Women’s Writers’ Retreat Travels Colorado River Through Cataract Canyon Highlighted in O Magazine as “One of Six Great All-Girl Getaways”

SANTA FE, NM, June 6, 2007 – A few openings still exist for a rare women’s writer’s workshop that follows Cataract Canyon on the Colorado River through Utah. Deadline for final registrations is Friday, June 8.

This one-of-a-kind adventure is hosted by acclaimed author Page Lambert, who was recently described by Inside/Outside Southwest Magazine “as one of the most notable women writers of the contemporary west.”

“Something magical always happens on these trips—the combination of women alone in the wilderness, writing and sharing, creates such a unique atmosphere of trust and openness. We play. We hike. We swim. We write. We run rapids. We talk about the creative process. We share. We get wonderfully silly. We get profoundly serious. We’re in and out of the water, up and down the canyon walls, in and out of each other’s stories. From sun to shade, dark to light – in every metaphorical way you can imagine. It’s a life-changing adventure,” Lambert said.

The six-day trip from July 9-14 begins and ends in Moab, Utah. No previous writing or rafting experience is required. The trip includes private, one-on-one hour-long writing coaching sessions with Lambert.

The rafting trip down the Colorado River passes Canyonlands National Park with red cliff walls that tower 2,000 feet overhead. In July, the volume of water on the Colorado River drops to a moderate level making the rafting trip easier. ”I purposely selected this later date in order to synchronize the slower pace of the creative journey with the river’s more relaxed rhythm,” Lambert said.

The trip is outfitted by Sheri Griffith Expeditions with professional female guides. Lambert helps women explore the realm of writing—the artistic and technical landscapes of fiction, narrative essay, memoir and poetry. Lambert also provides each participant with water resistant journals and pouches for safe keeping, creative writing facilitation, workshop handouts (for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry), river readings, and more.

“Because the women who participate in these trips have diversified backgrounds, each brings unique gifts to the group. Some are experienced writers, many are not. Some have rafted before, many have not. But all share the desire for a writing adventure in the wilderness with other women,” Lambert said

The trip also includes sleeping tents, cushy pads and sleeping bags, all meals on the river (with fresh foods, snacks, cold beverages and Dutch-oven desserts), and guided hikes.

The cost for the trip is $1,294, plus government use fees, and $100 for the return flight (a scenic flight over Lake Powell, the Colorado River, and Canyonlands). “It’s a spectacular way to end the trip,” Lambert said.

For complete trip details, phone Sheri Griffith Expeditions (800) 332-2439, or contact Page Lambert: page@pagelambert.com, or (303) 842-7360.

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About Page Lambert (www.pagelambert.com)
After several years in the corporate world (Lambert is the daughter of Loren Dunton, nationally recognized as the “Father of Financial Planning”), she moved to a ranch in Wyoming and returned to her true passion – writing. A recipient of two Fellowships for Literary Excellence from the Wyoming Arts Council, and featured in Inside /Outside Southwest Magazine as ‘one of the most notable women writers of the contemporary American West,” she is best known for her nonfiction book, In Search of Kinship, picked by the Rocky Mountain News as “one of the summer's hottest reads.”
Lambert was one of 15 writers selected from around the nation to contribute to Writing Down the River: Into the Heart of Grand Canyon (Kathleen Jo Ryan, producer/photographer), which also became a PBS video. Hugh Sidey, Time Magazine said, “This is more than a book of stunning photographs and gripping words. This is scripture from the depths of our remaining wilderness. Writing Down the River may be the most unique adventure book of the year…” The Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport featured a six-month exhibit of the book from May-October, 2004, and the Grand Canyon Association exhibited the display at the historic Kolb Studio on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon until February 20, 2005.
Lambert's novel Shifting Stars (a finalist for the Mountains and Plains Book Award, and available in hardcover, paper, and audio) was selected by the Wyoming Humanities Council as the top choice for the on-line “Journey through Wyoming” book discussion program. Library Journal called Lambert's novel “a powerful story…highly recommended.” The Salt Lake City Tribune called it “a successful foray into mythic storytelling…admirable characters.” Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, wrote, “Lambert uses the spirit of human kinship to create an absorbing story…beautiful.”
Wilderness Retreat: Prior to moving to the mountains of Colorado and the deserts of New Mexico, Lambert spent an inspiring month alone in a remote cabin in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming on a solo writing retreat: “No electricity, no computer, no television, no radio, no palm pilot, no telephone, no running water, no people – just half a dozen blank writing journals, a few good books, and the company of elk and mule deer, mountain lions and blue grouse.” Her agent is currently showing her nonfiction work-in-progress Sweetwater: A Mountain Cabin, A Life Unfolding, drawn from her journals, to various publishing houses. “Not only was Sweetwater a finalist for the 2006 Mad Blood Literary Award,” said editor Padma Jared Thornlyre, “but it was one of five super-finalists so closely packed that I had to bring in another judge to select the winner…and I nearly decided to split the award… the 2nd section rose to the level of breathtaking.”
Lambert currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.