Skip to main content
Inspiration is often found in the Marble Canyon desert landscape.
Winter Solstice Gathering Dec '24
Fall colors
Milky Way at night

Winter Solstice Gathering

Dec 18-21th, 2024

Our Winter Solstice Gathering is an opportunity to reconnect with nature, rejuvenate your spirit, and celebrate the quiet, profound beauty of winter's embrace. Join Erica Fareio for this deeply nourishing experience in marble canyon with like minded women looking to reconnect with themselves and feel whole before the holidays and new year. We look forward to spending time with you.

What's Included

  • 4 Highly intentional days of rest, daily meditation, journaling and connection to nature.
  • Pre-trip preparation video and email support.
  • All meals - In house Chef inspired winter comfort and healthy nourishing foods to support the mind and body.
  • Accommodation - we’ll be staying at the newly renovated Marble Canyon Motor Lodge.
  • Solstice Celebration - On the longest night of the year, we gather around a grand bonfire, singing songs and sharing our focuses for the coming year. The crisp desert air will be energized with feelings of renewal and the promise. We will revel in our new connections, stories shared, and the love we feel in our hearts.

Price

Standard Package — $1,200 per person

  • Includes a shared room with another attendee.

Private Room Upgrade — $1,500 per person

  • Enjoy a private room.

Group Discount — $1,000 per person (when booking for two or more)

  • Includes a shared room with your group members.
  • $333 discount applied per person.
Erica Amy Martin will be your guide.

Meet Erica Fareio

Erica has been a professional river and wilderness guide since 1997. She has been an artist her entire life. Her paintings are an expression of the beauty she sees in Grand Canyon, the surrounding Colorado Plateau and in our everyday experiences. She has come to realize that the cycles and patterns of the natural world can serve as a reflection for aspects of our own day to day living and relationships. Erica has also studied in the fields of ethnobotany, geology, music, meditation and wilderness medicine. Her connection to and observations of nature have been primarily fostered and nurtured by decades of time spent living and working in Grand Canyon. As her life experience grows and expands, so does her inspiration. In addition to her whimsical landscape paintings, she is now exploring other subject matters including current affairs, archetypal imagery and the collective evolving consciousness. Erica says, “The big adventure now is the journey inward. It’s the journey towards true relationship with each other and the planet. My responsibility as an artist and as a guide is to live life with intention, to pay attention and to help bring into this world a new way of seeing.” Her home and art studio are in Flagstaff, Arizona.

What We Offer

What We Offer

  • Nature Heals

    Erica will share a bit about the local flora and fauna, the geological phenomenon of the Colorado Plateau and Grand Canyon, the human history, cultural significance and also the environmental challenges this part of the world is facing. We will explore what it means to be human living on this interdependent, diverse and ever changing planet. Hikes/walks will be dependent on weather and the group’s physical abilities.

  • Meditation
  • Creative Writing
  • Art Therapy
  • Wellness
  • Dark Sky Experience
blooming flower in desert

Erica will share a bit about the local flora and fauna, the geological phenomenon of the Colorado Plateau and Grand Canyon, the human history, cultural significance and also the environmental challenges this part of the world is facing. We will explore what it means to be human living on this interdependent, diverse and ever changing planet. Hikes/walks will be dependent on weather and the group’s physical abilities.

woman sitting in meditation

Erica will lead guided meditations to help you tap into your creative power. We will explore what it means to be the Universe itself unfolding in every moment, wanting to be seen, heard and shared. Through meditation, we can begin to see the internal dialogue and patterns that may get in the way of our full potential expressing itself.

writing in a quiet environment

Through creative writing, we will explore the inner landscapes of our hearts and minds. Using self inquiry and shared story telling as tools, we will write to uncover hidden blocks within that may impede the flow of creativity and expression in our every days lives.

well worn and loved paint brushes

"When art is able to articulate true insight and wisdom, it becomes a powerful tool. It can help to open our minds and hearts to different perspectives, ideas, emotions and help us to see that we and all living things are connected on a very fundamental level." Erica Fareio Using the sounds of silence and the sounds of the river as our backdrop, we will sketch, draw and paint to our heart’s content. We will sit in this magnificent landscape, observe nature and its moods and changes. We will come into alignment with our surroundings, using the sounds of silence and the sounds of the river as our backdrop. From this place of tranquility we will draw, paint and create to our heart’s content.

Marble Canyon might not be the first place that comes to mind for a wellness retreat, but perhaps that’s part of its charm. It doesn’t shout for attention; instead, it offers a quiet, open space where visitors can simply be. Whether for a weekend of hiking, stargazing, or simply sitting in stillness, Marble Canyon is a place that encourages a shift in mindset—one that comes not from doing more but from doing less, in a landscape that invites you to slow down.

majesty of the Milky Way

When night falls in Marble Canyon, the sky transforms. Designated as a dark sky environment, the area is committed to minimizing light pollution. This means that the stars here are visible in their full glory—something that’s becoming increasingly rare in many parts of the world. The night sky in Marble Canyon isn’t just dotted with stars; it’s a blanket of light that makes you feel as though you could reach out and touch the constellations.

Apply Now