34' Spacious Camper near Lamar Valley, Yellowstone

Located in Cooke City-Silver Gate, MT, the spectacular Northeast entrance of Yellowstone NP, this home-away-from-home is spacious, sleeps up to 3, with a full kitchen. Located on a rustic Lodge/Resort, with nearby shopping, restaurants, & coin op laundry. Lamar Valley has great fishing & an abundance of wildlife. Near hiking, horseback riding, 4-wheeling, & great sites in Montana. If you don't want to stay in a camper, try Big Moose Lodge where we stayed when we started visiting regularly! The space We are glad that you are considering staying with us in our Presidential camper near Yellowstone National Park. Pets Sorry no pets. Our experience with several years of camper rentals through Airbnb, is that we need to provide more information to our guests before they make the decision to stay with us. It may seem obvious when we say staying in a camper is not like staying in a hotel or a house, but we would like to be clearer about the differences. Let’s start at the top: 1.We rent the space for this camper from a private owner of the Lodge/Resort. This means you have 2 (two) check-ins - one with us and one with them: •We appreciate you letting us know within 24 hours of your arrival, what time you will at the camper. You can text or email us using the contact information we send before your arrival. This not only helps us keep the cleaning staff informed, but it helps keep the location as secure as possible. •Normally when you book on Airbnb, details about additional guests are optional. Because we must provide information about every guest (not just the one booking through Airbnb) to the Lodge/Resort, we need to ask for that information to confirm the exact number and appropriate ages of those who will be staying there. •When your booking through Airbnb is confirmed, including the information about those coming with you, we provide that information to the Lodge/Resort staff. You will need to confirm that booking information with the office staff (number and ages). If the office is not open when you arrive, please check in with them ASAP. This is necessary for their insurance and security coverages. 2.Settling into the camper is going to take a bit of work: •Given the gravel and dirt common in the area, we ask that you remove your shoes either outside the camper or immediately upon entering. For your convenience, we have provided a limited number of slippers. Alternately, if you can cover your shoes with blue, “medical-type” booties. •The water heater will need to be turned on by opening the control panel and flipping a switch. (It should be in the off position when you arrive.) The control panel is behind a “door” on the wall to your right as you enter the trailer, above eye level. Water can be heated by either of two types of energy – electricity or propane gas. Heating water using electricity is “greener” and less costly but takes a little longer. Please use electricity unless you must heat water ASAP. (If you do heat by propane initially, you can switch over to electricity after it has heated.) Also, turn off the hot water during the night or if you plan to be gone more than a couple of hours. •By the way, the oven pilot must be lit by hand using a long-handled match or long-handled lighter, found in the cabinet to the left of the stove. The burners turn on by rotating the “spark” knob after turning the burner to the light position, then listening for the click of the turning spark knob. ATTENTION: Some burner/s on the Presidential stove may require lighting by match (use the shorter ones, please) or by the butane lighter. The built-in, spark lighter no longer work on them/it. •Look around to see if anything seems missing or broken. Please let us know ASAP. Further, if something goes wrong while you are there please also let US know immediately. We emphasize the "US" because the staff at the Lodge/Resort, are simply renting the camper space and are not available for any other reason. Finally, if you cause damage or break something, please be courteous to us and the guests coming in after you to and let us know immediately. Replace it if possible. 3.Electricity OR propane, which to use? •Both electricity and propane come with costs. Electricity is metered at individual sites and is likely more expensive than your home rates. Propane is stored in dual tanks in a compartment on the far side of the camper, near the bedroom slide. It is possible, with above normal use of the stove, heat, hot water, and even the refrigerator (if the electricity goes out the fridge should switch to propane automatically), that the tanks will run out of propane. •We do have folks checking the fill level in the tanks periodically to avoid running out. However, if you do run out, which you will discover if a propane appliance ceases to work (heat, stove, propane heated hot water), you can switch to the second tank by following the directions in the camper’s operation manual. •We provide a selection of electric cooking appliances as well as an induction cook top(use them, if possible, rather than propane), a small electric space heater, an electric blanket and other options for your convenience. Using them, rather than propane counterparts, will slow the depletion of the propane tanks and reduce the chance of running out of propane. •Bottom line - whenever you have a choice between electricity, please select electricity because it is constant; it won’t require replacement/refilling as does propane. •We ask you to be more conservative than you might be at home – not letting the hot water run while washing dishes and by taking shorter showers. (The hot water tank is quite small and may run out of hot water before you finish either the dishes or a shower if left running continuously.) Switch off lights when you are not using them, turn down the heat and use the electric blanket on cool nights, turn off the water heater and heat/air conditioning when you leave for the day, etc. 4.The plumbing in a camper is low tech: •Water comes in through a garden hose, which may cause lower water pressure than in your home, although we haven’t found this to be the case yet. “Gray water” from the sinks and shower, and “black water” from the toilet are drained into different systems (separate holding tanks). •The gray water tanks drain continually, but the black water tank is closed and only drained periodically (usually every three or four days) or when full. (You will know when it is full when the toilet will not flush and/or the indicator light on the control panel turns red, although there can be false “full” readings for various reasons.) You may see someone around the camper emptying the black water tank. Also, you may be asked to look at the control panel to see the status of the drainage. (See camper manual.) •The toilet in this camper flushes differently than your home toilet. The bowl does not fill automatically after a flush, so you determine how much water enters the bowl prior to flushing and afterwards. This is accomplished by gently depressing the foot pedal until water flows into the bowl, but not out of the bowl. You decide when to partially fill the bowl, either immediately after flushing or just prior to using the toilet. Your choice; it doesn’t matter functionally. •Pushing the pedal down a bit more opens a valve at the bottom of the bowl, thus flushing it. Furthermore, the longer you hold down that foot pedal, the more additional water flushes through the bowl and into the black water tank. When flushing, hold the foot pedal down for five seconds after the bowl first empties, then let up on the pedal. This insures that sufficient water enters the holding tank. •Please use as little toilet paper as possible, and NEVER flush anything else, such a wipes or feminine products. 