PREPARING FOR YOUR TRIP

• Here's a basic list of common things you may want to bring on your vacation to make it more comfortable. If you forget something or discover you need something, there is a neighborhood Walmart (limited on produce, refrigerated, and frozen foods) and a full grocery store named Pruetts in Broken Bow.
  • Coffee. We provide a starter supply of coffee/pods, filters, sugar, and creamer. Feel free to bring your own favorites or if you think you'll need more than what is provided.
    • Keurig - single pod machine
    • Traditional coffee pot
  • Plastic food containers, Ziploc Bags, aluminum foil, plastic wrap. You may also want to plan ahead as you may have leftovers to bring back home and needs containers and plastic wrap.
  • Personal toiletries. We provide hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, and body soap. If you think you'll need more than what's provided or prefer your own, please bring your toiletries from home.
  • Food for making meals. If you are bringing food from home, we suggest bringing it on ice. It takes longer for the refrigerator to cool when it goes from empty to fully packed. There is a Pruetts grocery store in Broken Bow and a great place to stop on your way to the cabin to pick up any food you forgot or buy for your stay.
  • Snacks and drinks
  • Insect repellant for mosquitos & chiggers. Deep Woods OFF works the best. They're not bad around the cabin, but you'll definitely want this if you go for hikes or explore the property off-gravel!
  • Reusable water bottles in case you go out.
  • Personal electronics chargers and cables. 
  • Flashlights, batteries. If you'll be outside in the dark. If you have headlamps, these are perfect to keep your hands free.
  • Your own life jackets if you plan on boating or swimming at the lake. This is totally optional but our personal opinion; the ones you rent from the shops at the lake are stinky!
  • Wine - if you have a specific type of wine you like, it is best to bring with you. We've found that not all wine selections are available at the stores in town.  
  • Firewood - We currently have some firewood at the cabin that you can grab a few logs to get you started. If you need more than a few, we suggest you go to Hooker's Live Bait to pick up some firewood. 
  • A little cash. There are a few shops that only take cash, and when the internet is down in the area, the shops can't take credit cards. Also, there are donation boxes at the trails to donate to the Friends of Beaves Bend organization which helps keep our trails beautiful.
• We try to make the cabin as cozy and convenient as home, so here are some of the items we will already have supplied for you. If you have a personal preference or favorite, please feel free to bring your own.
  • Hair dryer
  • Towels, linens, lots of blankets & pillows
  • Hot tub/Lake towels
  • Kitchen has all your basic pots, pans, cooking utensils, plates & glasses
  • Bottle openers
  • Long lighter for firepit
• We provide a supply of other basics that are usually enough to last a trip, but if you think you will go through more, please bring extra supply:
  • 4 kitchen trash bags
  • dish soap & sponge
  • 3 rolls of toilet paper per bathroom
  • 2 rolls of paper towels
  • Dishwasher detergent
  • Laundry detergent  
  • Cooking spray, olive oil and salt & pepper
• Few items that are good to stop for on your way into town:
  • Food - Pick up your staples for the weekend at Pruett's Grocery store in Broken Bow or Walmart - Note: Walmart doesn't have fresh produce or meats. Mountain Man Meat Market is a great stop for your steaks and sides to cook dinner.
  • Firewood - we don't provide firewood because it gets wet and stolen, so it's hard to keep on property. There may be some at the cabin when you are arrive left by previous guests, and you're welcome to use it. If you need more, there are several firewood stands along the right-hand side of Hwy 259 as you drive into Broken Bow/Hochatown. You can't miss them. Most only accept cash, so bring $10-$15 with you.  
  • If you plan to fish, you need a fishing license. The easiest way is to purchase it online through the Oklahoma Wildlife Department. You can also stop in and purchase at Broken Bow's Walmart and Bruton's Outdoors. It will be on the right-hand side of 259 when you've entered Hochatown.  

  

For the sections below, we try to give you as much information as we can before your trip. For more details and specifics on your particular cabin, please review our Welcome Book available in each cabin. 

