EP# 235: Luxury in the Wild: How Molly Rhoades Created the Perfect Mountain Glamping Experience

What makes Molly Rhoades with Into the Wild Retreat a good neighbor? 

Ever dreamed of trading your office chair for a camp chair, fluorescent lights for starry skies, and climate control for a fresh mountain breeze? Join Skip Mauney as he welcomes Molly Rhoades, owner of Into the Wild Retreat, who brings glamping to new heights in the pristine mountains of Ashe County, North Carolina.

Molly's journey from dedicated educator to glamping entrepreneur began with a transformative honeymoon experience in Vail, Colorado. What started as a retirement aspiration blossomed into a fully-realized luxury retreat when she and her husband acquired a 100-acre cattle farm positioned uniquely at the corner where North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee meet. Opened in fall 2022, Into the Wild Retreat offers an experience that shatters camping misconceptions with its spacious canvas tents featuring king-sized beds, private bathrooms, upscale linens, and deck-side fire pits.

The educator in Molly shines through in charming details – each tent is named after a beloved wilderness novel, with bedside copies available for guests to enjoy. But perhaps most impressive is the retreat's commitment to sustainability, operating entirely off-grid with solar power and natural mountain water – an achievement that came with significant challenges and learning curves. Nature enthusiasts will appreciate the property's privately stocked trout streams, offering perfect opportunities for fishing adventures between moments of pure relaxation.

Whether you're an avid outdoorsperson or someone who typically avoids camping due to perceived discomforts, Into the Wild Retreat creates a harmonious middle ground where luxury meets wilderness. Ready to disconnect from daily pressures and reconnect with yourself, loved ones, and nature? Visit www.intothewildretreat.com to discover how glamping can transform your relationship with the outdoors.

To learn more about Into the Wild Retreat go to:

https://www.intothewildretreat.com/site

Into the Wild Retreat

828-406-2877

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Skip Monty.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
So we're very fortunate todayto have a very special guest in
our studios and I'm superexcited to learn all about them
and what they do.
And I'm sure you will be too,because today I have the
pleasure of introducing yourgood neighbor, miss Molly Rhodes
, who is the owner operator ofInto the Wild Retreat.

(00:31):
Molly, welcome to the show.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
Thanks so much for having me Skip.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Well, like I said, we're excited to have you and
learn all about you and yourbusiness.
So if you don't mind, why don'tyou kick us off by telling us
what you do?

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Sure thing we out you and your business.
So if you don't mind, why don'tyou kick us off by telling us
what you do?
Sure thing we own.
End of the Wild Retreat.
End of the Wild Retreat offersluxurious glamping in the North
Carolina mountains.
It kind of simplifiestraditional camping guest stay
and spacious canvas tents thatfeature king and queen size beds
.
We have upscale linens and weeven have in-suite showers and

(01:08):
bathrooms right inside thecanvas tents.
Each tent deck is equipped witha propane grill, cooler and
fire pit, and we're lucky enoughto be situated right along a
trout stream and we'resurrounded by stunning mountain
scenery.
Here in Ashe County, northCarolina, skip Our Retreat aims

(01:28):
to help guests disconnect fromthe daily pressures and
reconnect with themselves, theirloved ones, their pets, as well
as nature.
We like to say we invite ourguests to escape artificial
environments and embrace theoutdoors.
Kind of trade out their officechair for a camp chair.
Trade their fluorescent lightsfor starry skies and climate

(01:51):
control for a fresh mountainbreeze and a cozy campfire.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
Well, you sold me.
That's all you had to say.
What trout stream do you haverunning through camp?

Speaker 3 (02:02):
We have Big Laurel stream running through as well
as Kilby Creek.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
Very nice, and Big Laurel is stocked too, isn't it?

Speaker 3 (02:11):
Yes, well, and we privately stock our part of the
stream.
The state, within the last year, has stopped stocking that part
and we picked up where theyleft off.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Oh, very nice.
Yes, sir Very nice when youstock rainbow trout.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
We stock rainbow and we've got some native browns.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Nice.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
Very nice.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
I am an avid fly fisherman, so I'm sold, I'm sold
, wow.
So how did you, how did you getinto the retreat business?

