Sticks and Stones Farm offers a rustic glamping experience! When you stay with us you'll get the adventure and fun of camping (no electricity, outdoor showers etc.) while still getting to lay your head on a soft pillow in a bed. You can treat your stay here as a chance to go inward or enjoy interacting with the different programs and events going on! If you want to be up to date on events or ask about weekday checkins you can message us directly. The Solar Cabin is the favorite cabin among guests! A large open room with plenty of windows and a massive private deck shrouded with black birch saplings. The cabin has a queen sized bed and two twin beds, as well as a couch. THERE IS NO ELECTRICITY IN THIS CABIN. The cabin is equipped with a stove, grill, drinking water, a sink with running water, sponge and soap for washing/cooking. Each cabin is given a cooler which we stock with ice before your arrival. There is a french press available, make sure your coffee is pre-ground. The basics for grilling, utensils, cups and plates are all provided as is salt pepper and oil. We provide dish towels but NO paper towels. A head lamp is recommended for nighttime cooking. It is very important that you do not leave food out unattended. Birds, mice and squirrels will very likely get into it. Even food that is in a plastic bag is at risk so your best bet is to keep everything in the cooler. There is a gas BBQ grill and propane cook stove. Please be aware that we provide blocks of ice in the coolers but if you will want ice cubes you'll need to purchase those elsewhere. We do not have food for purchase available on the property. There is a grocery store two miles away. The local Monroe Farmer's Market is open every Friday starting June 17th from 3 pm to 6pm. It is located on the corner of 7 Fan Hill road and route 111. Trash and Recycling: There is trash and recycling available at each cabin. We ask that when you check out from your cabin you ensure that your trash is in the can and the lid is fitted. If you’ve made more then can fit in the can please use the spare bags provided and leave them in the cabins. If they are left outside animals may rip the bags open and strew trash around. We really appreciate you keep your recycling clean and separate from your trash. Everything can be left at your campsite and we will retrieve it. If you replace batteries during your stay please don’t put them in the trash. If you leave them out we can properly dispose of them at our transfer center. Lighting: We provide some fairy lights strung around as well as a few flashlights and lanterns and a headlamp for each guest. You may want more light than this so we recommend that you bring additional lanterns but please keep in mind that we DO NOT ALLOW CANDLES or other flame sourced lighting. Some cabins also have solar lights set up. If it has been cloudy for a few days they probably won’t work well and even if it has been sunny they won’t have enough juice to stay on all night. They turn on automatically at dusk and shut off at dawn or when they run out of juice. Bathroom and Shower: The SHARED composting toilet (no water) is not located in the cabin but rather a 1-2 minute walk away. The showers are outdoors and are heated with an on demand propane heater and located a 2-3 minute walk away. We provide one towel and one wash cloth per guest. We implore you to be water conscious as it comes from our spring and thus is from a limited source. Please try to use environmentally friendly bath products such as castille soap. We do not provide any shower products, and each guest is provided with one towel and one wash cloth. Fires: There is a large shared bonfire pit located near the cabin at the Rustic Kitchen as well as a small one located behind your cabin. Fire wood is available to purchase by cash and is pre stacked at the cabin. $1/ a log, people usually burn 10-20 logs in a weekend. We ask you to keep track of how many pieces you use and leave cash in the envelope provided or electronic payment at the time of check out. If you bring wood it MUST be purchased in Connecticut per state law. In the unlikely event that we are having a particularly dry summer and there is a state wide fire ban, we will be enforcing this. We also ask that if it is extremely windy you refrain from having fires. Fires can ONLY be made in designated fire pits and must be extinguished properly with either water or sand. Please this is very important as even a fire that looks out can spread sparks if a wind picks up. Cars: Our roads are gravel and steep at times. Nearly all cars can make it up them but some drivers are less comfortable than others. If you choose to park at the base of the mountain we will drive you up upon check in with your things but we cannot, unless available, drive you back down for check out. The furthest cabin from base parking is a 15-20 minute walk. Cell Service and WiFi: There is complimentary wifi at the base of the mountain (Sticks and Stones Guest) and the password is lovehasahomehere. There is a charging station for phones as well. Verizon and really only verizon get service at the base of the mountain and immediate area. Most other carriers get service at the top of the hill where the cabins are located... but alas no charging stations up there! You will not be able to connect to the wifi from your cabin unless you are staying in the River House Boat. Please keep in mind that as your approach the