 BATHROOMS & TOILETRIES

• We supply:
  • Body soap, shampoo, conditioner, and make-up towels.
  • Each bathroom is supplied with 3 rolls of toilet paper. Guest must supply their own, if more is needed.
  • A hairdryer is provided in all full bathrooms.:
  • Clean set(s) of bath, hand, and wash towels will be left on beds or in the cabinets/shelves in the bathrooms.

• Hot tub towels are in a basket by the back door. 
• You are welcome to use the washer and dryer if you need to replenish your towel supply. Laundry soap is supplied in the laundry room.
• Hand soap is provided in each bathroom, and at the kitchen and laundry room sink.
• Please note that our cabin has a septic system. It is important that you do not flush anything down the toilet, but toilet paper. It is also a system meant for our posted max capacity, which is why we enforce our capacity rule. Thank you for understanding!
• Steam room (Aiukli Creek View Cabin only):
  • All individuals should consult with your doctor before using the steam room.
  • Feel free to use the complimentary aromatherapy steamer discs when you use the steam room! 

 

TVS

• All our TVs are smart TVs, so that you can login and watch your shows via your favorite apps.
• Video games may be connected to our smart TV. Only available HDMI slots may be used when connecting your own devices to our TVs.

 

SEPTIC SYSTEM – FOOD, GREASE, DRAINS AND TOILETS

• Unlike the big city, our waste water doesn't go into a sewer system. The cabin is on a septic system with large underground tanks that require a little more care on what goes down our toilets and drains.
• Please only dispose of toilet paper and human bio-waste in the toilets. DO NOT throw flushable wipes, baby wipes, feminine products, or too much toilet paper or the system will break. Additionally, our system is not meant to handle more than our max capacity. This is why we are very strict about our capacity limit. Thank you for understanding!

 

BREAKAGES

• We understand that sometimes accidents happen! Should you break anything please let us know immediately - if it's minor we usually won't charge.
• If it's a larger issue, we would like to see what happened and how we might be able to repair it before you leave to avoid any issues later.

 

BUGS

• At certain times of the year, certain kinds of bugs are prevalent in Hochatown. You are in the woods, after all! :-)
• To avoid them getting in the cabin, please keep the doors and windows shut, especially at night.
• On nice spring, winter, and summer days, the bugs on the back deck aren't too bad. If you are a mosquito magnet like me, you may want to bring insect repellant. 
• In the fall, typically in November and early December, wasps start looking for a place to keep warm. They will swarm around the rooftops of the cabins. They typically do not care to be around people, so you don't have to worry about that, but just be careful not to leave doors open at this time of the year or you will have some unwelcome cabin-mates!
• We do our best on pest control. Our cabin is treated for bugs on a maintenance schedule, and our beds are all treated for bed bug prevention. Sometimes bugs get inside and we just can't prevent the ones outside! haha!
• If you're going to explore any trails or check out the woods by our cabin, we highly suggest you wear insect repellant. Chiggers are the most common pest in Beavers Bend. 

 

FIREPIT

• We do not provide firewood at the cabin; however, previous guests may have left some that you are welcomed to use! If there is not any left at the cabin, you can pick some up at Hooker's Live Bait Fire & Ice shop on Hwy 259 (see the card in the Guidebook).
• Our property is surrounded by trees and other flammable materials that can quickly catch fire. We ask that you contain and control your fires. Burn wood in the fire pit only and never leave it unattended. Embers or grass/leaves/trash blown by the wind can quickly spread a fire. Alway put out any fires with water. 

 

FIREPLACE INSTRUCTIONS

The fireplace is turned on from October to end of March. 

 

GAMES IN THE CABIN (Aiukli Creek View Cabin Only)

• We have puzzles, board games, cards in the top right cabinet, by the back patio door.
• You can find foosball, shuffle board, retro head-to-head arcade game table, horseshoes, and cornhole (bags can be found in the board game cabinet) for you to play on property!
• Or feel free to bring your own!

 

GRILL

• We have a propane grill on the back porch for you to use.
• Propane is provided and already hooked up to the grill for your use.
  • If the propane tank is empty, feel free to hook up the second tank.
  • If both tanks are empty, please reach out to us for a refill.
• If you plan to use the grill, you may want to bring some aluminum foil to help make the clean up easier.

