Tall Rock Retreat
…a soft corner of the world
We are tucked in a secluded spot in the hills of Central Vermont, twelve miles outside of Montpelier, off a narrow dirt road, beside hudreds of acres of undeveloped forest with walking paths, ponds, and wildlife.
Part of the inspiration for Tall Rock Retreat comes from the life and work of my father, who passed away in 2002. A Jung scholar, Daniel C. Noel loved to travel to the British Isles in search of ancient sites, “sacred spaces” often built in stone. On many occasions, I accompanied him--to Stonehenge, of course, but also to lesser-known sites that he’d locate on old maps. We’d trample over farmers' fields and through hedges, finding burial chambers, mossy monoliths, circles of standing stones.
In the spring of 2004, I began searching for a monolith; I’d already come up with the name for the retreat, so now I just needed an undeniably Tall Rock. At a nearby granite quarry, I found one—twenty-eight feet long, weighing in at seventeen tons. Using some of the money my father left me with his passing, I purchased this rock and the epic day came on June 9, when I had it installed in my yard--quite a dramatic undertaking that entailed the setting up of a 100,000-pound crane on my front lawn. Before we "planted" the stone, I placed several handsful of my father’s ashes in the deep hole.
Another important inspiration for me in creating this place is that I was lucky enough, many years ago, to spend some of the finest weeks of my life at The MacDowell Colony, in New Hampshire, during a formative period in my own writing growth. I wrote my first novel there. And now, I want to make possible a similar experience for other writers, at all stages of their careers. As at MacDowell, your lunch basket is brought to your door each noon, and then we gather together for supper each evening, unless you would prefer to dine alone with your thoughts.
We currently have two cabins, a twelve-by-twelve A-frame with upstairs sleeping loft beneath the stars, and a thirteen-by-thirteen gabled square with upstairs bedroom. They are equipped with refrigerators, coffee makers, baseboard heating, air conditioning...and plenty of windows.
The fee is $495 per week.
(Or $375 if you'd rather handle your own food.)
Below are three videos I have made about Tall Rock Retreat. With any questions, please write to chrisattallrock@aol.com
Part of the inspiration for Tall Rock Retreat comes from the life and work of my father, who passed away in 2002. A Jung scholar, Daniel C. Noel loved to travel to the British Isles in search of ancient sites, “sacred spaces” often built in stone. On many occasions, I accompanied him--to Stonehenge, of course, but also to lesser-known sites that he’d locate on old maps. We’d trample over farmers' fields and through hedges, finding burial chambers, mossy monoliths, circles of standing stones.
In the spring of 2004, I began searching for a monolith; I’d already come up with the name for the retreat, so now I just needed an undeniably Tall Rock. At a nearby granite quarry, I found one—twenty-eight feet long, weighing in at seventeen tons. Using some of the money my father left me with his passing, I purchased this rock and the epic day came on June 9, when I had it installed in my yard--quite a dramatic undertaking that entailed the setting up of a 100,000-pound crane on my front lawn. Before we "planted" the stone, I placed several handsful of my father’s ashes in the deep hole.
Another important inspiration for me in creating this place is that I was lucky enough, many years ago, to spend some of the finest weeks of my life at The MacDowell Colony, in New Hampshire, during a formative period in my own writing growth. I wrote my first novel there. And now, I want to make possible a similar experience for other writers, at all stages of their careers. As at MacDowell, your lunch basket is brought to your door each noon, and then we gather together for supper each evening, unless you would prefer to dine alone with your thoughts.
We currently have two cabins, a twelve-by-twelve A-frame with upstairs sleeping loft beneath the stars, and a thirteen-by-thirteen gabled square with upstairs bedroom. They are equipped with refrigerators, coffee makers, baseboard heating, air conditioning...and plenty of windows.
The fee is $495 per week.
(Or $375 if you'd rather handle your own food.)
Below are three videos I have made about Tall Rock Retreat. With any questions, please write to chrisattallrock@aol.com
