ETTA'S PLACE
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The front entry at dusk, timber brackets lit by the porch light, lockbox on the post.

Guest guide

Everything you need to run the cabin, from the valve at the street to the last light switch on your way out.

You just pulled in. Four things.

The cabin sits empty between guests with the water shut off, so it needs waking up. Ten minutes, in this order.

  1. 1Water on at the streetBlack Rebar Key near driveway.
  2. 2Water on in the mudroomSecond valve, on the wall by the water heater. Open it slowly.
  3. 3House key from the lockboxBlack box on the beam at the front door. We text you the code.
  4. 4Breathe deep. You made it. Mini-split remote in each room. Fireplace remote on the mantel.

Water on and off

There are two valves between the street and your shower, and both have to be open. This is the one thing worth getting right.

Turning it on

  1. Unscrew the meter cover at the street. It's the round lid at the edge of the lot.
  2. Drop the water key in. Key next to driveway (see photo)
  3. Turn counter-clockwise to open. Go slow, not one fast crank. About a quarter turn.
  4. Open the mudroom valve. On the wall in the laundry room. Handle in line with the pipe means open. GO SLOW. About a 20 second open to pressurize home pipes.
20

Turn the handle a little at a time and finish as the bar fills. Fast opens hammer the pipes.

Hot water

The heater is tankless, so it fires on demand and takes a moment to catch up.

The temperature is already set. You don't need to change it, and changing it usually just means cold showers for the next guest.

FREEZE RISK

Water goes off both inside and at the street. Mini-Split room units are set to 50 and monitored remotely.

The water key lying in the grass alongside the fence line at the edge of the lot.
Water key locationAlong the fence at the edge of the lot
The water key inserted into the open meter box at the street, handle standing upright.
Water key insertedCounter-clockwise opens, clockwise closes
The interior ball valve in the laundry room with the handle across the pipe, closed.
Interior valve, OFFHandle across the pipe, laundry room
The interior ball valve in the laundry room with the handle in line with the pipe, open.
Interior valve, ONHandle in line — open it over about 20 seconds

Heat, air, and the fireplace

Every room controls itself. Nights can drop into the thirties up here even in July.

Mini-splits

Each room has its own wall unit that does both heat and air conditioning, with a remote mounted on the wall nearby. The remotes are interchangeable, so if one wanders, any of them will do.

Warm afternoon in summer? Crack the upstairs bathroom skylight and one in the loft. The cross-draft does more than the AC will.

Gas fireplace

Remote lives on the mantel. The switches on the right side of the unit are a last resort, not the normal way in.

  1. Press power. You'll hear clicking, then the pilot lights and the burner catches within about ten seconds.
  2. Hold the fan button until it blinks, then press up to run the blower at four bars.
  3. Double-tap up for high flame, double-tap down for low.
  4. To shut it off, hold power until the flames die and it beeps. That kills the burner and the pilot together.
The fireplace remote, showing the temperature display and the button cluster.
Power, then the fan icon, then the arrows. Everything else you can ignore.

The fire pit

Fires happen in the deck pit and nowhere else. This is high, dry forest — the Forest Service closes the whole mountain to open flame in bad summers.

  • Flip the ring to face up before you light anything.
  • Wood pellets only. They throw far fewer sparks than split wood, which matters under a canopy of pine and spruce.
  • Pellets are in the metal bucket on the deck. More are available at True Value in the village.
  • Fill the pit about halfway.
  • Three fire starters will get it going. Go easy on lighter fluid.
  • Set the heat deflector on BEFORE it's burning — it pushes warmth out instead of straight up.
  • Feed it a scoop or two after about an hour if you want to keep it going.
  • Let it cool off and die completely before bed.
THE DEFLECTOR GETS EXTREMELY HOT

Do not move it barehanded, and keep it clear of anyone short enough to grab it.

The ring and the deflector

Two pieces sit on top of the pit and both have a right way up. Flip the ring to face up before you light it. Once the fire is going, set the heat deflector on the stand above the flame — it pushes warmth sideways toward the deck chairs instead of straight into the sky.

When everything has gone cold and you're packing up, flip the ring back down and put the lid on.

The fire pit burning with an arrow marking the inner ring flipped to face up.
Ring upFace up while it's burning
The heat deflector seated on its stand above the flames, throwing heat outward.
Deflector onHeat goes out, not up

If the power goes out

It happens on this mountain, usually in a storm and usually briefly. There's a battery backup in the laundry room.

Going on battery

  1. Flip the transfer switch from LINE to GEN.
  2. Plug the yellow cable into the wall inlet.
  3. Power the unit on.

Coming back to line power

  1. Power the unit off.
  2. Unplug the yellow cable from the wall.
  3. Flip the switch from GEN back to LINE.

Backwards from how you set it up — same three moves in reverse.

Labeled photo of the battery unit and the transfer switch, showing the yellow cable, the power button, and which breaker feeds which circuit.
The transfer switch is labeled by circuit: water heater, fridge, kitchen plugs, lights, TV and fireplace.

House rules

Short list. Most of it is about the septic tank, the forest, or the neighbors.

Smoking
None, inside or out. No exceptions.
Quiet hours
10pm to 8am. Sound carries a long way in thin mountain air.
Septic
Only flush toilet paper.No wipes. No glitter. No mystery....It’s a cabin, not a sewage treatment plant.
Wildlife
Don't feed anything, and never leave trash outside. A bear that learns this address is a problem for everyone on the lane.
Beds
Sleeping bags are welcome and appreciated. If you do use the beds, strip the sheets and leave them in the laundry room.
Utilities
Treat water, power and propane like a luxury - use what you need, but don’t waste it. Turn off lights when you leave a room, and heat enough to stay cozy.
Wifi
Network 4160BC
The password is in your arrival text.
A western tanager, yellow with a red head and black wings, perched on an aspen branch.
Western tanagers work the aspens all summer. Watching is encouraged; feeding is not.

Trash

There's no curbside pickup. Everything you generate leaves with you, to one of two dumpster sites.

Where it goes

Before you go

Empty the fridge completely, including condiments. Anything left behind gets thrown out, and anything left outside brings company.

Leaving

Work down the list. The two water valves are the ones that matter — everything else is courtesy.

0 OF 12 DONE

STICKY DEADBOLT

Pull the handle toward you while you turn the key. The door seal is tight and the bolt needs the compression to line up.

Numbers

Call us first for anything about the cabin. We answer.

For anything life-threatening, call 911 first. Tell them you're on Butch Cassidy Lane in Duck Creek Village, Kane County. Then call us.

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