Thank you Nye Family for extending your beautiful home to us! We had a family reunion there (it was much needed- my mother lost her mother a week before) and we had all the grandkids there. The kids (ranging from 3-16) had a BLAST! They caught their first fish in the pond, played board games, danced and sang to the player piano, and did a little exploring on the ranch. We even had a 200+ egg Easter egg hunt. The chapel on the premises was a sight! We spent Easter Sunday in there for a little while and the view was breath-taking! (For the kids, it was like the movies, "Grown ups" with Adam Sandler, not an electronic in sight, no ipods, xbox, cell phones or internet! They bonded and used their imagination to the next level like when we were kids)
About the property: It is absolute designed for family reunions, in our opinion! The kids loved the 8 bed 'dorm' room style room, and loved waking up and watching cardinals and birds on the top wrap around balcony. The amenities were extraordinary! Brand name linens, towels, top of the line pillow top mattresses (my back did not even hurt after a long hike at Lost Maples), and just-like-home kitchen appliances and cookware. (It was not a cheap after thought or seconds to stick in a vacation home). I personally loved the hammocks in the front porch and my husband liked the Cabela's lounge chair overlooking the bird feeder. It is an extraordinary well-kept home with lots of care. (We stayed in a few Leakey cabins in the past and this tops it all!) My 5 year old saw his first firefly as well! They miss "Mr. Cloud" already who is the imaginary piano player to play them their Disney classic pieces.
Please keep in mind, there is no cell phone or internet service, it was great to not have that electronic device attached to my body for 3 days (but I got 65 emails! ouch!) The trails are not marked well, but it's a work in progress; we don't currently recommended it for young kids just yet as there are a lot of fallen trees/branches. There was a severe burn ban, so no open fires including charcoal- so the kids missed out on grilled burgers and hot dogs but we improvised and made stove top and picnic'ed outside.
We will be back and hope everyone takes great care of it like we and the Nyes do! Thanks again!