Between Cody & Yellowstone Lodging & Fishing on The Shoshone River - Listing #2

We absolutely loved having you and your family! Thank you for staying with us and see ya next time! Also, thank you for the very kind review. We appreciate it so much.

So sorry for the misunderstanding as the description did state that it was the lower level, 2,000 square feet with private entrance and large windows etc....

Thank you so much for your lovely review! It means a lot to us. We really enjoyed having you and your family and we hope to see you again in the future!!

Thank you so much for your review, Jean!! We really enjoyed having you guys - sorry that you felt the space didn’t have much privacy! I can understand that completely. In the future we do hope to make improvements! We figure it’s a great home base to all the wonderful things this area has to offer and that most people will spend their time out by the river or doing activities, which you guys definitely did!! We hope to have you again sometime!!! Xo Adrienne

Unit can be accessed by wheelchair (no stairs and fairly open floorplan) but does not claim to be a fully wheelchair accessible unit. Guests should inquire prior to staying so as not to be surprised if their particular wheelchair isn't able to access parts of the unit. Pans are used and abused by many guests who come to stay. Didn't know about oven, thanks for alerting me. Shower/tub is cleaned/scrubbed after every guest stay. We have very hard water, and it leaves white streaks which are more obvious because tub/shower is not white. Glad you were happy with beds and price.

To those who missed the signs in every store; the safety billboards; the tourism and marketing material; and is on a whim visiting Yellowstone without ever having heard of the area or studied basic American Geography – we are in grizzly country! But not to worry; if your only education about grizzly bears came from “America’s Most Deadly Predator,” rest assured that you can visit the most beautiful place in America while only being mildly inconvenienced by our native grizzly bears. Hollywood may paint a dramatic picture, but there are actually people who LIVE here, including us! Make no mistake, as Adam pointed out, and as was likely emphasized at every place he visited on his vacation here, this is indeed “Grizzly Country.” For the unknowing, that means they ALSO live here. That is why bear spray is sold in every shop in Cody and Yellowstone. That is why we provide bear spray for the use of guests during their stay in the unit. That is why there are signs everywhere to carry bear spray. And that is why we recommend that people follow basic bear-awareness techniques every moment they are outside. Of course, these are not drastic measures: don’t leave food outside; carry bear spray (and know how to use it); look around when you step outside; and don’t venture away from people alone. These are basic rules that everyone lives by here. Grizzly bears are regularly encountered by humans, they live among us, and with the slightest amount of common sense, 99% of people don’t have an issue with them. When grizzly bears decide to remain in a single particular developed area, they are typically captured and relocated so that they do not become desensitized to humans. This is a routine task performed by Wyoming Game and Fish (WGF) (there is no “DNR” in Wyoming). Contrary to Adam’s characterization as “actively trying to lure a grizzly bear” into “ground zero,” WGF simply places a trap in the vicinity in the event that the bear returns to an area possibly visited. If the bear is caught, it is relocated. In this instance, the bear never returned (if it had ever even visited in the first place). Potential visitors should take notice: we have previously had a guest send us pictures of a grizzly bear standing right outside the door to their unit. They were thrilled to capture the moment on camera! They waited about five minutes for it to leave before walking to their car. But a native grizzly bear existing in its natural habitat is not cause for concern here; it’s just another day in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We have had nothing but flawless comments regarding our communication; indeed, this is the only such complaint in our history of reviews. We ALWAYS communicate concerns to guests in an appropriate manner. Grizzly bears on the property do not constitute a special occasion; they can and do show up at any moment, and are easy to coexist with. If that makes you concerned for your safety, we recommend you vacation elsewhere.

To future guests in response to this review: Our units are always cleaned thoroughly between guests, but I am not perfect, and I make mistakes. Guests are 100% responsible for their own dishes, and I do not always check every dish to be sure they have been cleaned properly. Note to myself to do so. But based on my many 5 star reviews, you can see this is one of those one offs. I am allowed to own pets and have them in my own home. I am allowed to not allow guests to bring their pets into a unit where many others will be staying, not only for allergy purposes, but for cleanliness. Our pet policy is stated very clearly and I don’t make exceptions to that policy to be thoughtful to other guests staying in the future. That being said, my cats live in MY house, COMPLETELY separate from guests quarters and are not allowed in the units, ever. So I’m not really sure what this particular guest is talking about. There were never any cats in the unit. There are no termites in this unit. The cabinets (which were installed prior to us purchasing the home) started shedding dust after an upgrade we made to the ceiling/lighting last year and that is something that needs to be addressed during this off season. When the cabinets are slammed hard, some of the renovation dust (we all know how long it takes to get rid of that stuff!) settles and falls from the top of the cabinets. Regardless of sticking a vacuum up there multiple times, I can’t seem to get it all! 😅 The pellet stove is for winter. Not summer. And it is EXTREMELY finicky. That is why I ask my guests to use the baseboard heating. Finally, this is a ranch, and there are animals here (horses, donkeys, chickens, cats) So if you are allergic to animals, don’t stay here. Most of our guests really enjoy them! But if you aren’t cut out for staying on a ranch or driving on a beautiful country back road (the main road to the house is paved, our driveway is gravel), then please don’t stay here. Unfortunately this guest didn’t enjoy ranch life and that’s ok. I think some guests like to pick things apart when they are unhappy or something doesn’t initially go their way (in this case it was me saying no to them having a dog). That’s unfortunate because I’ve had so many guests stay here and enjoy themselves! I just wanted to clarify a few things and set the record straight, since I think some things were falsely claimed and misconstrued in this review. Thanks to all my wonderful guests this year!!

Heather, we are so sorry you were so disappointed in your stay. Admittedly, the layout of our unit downstairs is a bit odd - we are not the ones who designed the home or layout. But we love our home so much, and what I love most is sharing it with others. It truly brings me joy to share my home and property and beautiful Cody and the Wapiti Valley with people who may not otherwise be able to ever visit here. My husband and I host foreign exchange students during the school year and my sweet and wonderful parents were caring for our home while we went and visited our exchange students and their families in their home countries. I’m so sorry you felt that your stay wasn’t adequate. And yes, we have 3 sweet little kitties who live in our home and just want to be involved with anyone who visits our home. My husband and I generally keep them upstairs away from the guests, but my parents didn’t know that they needed to do that, and that is our fault for not conveying the importance of that to them. I apologize. We’re sorry about the stove, again, we still haven’t been able to get to the bottom of that, haven’t experienced it for ourselves - and have even gone down there between guest stays to try to see if we can experience for ourselves! Very odd! I think it’s pretty normal for a VRBO unit to run into issues during a stay and to have an owner or maintenance person go into the unit to fix something. The kitchen was not what was renovated, actually. That was exactly as it was when we bought the home May of 2021. We just removed the drop ceiling and horrific florescent lighting and redid the ceiling in drywall and added recessed lighting. We also gave it a nice fresh coat of paint. My mother vacuumed up a small mess for about 30 seconds one morning and immediately let me know that she was so sorry and didn’t even think about it. I relayed her apology to you. She doesn’t normally live in a home with VRBO guests to think about and she was extremely apologetic. So overall, your complaints are valid, of course. Anyone is entitled to their opinions. However, at the end of the day, we just try to provide a nice, clean place for people to sleep and as a home base for visiting Cody and Yellowstone. Again, we are sorry you were so disappointed. Thank you for your honest review.