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We had a great time!

I have included a YouTube video of the butterflies "puddling" and my son (enjoying them.)

I will leave you with some wonderful photos from our recent stay because you had a really nice young lady who was super friendly to my son and he doesn’t get that a lot. She showed him the turtle and to be gentle, and it means the world to our profoundly autistic family members.  Thank you so much - Looking forward to next year 2026! - Nadine & clan, Minneapolis

Click to see mom's butterfly short on YouTube:  https://youtube.com/shorts/tonBlzZIo1M?si=-qCTBga4n9vEz1zE

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CWC Retreats

Restorative Retreat

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What are the cleanest & clearest lakes in Minnesota? We analyzed ALL the data.

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To Register, click here
Questions?  contact facilitator Molly:  (612) 562-8007

Limited capacity 10-12 people
Sign up soon - there are still a few spaces left!

Join Molly, Shelly, and Lisa Johnson Taylor to

Restore, replenish, reconnect with your inner strength

Caretakers come in many forms – healthcare worker, therapist, teacher, parent and more. You are most likely burnt out, possibly in emotional and physical stress. It’s your time to restore and reclaim your energy.

Our retreats are designed with you in mind. Nestled in the beautiful Minnesota north woods in a cozy resort on a lake located in Akeley – just 2-3 hours from the Twin Cities – your weekend surroundings are filled with whispering trees, the peaceful songs of the loons, the soft rhythm of the waves. Even as you arrive, you will breathe deeper and start to release the tension that may feel has become a permanent part of you.

We work to keep the number of retreat participants low so that you all have time for your own space to restore as you need, with the awareness of being a part of a group that understands the stresses of the caretaker profession – a collective energy to tap into throughout the weekend and beyond.

Your weekend of replenishment will be a blend of guided self-inquiry, mindful movement, connecting with nature, ceremony, and play – with time to be with just yourself along with time with the group. Our process combines nature-based healing and spiritual awakening through somatic-based inquiry. We will help you access your ability to listen inside your own body for the answers on how to clear the ‘sludge’ that has built up, release what is needed to release and open the space to replenish and heal.

You leave feeling refreshed, nourished and tapped into your life-source energy.

All work is guided by Molly DePrekel, Lisa Johnson Taylor and Shelly Edwards, three licensed psychologists that are experts in their field and have years of experience in different areas of the mental health field.

General flow of the weekend includes:

Friday afternoon arrival

• Take a self-guided tour of the resort and start to feel the tension release
• 3:00 group grounding activities and then dinner

Saturday morning

• Breakfast
• Yoga, accessing activities, guided sensorimotor- body inquiry, meditations and journaling

Saturday afternoon

• Lunch
• Free time – play at the lake, go for a walk, sign up for a massage or reflexology session, kayak, enjoy
• Group gathering and check-in

Saturday evening

• Dinner
• Group accessing activities, fire ceremony, free time in nature, dream ceremony

Sunday morning

• Yoga and body movement
• Brunch
• Grounding activities
• Group sharing on how to continue the cleansing and restoration

Closing – noon

Authentic Restoration Retreat
Come join us for a restorative weekend in nature. Through body-focused activities, movement, self-inquiry, mindful exploration, ceremony, and play we will nourish ourselves and find our capacity to restore.

Join Molly, Lisa, and Shelly in a reorganization and reset for the caregiver.

• Molly DePrekel is a licensed psychologist with over 28 years of experience in mental health and healing. Her focus is on animal-assisted interventions, nature-based healing and somatic practice.
• Lisa Johnson Taylor is a licensed psychologist with over 30 years of experience in mental health. She is passionate about group work that accesses body wisdom and supports a collective transformation.
• Shelly Edwards is a mental health therapist and shamanic practitioner focused on helping others follow their innate ability to heal and be in connection with their greater wisdom.

Stay in a cabin at Crow Wing Lodge where free time activities include nature trails, lakeside sauna, kayaks, other water toys and a beach on a clear lake. Retreat activities include yoga, meditation, accessing somatic markers of stress and releasing old patterns of thought, emotion or reaction. We will then bring in the new more resourced ways of thinking, feeling and reacting to be more in alignment with our authentic, wise, fullness of being. Come join us.