 

HOT TUB

• The hot tub will be clean and heated when you arrive. The housekeepers completely empty and sanitize the hot tub prior to every visitor, so it may take a bit longer to heat to your desired temperature when you first arrive.
• In cold weather, it can take hours to heat the hot tub. Depending on factors like the temperature of the water at the start, outside temps, whether the hot tub cover is on, etc. you can expect the water’s temperature to raise 3 to 8 degrees every hour.

 

KITCHEN SUPPLIES

• We highly suggest you stop at Pruetts Grocery or Walmart in Broken Bow on the way into town, or once you get here (it's about 15 minutes from the cabin) to pick up any essentials you'd like in the house like milk, cereal, etc. We provide olive oil, salt, and pepper; however, we do not stock the cabin with any other food or spices. Note: The Walmart in Broken Bow is a very basic Walmart. You will not find a wide grocery selection; they only have a few freezer and refrigerated food cases with very basic foods, and there is no fresh vegetables and fruit. For groceries, we recommend you go to Pruetts. 
• It takes a long time for an empty fridge to cool food that is not already cold. When our guests pack a lot of food in the freezer and/or fridge, it can take awhile for the food to cool. If you plan to cool lots of food, we suggest also getting an ice chest and bags of ice. Split some of your food to cool in the fridge and some to cool in the chest. When the food in the fridge has cooled, you can move the food in the chest into the fridge.  
• The kitchen cabin is stocked with the following items. Please notify us if anything seems to be missing. Feel free to bring your own kitchenware if we don't have it listed or if you have preference for your own. *Note there may be more items left behind by guests that are not listed.
  • plates, bowls, glasses, wine glasses 
  • silverware
  • drip coffee pot
  • starter supply of drip and Keurig coffee, creamer & sweetener
  • Keurig single serve coffee machine
  • kitchen essential tools
  • wine bottle openers
  • grater
  • spatulas
  • tongs
  • peeler
  • knives
  • blender
  • toaster
  • small crockpot
  • handheld mixer
  • saute pans & pots
  • cookie sheets & muffin tins
  • cutting board
  • mixing bowls
  • measuring cups and spoons
  • glass baking dishes 
  • colanders
  • pot holders & kitchen towels

 

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT BEAVERS BEND STATE PARK

• You will need a parking pass if you are going to be spending time at Beavers Bend Park (which we highly recommend you do!). Passes are $10/day per car, with multi-day discounts available. You can get an advanced pass here: Click here to buy a park parking pass. They also have signs around the parking areas/lots that allow you to text and pay when you arrive, but your cellphone reception may be spotty there.
• Make sure you bring bug spray, a towel, water, snacks, hat, and sunscreen if you're going hiking. 
• Chiggers are the most prevalent bug that we have at the park, so OFF Deep Woods works best.
• We recommend downloading the "All Trails" app in advance so you can see the trails, your location, and points of interest marked by other hikers.
• Bring a cash donation if you're so inclined, for the Friends of Beavers Creek, a non-profit organization that keeps the park beautiful and improves and maintains the trails. There are donation boxes at each trail head. Friends of Beavers Creek is working hard to beautify the trails and improve the trail marker system!

 

TIPS FOR EATING OUT

• Hochatown has several restaurants to choose from. However, we find that many of them open only on certain days, open late, or close early. Sometimes Google or Yelp will say they're open when they're actually not. You can try to call them, but many of them are so busy they don't answer their phones.
• One trick we've learned is to pick up your dinner early, during the day, and bring it back to the cabin to put in the fridge to heat up later. This also gives you a chance to make alternate plans should the restaurant be too busy or closed.
• Don't forget, we have a full kitchen to make your own delicious meals and an outdoor gas grill to use however and whenever you like!

  

WASHER & DRYER

• We provide laundry detergent for you to use. If you need more, you can pick some up at EZ Mart in Hochatown or Walmart in Broken Bow.
• Please do not overstuff the washer or dryer machine.

 

Locked Cabinets and Doors

You may notice that a couple of locked cabinets and/or doors around the cabin. The locked cabinets and doors are for the owner's private use. Please respect the privacy and do not attempt entry or break into the areas in any manner.