Creating a Community-Based Poetry Workshop (Yes Yes Books, 2018), and the co-creator and co-editor of underbelly, a web site focused on the art and magic of poetry revision. An MFA graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, her work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including Best American Poetry, Southern Humanities Review, Gulf Coast, and Indiana Review. 

Learn more about Lindsey here and here, and more about Marty here and here. 

Travel to the stunning driftless region of Wisconsin near the Mississippi River and spend the weekend wandering through acres of fresh flowers to cut at Star Valley Flower Farm, floral arranging with Elizabeth Cronin of Asrai Garden & Full Bloom and creating beautiful watercolors with Esther Garcia of Butterfat studios. Eat our delicious farm to table food, have a dance party in the barn loft, forage for wildflowers, enjoy daily morning meditation, sauna, and enjoy a special goat walk with our sweet goats.

Esther and Elizabeth are both masters of their craft and oh sooooo much fun. Think of camp with flowers, water colors, good food, good people, and goats. No experience with florals or water colors needed. Come as you are and we will learn together! This will be such a MAGICAL weekend. Come join us!

This plein air painting retreat led by skilled instructor Leslie Baum includes guided and independent painting time, opportunities to share work, morning yoga, and a contemplative forest walk. Explore plein air painting as an expansive pursuit, one that encompasses more than rendering a view. Embrace the creative potential of noticing our environment, slowing down, and being present. Leslie will provide prompts and invitations to guide your painting – helping to cultivate a personal painterly approach. The focus will be on imaginatively responding to what the landscape evokes – the sensations, memories, images.

More Information and Registration Here. Space is limited. Payment Plans available.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS RETREAT IS SOLD OUT

This plein air painting retreat led by skilled instructor Leslie Baum includes guided and independent painting time, opportunities to share work, morning yoga, and a contemplative forest walk. Explore plein air painting as an expansive pursuit, one that encompasses more than rendering a view. Embrace the creative potential of noticing our environment, slowing down, and being present. Leslie will provide prompts and invitations to guide your painting – helping to cultivate a personal painterly approach. The focus will be on imaginatively responding to what the landscape evokes – the sensations, memories, images.

More Information and Registration Here. Space is limited. Payment Plans available.