When: September 25-27, 2025. Begins at 2:00 noon on Friday until 12:00 on Sunday
Where: Crow Wing Crest Lodge, 31159 County 23, Akeley, MN
Cost: Cost: $495.00+ (TBD 2026 rates)  includes lodging, dinner on Friday and Saturday night.
(Locals/Non-overnight guest rate $445.00+ (TBD 2026 rates)

Lodging is one of three shared cabins with
fully equipped kitchens. Breakfast and lunch are on your own and it is recommended to cook on premise.
Register at Amidstthetrees.com under "retreats"

DEADLINE TO REGISTER is August 22

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I have used cedarwood essential oil at Crow Wing Crest Lodge for years.  I am no longer in charge of coordinating the bedding on our 83 beds (Emily is!) but in the fall when storing linens for winter, I used to add a few drops of cedarwood on an unscented dryer sheet and place within the plastic bag of each bed's linens.  (Although we've always used non-toxic detergents, we now use totally unscented laundry solutions: typically Ecos, Ecover, or 7th Generation laundry soaps.)

Cedarwood is often included in Aromatherapy 101 classes at CWC.  Much research suggests it is helpful for insect control (Did your grandmother have a cedar chest to keep her quilts moth-free?  Mine did.  And my father had rounded oblong cedar blocks inserted into his spiffy shoes, in order to keep their shape while in storage in the back of his closet.  The blocks were a natural deodorizer, and also kept pests from nesting inside.)

Once you start researching this simple oil, you'll find many wonderful everyday uses!  Perhaps start with this article from Heathline.com correlating studies of cedarwood to help hair loss, acne, arthritis, and insomnia. 

I will often share in class the knowledge that there is data showing cedarwood to be helpful for treating Urinary Tract Infections.  Read more here on some common sense avenues to apply (basically mixing 10 drops per tablespoon of carrier oil {e.g. olive oil} and massaging onto lower abdomen.)

Whether diffusing cedarwood into the air of your office or bedroom, or applying to your skin via a self-made massage oil, cedarwood is a great beginner essential oil.  It's inexpensive and easy to obtain.  I will typically always have 1/2 ounce bottles for sale in the lodge at Crow Wing Crest ($9.99.)   If you don't come across it in your normal course of events, make a mental note to pick some up next time you visit the resort.   Happy healing! 

- Kim, Owner - Crow Wing Crest Lodge

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Life Writing Retreat at Crow Wing Crest Lodge
May 21-22, 2022
Saturday & Sunday

•  
• 9 AM-Noon - guided work
• Noon-4 - independent writing - you’ll have access to quiet spaces in the lodge facilities
• +15 minute 1:1 conference with instructor - scheduled upon arrival

Bring your own beverages and lunch

Ready to kick your book into high-test-writing gear? Bring your creative prose project to full realization during this weekend workshop with award-winning author Susan Thurston. After two mornings filled with guided writing exercises and afternoons of protected independent writing time, you will bring your project into focus and produce fresh, solid work. Map what is necessary to create a compelling story. Hone and refine the best voice for your narrator or character. Explore how to best present sensory textures and nuances to set your story apart. Enliven characters and settings on the page so they are ready to capture the heart of your reader.

The workshop is perfect for the writer of memoir, creative non-fiction, fiction, or long-form narrative poetry.

Five person minimum. Ten person maximum.
$45 early-bird registration
$50 registration after April 15
Registration includes instruction, hand-outs, access to a space at the lodge for afternoon writing, and a 15 minute 1:1 conference with the instructor about your work.

TO REGISTER: Contact Susan Thurston at sthpoet@gmail.com. Mailed checks preferred. Cash/Venmo accepted

Susan Thurston is a writer and educator whose work can be found in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Los Angeles Review, Garrison Keillor’s The Writer’s Almanac, Poetry Quarterly, Ithaca Lit, Minnesota Monthly, Fox Cry Review, Rag Mag; several anthologies including Open to Interpretation: At Water’s Edge (Taylor & O’Neill, 2012), Low Down and Coming On (Red Dragonfly Press, 2010), Tremors Vibrations Enough to Rearrange the World (Heywood Press, 1995); the chapbook Wild Bone Season (Heywood Press, 1996); and the novel Sister of Grendel (Calumet Editions, second edition, and The Black Hat Press, 2016).
She coauthored Cooking-Up the Good Life (University of Minnesota Press, 2012) with local-food movement leader Chef Jenny Breen. She is an editor at Calumet Editions. As part of earning her master’s degree from Hamline University, she spent time exploring the influence of gender on the creative process with the game-changing writers Carol Bly, Patricia Hampl, and Meridel Le Sueur.   http://susanthurstonwrites.com/

