WHERE?
The former Wisehart Springs Inn, which lies about a mile and a half from downtown Paonia, Colorado, a tiny town that’s my heart’s home and Colorado’s greatest secret.

WHEN?

Oct. 1-5, a Thurs. evening through Mon. morning.

We’ll gather for a welcome dinner, then have three days of guided, supported writing, and then a final gathering and goodbye on day five. Wisehart is a five-hour drive from the Denver area. Six students maximum.

HOW MUCH?
$1,250.

WHAT’S INCLUDED?  The fee includes instruction, a welcome dinner, and lunches for the next three days. At the welcome dinner, we’ll eat and read a simple homework assignment to the group by way of introduction. For the next three days I’ll lead you in guided, supported writing exercises in the morning and the afternoon (a total of five hours a day.) I’ll also serve lunch on those days. We’ll say goodbye with a final exercise on day 5.

Outside of that, you’ll be free to explore the artistic and culinary delights of  a valley so packed with organic farms and divine food it’s been referred to as The American Provence.

LODGING: The fee does not include lodging, ALTHOUGH Paonia has a plethora of bed and breakfasts, campsites, and a couple of hotels to choose from. There’s the clean, cute and absolutely fine Rocky Mountain Inn , ($119 a night, last I checked.) Former students have enjoyed staying at the historic, charming, pricey ($260/night)  Bross Hotel.  And there’s camping among the fruit trees with nearby showers and good cafe at  Delicious Orchards  ($42 a night, and lordie, they also have GLAMPING YURTS!) ~ not to mention a ton of Airbnbs. Our meeting place lies about 1.5 miles from all of these venues and the rest of downtown, where lies my favorite bookstore, PAONIA BOOKS, which contains a wonderful espressoria.

There’ll also be alone time to wander the 40-or-so acres of the horse ranch that’ll serve as our base, and explore the small, vibrant town of Paonia, and even hike the gorgeous Rocky Mountains.

The nearest airports are in Montrose and Grand Junction, each of them about 90 minutes away. Denver International Airport is about 4 1/2 hours away. You cannot beat this location for otherworldly beauty. Paonia is my favorite place on the planet. When I lived here and roamed the world as a travel writer, I’d weep with gratitude when I returned to this beautiful, homey, friendly community.  I’d love to share it with you!

REFUND POLICY: The class fee acts like a ticket to a concert — once you’ve bought it, it’s yours. You can transfer it to someone else, but refunds are not available for any reason other than Lisa being sick/unable to teach. If I have a wait list and we can find an appropriate replacement, there’ll be help there (minus an admin. fee.)

HEALTH PRECAUTIONS: I want to keep everyone safe, so participants  need to agree to steer clear of the group if they’re feeling ill, or if they test positive for Covid, flu, measles, or any other communicable disease. They also need to be willing to be tested if they become symptomatic during our time together.