Journey Inn
Our Dream

Welcome to Journey Inn, an eco-retreat.

The birth of Journey Inn in Maiden Rock, Wisconsin was June 2006, bringing with it many options for guest overnight stays, weekend retreats and day events. 

Created with an environmental, healthy-home focus, the building has passive solar design.  It utilizes solar hot water collectors, an energy-efficient boiler and a soapstone woodstove to generate space heat and domestic hot water. Naturally cooled with cross-ventilation and ceiling fans, the inn also has a whole- house air conditioner standing by when needed. An air exchange system keeps the building freshly ventilated throughout the year.

 

 

Whenever possible, FSC wood was chosen for building materials, as were low-VOC caulks, adhesives, paints and stains. Natural earthen plasters and clay paints beautify the walls, creating an earthy, vital environment. 

The experience at Journey Inn is restful and revitalizing, combining elements of a B&B, retreat center and spa. Elegant simplicity, privacy and creature comforts make Journey Inn a unique destination to enjoy nature and reconnect with yourself and others.

We hope our dream supports yours, and that Journey Inn can be a renewing place for you to visit, as your personal journey unfolds.

 

Origins of the Eco-retreat Project

John Huffaker, a Minnesota Psychologist and Life Direction coach, and Charlene Torchia, a Massage & Energy practitioner, bring years of experience to the creation of Journey Inn. Their own personal growth and professional work have focused on finding a rewarding, purposeful way of being in the world, while being attentive to the natural world.

Before meeting in 1992, John and Charlene had their own unique vision of an ideal lifestyle and professional work environment. Charlene, then the co-owner of a massage therapy business, envisioned the creation of a spa-like healing center where clients would experience a time of relaxation and renewal through bodywork and other services. They could then could rest and integrate the experience, instead of heading right back into their daily world. John, a practicing psychotherapist, had dreamed of a healing center in a beautiful country setting that would employ a multi-disciplinary team of psychotherapists, body workers and others committed to a body-mind healing orientation.

John and Charlene shared their dreams, eventually forging a single vision that has evolved into Journey Inn, an eco-retreat. Weaving together the elemental energies of earth, air, fire and water with the needs of body, mind, spirit and emotion, they have created a healing environment where they live while accommodating their guest’s needs for rest, retreat and renewal. Journey Inn was built in a protected, natural setting where this can occur.

 

 

During the designing and building process, the two researched natural building techniques, feng shui principles and non-toxic materials. Previously they had spent seven years looking for the proper building site that would allow a passive solar design, while developing local connections in the diverse and lively Lake Pepin community.

In 2003 they bought 66 acres of prairie, hilly woodland, and creek, and worked for three years with town, county and state officials on zoning and building issues. After gathering a work crew, John and Charlene were off on a yearlong journey of building their home and eco-retreat.

 

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Charlene Torchia & John Huffaker, Proprietors
W3671 200th Ave | Maiden Rock, WI 54750
Ph: 715.448.2424 | email: info@journeyinn.net