5.The windows and roof vents are an important component of temperature control: •On a hot day you may want to close the curtains, open the windows and roof vents, and turn on the vent fans. However, the Idaho weather is unpredictable, and wind or rain can come up quickly. We suggest checking the weather for the area before leaving for the day. To be safe, close the windows when away from the trailer. The roof vents are protected by “covers”, which should keep out rain, so they can be left open safely. •In addition, checking the weather will help you determine what to wear. It’s not uncommon to be comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt during the day but need a substantial jacket early or late in the day. And be warned, we frequently get snow & sleet at the beginning and the end of the camping season, and occasionally mid-season at higher elevations. 6.The good news is that you'll be located near Lamar Valley, our favorite part of Yellowstone and the place were we do our wolf and grizzly watching. The bad news – traveling this road after dark can be dangerous - bison and other wildlife travel on these roads frequently. Please be respectful of the Lodge/Resort guests, by being quiet and respecting the privacy of your neighbors. Of course, you may find that the on-site hot tub causes uncontrollable moaning with delight. 7.NO cleaning of fish. Do it elsewhere. Also, do not leave food or food scraps outside. There are bears and other wildlife in the woods. Don’t invite them in! 8.The camper comes completely equipped with the necessary small appliances, linens, cookware, dishes, silver and a minimum of cleaning items such as dish soap and sponges as well as some personal items such as shampoo, conditioner and lotion. We expect you will return the dishes and cookware to the condition you found it – clean. We ask you to try to return the camper to a similar condition as you found it. The linens, however, will be gathered and laundered by the cleaning staff. 9.The trash will also be disposed of by the cleaning crew at the end of your stay. However, if the trash needs emptying before you leave, there are “dumpsters” on the property. We do try to recycle, and if you take the time to separate the trash from the recycling under the kitchen sink, our crew will also take care of that. 10.Please use the small appliances for their intended purposes only – for example, water only in the hot water kettle, or toaster ready items only in the toaster. Please use the linens only for bathroom and kitchen purposes and not for cleaning or mopping up that might cause extensive soiling. Be aware that plastic items can’t be used for hot foods or drinks. 11.Our goal is to be “as earth friendly as possible”. Therefore, every effort you can make to conserve energy, as well as your efforts to employ the provided reusable travel mugs, water bottles, and plastic travel containers will be appreciated. 12.Variances from the house rules or information in our listing on Airbnb that result in unexpected work/cleaning will incur additional fees, starting at $50/hour. 13.Given the nature of a camper, guests must have a solid ability to speak and read English. Here are some examples of why, based on previous actual issues in our camper: The computer chip which automatically switches between propane and electricity, as needed in the refrigerator, stopped functioning. Our guest at the time had to contact us to explain the symptoms but was unfamiliar with the operation of that panel. We were unable to talk the guest through a corrective procedure and had to call in a repair technician, who temporarily remedied the problem by switching one of the panel controls to another position. (We had this issue resolved over the past winter, so it shouldn’t pose a problem again.) The CO/propane monitor installed during manufacture of our other trailer created false alarms. We asked our guest to describe what they were doing just before and during the time of the alarms to help us determine if we needed to replace the monitor. A new monitor is in place and the issue has been resolved. However, in the case of that the alarm does sound, you do need to exit the trailer quickly and leave doors and windows open when you do. The light in the control panel for plumbing showed a red light, indicating a full black water tank – an unacceptable situation. We asked the guest to check the manual that describes the control panel and some of the plumbing to help us determine if a repair person was required. Fortunately, the tank was nowhere near full, but showed a false reading. (Sometimes toilet paper jams the “float” inside the black water tank and causes it to misread the tank level.) One guest, who did not speak or read English, even though she stated that she did, left the hot water running while doing dishes, after taking a shower, and couldn’t figure out why there was no hot water. We ended up have a 3-way phone conversation with an “interpreter” and 2 local RV camp staff, one of which we had to pay, to help them realize they had unrealistic expectations of the hot water situation. Had they been able to read the manual or the listing description, they would have known. If you are not willing to make the effort to manage these systems, then perhaps an RV is not for you. (NOTE: this is the first time we have owned an RV, and we have learned to manage it on our own. We have created an easy to understand manual, and have found that it is not difficult, nor does it take much time to operate the RV satisfactorily. In the end, it is adding to our experience in the area.) Also, please note these special requirements: WE are your sole contact for problems, questions or issues - NOT the Resort staff. This rule could result in an extra fee if it's violated; No fish cleaning (due to bears that might be in the area) and no outdoor fires except a grill (we currently provide a table top grill, for which you may need to provide fuel.) Guest access You will have complete access to the camper, and use of the Lodge/Resort hot tub. There is wifi but coverage can be spotty. You MUST check in with the Lodge/Resort office to let them know your names, arrival and departure information and to confirm that the information you provide is consistent with the Airbnb listing. The Lodge/Resort is responsible for the security of all guests and also must meet their insurance requirements. If a conflict should arise between the house rules and the Lodge/Resort rules, the Lodge/Resort rules supersede the house rules - again safety and insurance requirements always take precedent. Other things to note Listing details subject to change without notice as the open season time gets closer, If you have specific needs, let us know and we will confirm their availability. If you have questions, please contact us before booking. The cleaning fee includes the "usual" cleaning activities but also includes checking the camper systems (such as the propane level and filling it if necessary) as well as the lot the camper sits on.