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"ONCE A YEAR,
GO SOMEPLACE YOU'VE
NEVER BEEN BEFORE."
Dalai Lama
LEMON LODGE
Camp Wonder Wander is a creativity retreat center on a total of 17 acres bordering the Buffalo River in Lewis County Tennessee (named after explorer Meriwether-Lewis who died mysteriously nearby).
The main accommodation is the Lemon Lodge -
1400 sq ft for group activities that sleeps up to 14.
The lemon lodge features:
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two porches: the front overlooks green space close to bbq grill, picnic table, and fire pit. the back is shady and overlooks the donkey dry corral where they sleep at night
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creative decor bringing nature inside and interjections of items brought back from a trip to Japan
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large dining area, 2 large and tall tables with bench seating are functional and mobile
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numerous seating areas
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comfortable kitchen featuring stainless steel counters and a gas stove stocked with essentials - pots, pans, utensils, dishware, coffee pot, and a good size refrigerator
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two full bathrooms
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twinkle lights out front
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supplies including eco-friendly soap, dish detergent, and even toilet paper as well as an intensive covid standard cleaning prior to arrival with fair wage housekeeping.
Sleeping arrangements:
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Private room 1 - King bed with private bath
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Private room 2- Full bed
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Loft- 7 twin beds
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Pine Room - doubles as a sleeping space for 2 (or 3 with trundle) and a gathering space with large tables and bench seats.
Lemon Lodge large living area with chalkboard walls and a woodstove.
Lemon Lodge features quirky art and eclectic mix of pieces.
Lemon Lodge natural light and seating options.
Lemon Lodge has a wall of art, design, and other books along with an eclectic collection of knick knacks.
Hard wood floors in the Lemon Lodge front room.
A nice spot for crafts and dining. Nature and travel theme collage on the table. TV is hooked up to DVD - not a smart option.
Lemon Lodge features many art details including this collage.
Lemon Lodge is a 1930s house that may bring you back in time as you channel your inner child. From the screen door and front porch to other features.
Channel your inner child with a daybed for daydreaming, reading, or getting close to nature without going outside.
This small studio space offers different seating and table worksurfaces. Cut your fabric on this stainless table, organize your collage items, leave a puzzle out for everyone to play in passing.
An open area for easy flow from communal area to the kitchen hub.
Lemon Lodge kitchen features a big farm sink, eclectic pattern tile floor, and a gas stove. Don't worry the fridge is just out of the image.
Lemon Lodge has many items at your finger tips for preparing meals. Items are stored within labeled cabinets.
Lemon Lodge has additional appliances such as a microwave, coffee pot and coffee grinder, small toaster, crock pot, electric skillet.
Coffee on the unique buffet.
The Lemon Lodge has one private ensuite bathroom that brings the outside inside with the river rock floor.
Lemon Lodge hall bathroom has a walk-in shower.
The pine room is a gathering space with a wood stove, has a sleeping or hang out corner, and 2 large tables on casters with bench seats that can be moved around.
Bench seating in this room.
Lemon Lodge has room to work on craft, games, and a bigger dining area.
Lemon Lodge pine room has reclaimed wood walls and is arranged for multipurpose space for groups.
RASPBERRY RESIDENCY HOUSE
The Raspberry Residency House is the primary location for participants in the artist/writer residency program. With planning, you can opt for this smaller house for your getaway or for a bigger group options to spread out.
The Raspberry Residency House features:
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Open space living and eat-in kitchen with sliding glass doors overlooking a large deck that has a grand view of the field where donkeys roam and even the bamboo grove.
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Living room is creatively decorated with various sitting spots.
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Kitchen is equipped with appliances, pots/pans, and other essentials
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two decks front and back
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mural painted in hall bathroom by artist Caleigh Bird during her residency
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a gallery of art contributed by previous artists in residence and the host
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gorgeous view of the evening sky and sunsets
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keyless entry
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laundry room and supplies including eco-friendly dish/laundry detergent and even toilet paper. cleaning with covid safety measures and fair wage housekeeping.
Sleeping arrangements:
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Private room 1 - Full bed with bunk / private bath
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Private room 2- Twin
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Private room 3 - Twin
SOCIAL MEDIA BLACKOUT STATEMENT
You will find Camp Wonder Wander on Facebook and Instagram, but the socials are intentionally not being updated. For information, the best place is this website and human communication via phone or email. In light of recent developments and the massive advance - some may call it an assault to our lives - A.I. overload, Val as proprietor has made the difficult decision to not engage with those forums, but is keeping the spaces so that they aren't stolen by fraudsters. She has even turned off automated features in various places including email, refuses to use autocorrect or text generation, and is extremely frustrated by the fact that there was not an opt-in button for all of this new technology integrated so quickly into our lives. She wants to live the disconnect to reconnect mantra.
One of the primary issues of concern is the massive amount of data centers that are sprouting up all over the country including in this state that are destroying the natural environment, ruining farmland forever, taking natural resources from the local community, and having adverse affects on the human neighbors sometimes just feet away from 24/7 sounds and lights to the point of massive health problems.
In addition, there has been a lawsuit awarded early in 2026 in favor of the plaintiffs who successfully argued in court that the various forums including Facebook/Meta and TikTok are intentionally addictive. Due to the mantra at Camp Wonder Wander that is emphasizing a digital detox and the time away from screens including doom scrolling, the best option from this small business is to stop making posts so often just for an attempt to get your potential attention. There is plenty of anecdotal and research evidence of the platforms including fake artificial accounts, fake generated people, and a significant portion of their ad revenue is from either false/fake companies or sometimes stolen hacked accounts that are being used to pay for ads. You may notice that your feeds have transformed from your friend group to an endless list of advertisements and recommendations. The visual landscape is intended to keep your attention for as long as possible.
The book "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness" was published in 2024 and the author - Jonathan Haidt - can be found in numerous interviews discussing the research that they can see a pivotal point in young teens, especially girls, around 2010 when smart phones became the norm. This is global for societies that are accessing smart phones. And it affects adults as well. You may have also heard the term "enshitification" of the social media landscape and some of the other interfaces that we have signed up for and now are stuck in.
If you are reminiscing for a day before these devices and the apps took over our lives, then it's definitely time to put things in airplane mode and schedule a retreat.