Speaker 3 (02:42):
That's a great question.
Our journey to establish theglamping retreat actually
started as a retirementaspiration.
I'm a longtime educator inNorth Carolina, just retired
this past year from Banner ElkElementary, and I envisioned my
retirement deeply connected withnature.
My husband and I spent ourhoneymoon in Vail, colorado, and

(03:05):
it introduced us to the conceptof glamping back in 2018 and
kind of sparked a dream tocreate our own retreat.
Upon returning home, we starteddeveloping a business plan.
We dedicated over a year tofinding the ideal property.
I would say that was one of thelongest searches.
We wanted one with scenic viewsand water features, or both.

(03:28):
We were living on BeachMountain at the time and we
observed a very large increasein population post-COVID and we
decided to sell our BeachMountain home and acquired a
100-acre cattle farm in AsheCounty in 2021.
And my husband and I commencedbuilding the retreat in 2021.

(03:48):
And we officially opened in thefall of 2022.
And that's kind of how thisjourney began.
I will say that once a teacher,always a teacher, and so I had
to embed my love of reading intothe retreat, and so each tent
at our retreat is named afterone of my favorite wilderness
novels, which reflects my deepconnection to education and

(04:11):
there's a bedside copy of thenovels at each tent.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
Oh nice, yes, Is a river runs through it, any of
them?

Speaker 3 (04:20):
You know we've got call of the wild, we have into
the wild, which of course theretreat is named after.
We have Wood Song and Gone tothe Woods after my favorite
author, Gary Paulson.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
Very nice, very nice.
Well, molly, what are somemyths or misconceptions in the
retreat slash glamping business?

Speaker 3 (04:42):
That's a great question, skip.
I think one of the biggestmisconceptions is that many
people associate camping withdiscomforts like sleeping on the
hard ground, difficult tentsetup, carrying heavy gear,
maybe lack of proper restrooms,insects, extreme temperatures,
things like that.
And you know, our glampingoffers a contrasting experience.

(05:04):
We provide glamorous campingand that combines the comforts
of a hotel and in a naturalsetting.
So our preset tents featureluxury mattresses and linens,
private bathrooms and showers.
We have spacious decks withgrills and fire pits.
And then we like to throw inTents feature luxury mattresses
and linens, private bathroomsand showers.
We have spacious decks withgrills and fire pits.
And then we like to throw insome entertainment options like

(05:26):
cards and board games andconversation starters around the
campfire to facilitateconnection in nature for
families and couples.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
Well, my wife definitely has that
misconception.
She's not a big camper.
I'm the opposite.
I absolutely love camping.

Speaker 3 (05:47):
Yes, sir, I think even the wives would be very
comfortable in this setting.

Speaker 2 (05:53):
Very good, very good.
Well, I've got to get her tocheck it out.
So, outside of work, molly,what do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 3 (06:02):
Well beyond the realm of our businesses.
My husband and I, we share adeep connection to the land that
we bought here.
We find immense satisfaction inreally the daily routines of
cattle farming and the tasksthat come along with owning a
farm.
Some people look at that aswork.
We actually enjoy it.
A significant part of myroutine right now involves

(06:23):
carrying and nurturing a bottlecalf.
We interact with our farmanimals quite a bit and, you
know, our property, as Imentioned, is graced with a
beautiful stream and it offersus, you know, a chance to
indulge in the simple pleasureof trout fishing.
We embarked on a new learningjourney, actually delving into

(06:44):
the art of fly fishing.
So, as you would know you saidyou're an avid fly fisherman.
It requires a lot of patienceand precision and an
understanding of the environment, and so a lot of our leisure
hours are spent, you know, atthe water's edge, casting lines
and and just immersing ourselvesin the beauty around us.
We love where we live.

(07:05):
We're so fortunate.

Speaker 2 (07:08):
I love it.
Love it One of the reasons Ibecame a fly fisherman.
I've been a fisherman my entirelife, but I worked for a guy in
North Carolina who was a flyfish his entire life.
He was from the Northeast andhe got me into it.
The reason I love it so much isbecause trout can only survive
and live in pristine conditions,and they can only, you know,

(07:31):
non-polluted water, not a lot ofconstruction going on, you know
, out in the middle of nowhere,that's where they thrive, and so
if you're trout fishing, you'rein a beautiful place.
Yeah, anyway, anyway, awesome.
Well, let's change gears for asecond.
Can you describe a hardship ora life challenge that you've
overcome and how it made youstronger on the other side?

