StoneWind Institute is on the very top of the mountain (elev. 1584') and adjoins the Ozark National Forest on our West boundary. This is mountain-forest terrain, which is the reason it is beautiful, wild, and peaceful. Still there are some inconveniences that simply go with wildnerness and mountains, so to make your stay stress free, enjoyable, and convenient, we provide this list of reminders.

GETTING HERE

Expect
  • The final access road leading to StoneWind and roads on the property to be gravel. They are in excellent to good repair at all times and completely accessible by all types of automobiles. Still driving at StoneWind is not like driving in the city.
  • The road up from Chester to be a winding two-lane hard top that becomes gravel just before you turn onto Wilson Branch Drive (which brings you to our entrance gate). Wilson Branch is a one lane gravel road that crosses a low water bridge then climbs steeply to our facilities. Do not drive TOO fast - no more than 10-15 mph.
  • To be on the lookout for deer and other mountain creatures. Deer generally travel in twos or threes and can leap across the road at anytime--day or night. We are, after all, on their turf!

BEING HERE

Expect
  • A Drama Free Zone where people are friendly but un-intrusive, where the sounds of nature are mostly what you hear unless you seek out people for conversation.
  • To bring food supplies for your stay. If you forget, the Chester Mercantile, located next door to Chester's Hotel on the main street in Chester, is a fairly comprehensive convenience store with a selection of refrigerated and packaged foods. The Mercantile also runs a snack bar that has great barbecue brisket sandwiches on its menu. The Mercantile closes at 6:00 pm. If you arrive without basics, or forget some necessities, we do stock a few freeze dried trail foods and MRE's--military style "Meals Ready to Eat" and an assortment of sundries. But trust us on this one: planning ahead is a better option!
  • To find restaurants within a fifteen to twenty minute driving distance, including the Cracker Barrel Restaurant and the Red Rooster Restaurant, at Alma, 17 miles south on I-540. The Chester Café located on Front Street, the main street through Chester (5 miles down the mountain) has good ole fashioned country cookin' and is open for Lunch from 11:00am to 2:30pm Mon-Fri, Dinner from 4:00-8:00pm Friday evenings, Breakfast/Lunch from 9:00-3:00pm on Saturday, and Lunch from 12:00 to 2:00 on Sunday.
  • To find coffee, tea, and basic condiments (salt & pepper, sugar, Sweet'n Low) in all the kitchens.
  • A "green" environment. We recycle glass, plastic and aluminum, and we use energy efficient light bulbs. We also use only organic pesticides and weed control products, and worm bins to recycle garbage.
  • "Reverse Osmosis" water (properties of distilled water, different process) at the kitchen sink in each yurt for your drinking and cooking convenience (and for good coffee). All water at StoneWind is state approved, but in keeping with our "healthy green" policies, RO water provides a high standard of purification and flavor that makes bottled water--and the attendant problems with plastic disposal--unnecessary. There is also RO water in the Teaching Center.
  • To bring a warm jacket if your are coming in the fall, winter, or early spring. IIt is often windy on the mountain at these times--and wind chill makes it colder than the reported temperaturl.
  • To bring insect repellent and walking shoes or hiking boots with socks if you want to take full advantage or our walking trails and hiking areas.
  • It to be very, very, dark at night. There are lights on the yurt decks, but not on the roads. We provide flashlights in the yurt cabins for your convenience and each yurt is marked with its own reflective address sign.
  • All major cell phone carriers to work on the mountain. Exceptions are Crickett and some of the disposable cell phone cards. The land-line in your Yurt Cabin provides unlimited long distance but is on a party line with the other yurts. In using the yurt phones, please be considerate of other guests. The phone line in the Yurt cabins is unsuitable for modem connections.
  • To be "unplugged," which means there is no cable or satellite TV reception. We have radios with good reception and televisions with DVD/VCRs located in each yurt.
  • — "Unplugged," yes. "Unconnected," No. If you have a laptop with WIFI, you can surf the net from your Yurt Cabin via our satellite wireless network. If you are not WIFI capable, we have wireless radios in some yurts that allow you to direct connect through an ethernet cable thus bypassing wireless protocols. We also allow guests to use an office computer to check e-mail if you have no laptop. We know you might miss it, but there is no dial-up access in the yurts.

Wilson Branch Dr. just before the low-water bridge. The road then climbs steeply up the mountain.

 

Groups, even herds, of deer are a common sight at StoneWind. Watch them--and watch out for them.