09/25/2026
Dear Diary,
A few days ago we received a 3 star review because there were spiderwebs on the trail, I think.
A while back, we received a 2 star review because there was a spider in the outhouse. One time, a couple of guys wanted to stay in a yurt in the middle of winter because it was their anniversary. I said not a great idea but they insisted. They left a scathing 1 star review because I didn't inform them of how cold it would be. As we don't get many less than 5 star reviews, in which - I thank you for your kind words, I have hope for humanity. If you could read my welcome entry for Inntirety, you could easily assume I am a lunatic. I remember when we first opened, we didn't have one rule. Now, I feel like I'm working on the Inntirety Manifesto.
The crazy thing about all of this is - you know which guests I least prefer? The ones that say they are "experienced campers." Like, I'm not even kidding you. I can honestly say that 9/10 of the "experienced campers" have the most complaints. They have the most expectations. They somehow think that their experience in some National Forest should offer them a similar experience. So yea, Inntirety is cool for where it is - probably cooler than a whole lot of other campgrounds in states that have even more outdoorsy stuff to offer, but trying to compare, make assumptions, gauge their "good time" based on a comparison to Yosemite Park....well, seriously now.
My favorite thing to do now is to not take ownership of someones experience. When they leave some review that lives in that "OMG" category, I write straight truth back.
"Oh there was a spiderweb? I must have missed that one with my face when I was walking the trails last week."
"Oh there was a spider in the bathroom? Thank goodness, I thought he had gone missing."
"Oh, there was a mouse in the yurt? (Happened once) I must have missed him, I escorted them out after they ate the pizza that was stuffed under the bed by the guests before that weren't supposed to have food in there."
"Oh, there was some dirt in the corner? You are in a forest, it happens."
That reminds me of this one time....at Inntirety Camp - a guest left abruptly because when they arrived super late, sometime between when I changed the bedding and got it all ready (I think 7 hours had passed) a squirrel momma somehow got in and had her babies. Yea, that stuff happens in a forest. I apologized and said I'd be happy to move them and change out the bedding. They accused me of planting the squirrels there.
Now, pretty much near the top of the Welcome section, i say, "If you want the Holiday Inn, go to the Holiday Inn. Your are camping." Or something along those lines.
I am being very serious when I say this, I would rather deal with a nest of mice sometimes over a select group of humans.
Oh yea, someone asked me why I called people humans. No ego here when I say this, there are many times that I am so appalled by human selfishness, entitlement, blah blah blah - that I feel I started referring to them as "Humans" to somehow distance myself.
Am I bitter, no. Why? Because I can't afford to take responsibility for your experience. I can do the best I can. My boundaries are solid and my heart is open. I intend to keep it that way.
I've had more things stolen from my little gift shop than I can even tell you. Know where that money goes, to care for the forest and the human spaces.
Will I shut down? Heck no. I absolutely love it. So many of us Stewards close our forest doors not because the work is hard but because the humans are harder.
The love of my life sometimes suggest I give humans options when telling them I am moving them to another spot due to weather (some spots will get rain when it's raining crazy) so they feel like they have a choice. I love this about him but no can do. I've walked that road. They choose to get rained on and then complain that they got rained on and I end up moving them to the other spot in the middle of the night and then they 2 star me because it rained.
Maybe one day things will shift but at this time, I can only be responsible for your safety, me, these birds, and the forest I steward. I don't have the energy to assume anything.
Please be kind. It takes more than you might imagine to open your space to strangers. I will not, can not, refuse to make all of your fairytales come true. If you can't witness the magic, your interior magic meter is of your own making. What you see on the outside is a movie projected from the inside.
To those of you that are absolutely amazing, which are a huge deal of you, thank you. I love you.