Speaker 3 (07:52):
Yes, and Skip, I'm going to I'm going to relate it
actually to our to the business.
But, you know, and Skip, I'mgoing to relate it actually to
the business.
But we've all had hardshipsthroughout life's journey and
I'm going to relate it to thebusiness because it's something
that my husband and I, over thepast couple of years, have had
to overcome, and that'sproviding an off-grid experience
here at End of the Wild Retreat.

(08:14):
We didn't know a lot aboutsolar and how it worked and
we've had to learn along the way.
You know we want to provide Anexperience that is powered
solely by solar energy andnatural mountain water, and
tapping into that water toprovide it at our tents has

(08:35):
probably been our mostsignificant challenge and the
water sourced, you know,directly from the mountain and
pumped using solar pumps andsolar panels, and achieving
consistent success to get hotshowers to our guests.

(08:55):
And you know it's required aconsiderable time and numerous
trial and error with my husbandand I.
But despite those difficulties,you know, we're proud to offer
a unique solar poweredexperience to our guests and
we've gained a lot of invaluablewisdom as we overcame those
obstacles.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
I'm sure.
I'm sure I can't imagine tryingto get water to every campsite
from the creek.
Well if, Molly, if you couldthink of one thing you would
like our listeners to rememberabout Into the Wild retreat,
what would that be?

Speaker 3 (09:31):
Skip, I would say our location.
A lot of people are not awareof where Pond Mountain is, and
that's our community.
Our community is Creston, butwithin Creston we have Pond
Mountain and a lot of peopledon't realize we are situated
right on the corner of NorthCarolina, virginia and Tennessee
, and so our retreat offers veryconvenient access to Damascus,

(09:54):
virginia, west Jefferson, butler, tennessee, which is along the
scenic Watauga Lake.
So there are numerousactivities that our guests have
access to that are fairly close.
But you know, many visitorsfind the retreats, peacefulness
and the setting so appealingthat they choose to remain on
the property through theduration of their stay.

(10:16):
But if we have people who stayfor over a week and we have we
like to be able to offer thingsto do pretty close by.

Speaker 2 (10:25):
Gotcha Sounds amazing to me.
Actually Very good thing toremember too.
So for those of us like me andany of our listeners that are
interested in checking you guysout and potentially planning for
a trip, how can we learn more?

Speaker 3 (10:43):
Yes, sir.
So listeners can learn more byvisiting our website.
There is an abundance ofphotographs and video tours also
on the website that iswwwintothewildretreatcom.
That's one of the best placesto go to get a visual, and if
your listeners have questionsthat are not answered on the

(11:05):
website, they're always welcometo email me at
intothewildretreat at gmailcomor they can give me a good
old-fashioned phone call.
That's certainly welcome.
I don't mind a bit to put mynumber out there.
My number is 336-469-9986, andI'm happy to speak with anyone

(11:26):
who's interested in knowing moreabout Into the Wild Retreat.

Speaker 2 (11:30):
Wonderful, wonderful.
Well, Molly, I can't tell youhow excited I am about this
because it is right up my alleyand I'm sure a lot of our
listeners too, and I can't tellyou how much I appreciate the
time you've taken out of yourschedule to spend with us and to
tell us all about Into the WildRetreat and what you guys are
doing, and want to wish youmoving forward all you and your

(11:54):
family and Into the Wild all thebest.

Speaker 3 (11:57):
Thank you so much.
It's been an absolute pleasureto be a guest on your podcast
and I'm so grateful for theopportunity.

Speaker 2 (12:04):
Well, we appreciate you being here and maybe we can
have you back sometime.

Speaker 3 (12:09):
Thank you, Skip.

Speaker 1 (12:10):
Thank you.
Thank you for listening to theGood Neighbor Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnptry-citiescom.
That's gnptry-citiescom, orcall 423-719-5873.