farm you may lose service. This can affect your gps and your ability to contact us. For this reason it is very important that you text us when you are 20-30 minutes away. Dogs: As this is a refugee for wildlife we humbly ask that you don’t bring dogs or other pets. True service animals are protected by the law and are considered working animals and guests themselves. We only ask that you let us know you will be bringing a service animal. Check in: This is noted in our check in policy but in case that gets missed! We will message you the morning of your check in day for your approximate eta. We ask that you keep us posted if your travel time changes and that you send us a final message when you are 20-30 minutes away. This is very important as we do not have a staffed check in desk. If you don’t text us we won’t know to stop what we are doing and come to the barn to meet you. When you arrive you can park on either the right or left lot and walk on up to the stone barn for a meet and greet. We understand traffic and unforeseeable circumstances happen so we ask that you do your best to keep us updated and arrive between our 2pm and 9 pm window. Early check ins as well as late check outs are free and welcome as long as the request is made at the time of booking. We host a summer camp here so if you arrive during pickup on a Friday at 3pm it will be crowded. It’s not a problem just a heads up. Check out protocol: This will be listed in your manual in the cabin but here is a primer: We ask everyone to strip their beds of linens and place them, along with towels, in the laundry bags provided. Additionally we also ask you not to leave dirty dishes. Please make sure that the battery powered lights are switched off. Batteries are expensive so we want to conserve them when we can! Please make sure you have left cash or other form of payment for any firewood used. There is also a paper in there for you to leave feedback as well as letting us know if anything was damaged during your stay. Please make sure your cabin door is closed and locked. If you had a morning fire please make sure it is properly extinguished. Please check that the grills propane tank is tightened off and the cover is on the grill. Please make sure you aren’t taking our lanterns or flashlights with you! Check out time is 12, we appreciate getting a text to letting us know. The cabin is located on 60 acres of forest and farm and all is available for you to explore. At this time the stone barn is closed off to the public except for workshops or classes. Please check out our website for more details on our non-profit partners and to find out about our events on the weekend of your visit. sticks and stones farm dot com Guests can be secluded as they want tucked away in their cabin, or can come on out and be social and join in with farm and retreat activities. Please check out our guidebook on Airbnb to learn more about what we recommend in the area. If you arriving via metro north you want to get off at Bridgeport and from there you can get a driving service for the 30-minute ride to the farm. If you're cycling we are located just a few miles off the main hub of route 25. Ride share apps are available and reasonably responsive. We will message you the morning of your check in day for your approximate eta. We ask that you keep us posted if your travel time changes and that you send us a final message when you are 20-30 minutes away. This is very important as we do not have a staffed check in desk. When you arrive you can park on either the right or left lot and walk on up to the stone barn for a meet and greet. We understand traffic and unforeseeable circumstances happen so we ask that you do your best to keep us updated and arrive between our 2pm and 9 pm window. Early check ins as well as late check outs are free and welcome as long as the request is made at the time of booking. We host a summer camp here so if you arrive during pickup on a Friday at 3pm it will be crowded. It’s not a problem just a heads up. Our Sticks and Stones Packing List! ~Good walking shoes ~At least one flashlight or headlamp each. ~Additional (if one is not enough) Towel/Washcloth/Toiletries (biodegradable please!) ~Layered clothes for warmth, one never knows! ~Bug repellent if you use it ~ Ground coffee if you drink it ~ paper towels if you will want those, we provide two dishcloths ~ water bottle, for the environments sake we prefer you not to bring cases of single use bottles ~ a lighter if you'll be having a fire ~ rain jacket if the forecast calls for it! ~ a good book ~ a portable charging device, please be careful not to kill your car battery while you are here Other Tid Bits- Everything below is listed in your guest manual located in your cabin. There is a Stop and Shop grocery store located 2.5 miles from the farm. We have a wilderness camp that runs Monday - Friday from 9am - 3pm during the summer. Campers and staff respect the privacy of the cabins but you might see some groups of children building forts or playing games throughout the forest if you're here on a week day. This also makes our parking area a little crowded around 3pm for an hour. Keep this in mind if you are arriving on a Friday at 3. For tips on restaurants, swimming and, other things to do please check out our Guide Book on airbnb. There are two roaming cats that live here, Goji and Nella. They are very friendly, too friendly in some people's opinion ; )