Wanna really immerse?
Enrich the experience even further and stay at Crow Wing Crest Lodge in a private cabin.
Most cabins are $129/night for two-night stay
($109/night for three nights) for 1-2 people
($55/night/person extra peeps.)
Contact the resort directly for cabin options, or book on-line and use the Couples Special Rate available.
(218) 652-3111
relax@crowwing.com

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(This was a fun write for writing class.  And true, of course. - Kim, CWC)

"Lemon tree, very pretty
and the lemon flower is sweet.
but the fruit of the poor lemon
is impossible to eat." – Peter, Paul & Mary

I sing when I clean cabins.  Any tune that has a good hook. 

My son-in-law recently relayed a trick to stop the annoying repetition of a song phrase.  

Evidently forty choruses of The Lemon Tree song were beyond his tolerance level as we shared cleaning duties last fall.  He could only vacuum loudly in distraction sooo long while I was busily washed out sticky condiment rings in the refrigerator, incessantly warbling.  I couldn't seem to move onto any other song, dangit!

I understood his frustration.

I was feeling more and more sorry for the damn lemon.  

Mr. Problem Solver googled for relief.  Hence, a solution to the "earworm" issue.

Apparently if you consciously sound out a musical series of notes with a definite ending, then your brain will also end the one jammed in your brain.  

I told him that it sounded like a great idea. 

Except that I could only think of one song at that moment.  (Obviously.)

"What about commercials?  Jingles?" he suggested.    "Like the Intel tune - 'bum bum bum bum!'  Four notes only."

I tried it under my breathe for a few moments.  

Nope - still craving tea with a lemon slice. 

But!  I was able to start thinking of other jingles. 

Farmers Insurance “We are farmers . . .”  

“Baby back, baby back ribs” from Chili's. 

The Coke commercial from the 70's, "I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony . . . "   I struggled with remembering all the lyrics.

And then I got into trouble again.  Where this one bubbled up from my Generation X memory banks, I’ll never know.  "Oh, I’d love to be an Oscar Mayer wiener.  That is what I truly wish to be.  ‘Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener, everyone would be in love with me."   (I seem to recall it being one of the only songs I could play by heart on the flute back in junior high school.)

THAT lasted through a microwave wipe down, a de-staining of two dining chair cushions, a polishing of the kitchen sink with baby oil and the start of mopping the kitchen floor on hands and knees. 

"Okay, okay!" I heard muttered from the bathroom as Sir Had-Enough raced through his own floor mopping to escape as soon as possible. 

Earworm solution failure. 

I have since learned that "Sticky songs prey on the idle, tired and stressed, when defenses are low." [TodayIFoundOut.com] 

I am always exhausted in the fall after a long resort season. 

I have now promised my beleaguered in-law we could avoid cleaning cabins together after Labor Day. 

He has stated there will be no need.  He'll be enmeshed in iPod-land. 

Good enough. 

Now I can stock up in citrus and hot dogs without censure.

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Our favorite thing was just playing in the sand, renting a boat, and seeing all the loons.  We loved our stay here!! We can tell how much love you put into making this resort.  -- Rebecca Kirschner, 1st-time guest 2020

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". . . studies have shown that time in nature — as long as people feel safe — is an antidote for stress: It can lower blood pressure and stress hormone levels, reduce nervous system arousal, enhance immune system function, increase self-esteem, reduce anxiety, and improve mood. Attention Deficit Disorder and aggression lessen in natural environments, which also help speed the rate of healing. In a recent study, psychiatric unit researchers found that being in nature reduced feelings of isolation, promoted calm, and lifted mood among patients."

So - let's increase our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being!  Spend more time in your backyard or garden.  Walk to your local park more often.  (Or spend quality time for a few solid days at a resort up north to get to a deeper level.)  Minnesota is chock-full of lakes and woods; take advantage of all these scenic natural resources.  Whether it's a day-trip, a weekend sojourn, or a week's vacay with the fam, we invite you to allow the nurturing, natural surroundings of Minnesota's northwoods, gift you the opportunity to relax, play, connect with others, and reconnect with your inner self.  

(Cabin specials & deals at Crow Wing Crest Lodge.)

 
(CWC Photo Contest Winner - thanks Jake Louwsma for this entry!)

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