This all comes down to poor communication. Part of it was my fault, but part was definitely the fault of the owner and her representative. If we were given a better description of the likelihood that there was no water in the creek (they call it a river, but I think a creek is more fitting), or that it would not really be practical to swim in that part of the river even if there was water, we would have never booked the place. We were not interested in driving two miles to their other property to swim since there would be no place to change or use a bathroom there with other people renting those houses.
When we first arrived and saw the situation we let the rep Dena know about our concerns. She passed the message on to the owner Julie. Julie left a voice mail saying she would gladly refund us for our payment. I left a voice mail back with Julie thanking her for her kindness and asking her to clarify what the process would be. I made it clear that we intended to stay for 2 of our 3 nights, but leave a day early since we could not enjoy swimming as expected. Since there is no cell service or wifi at the house we had to wait for Julie to call us on the house phone land line (it could not call her because there is no long distance service). Julie had also spoken with my wife and said she would call back on the land line later that evening. She never called, but we were not too concerned because we had Julie's word that she would refund our money. After the 2nd day we started packing up as planned and we got a call from Julie letting us know that her husband had convinced her they should not give our money back. By this time we were half way packed up and mentally committed to leaving so we still left the next day and had to forfeit what I consider a lot of mone for that last day.
I'm disappointed that we were not given an accurate representation of the property, and even more disappointed that we were told we could get a refund and then have that offer was rescinded.
Aside from these disappointments you may find the house a good option. It is very charming and roomy. It could be a fun place to stay if you do not want to swim in the adjacent river/creek and don't need any kind of internet or laundry. I'm just saying come with the right expectations and you may have a pleasant stay. Julie is very sweet, and I think if it was just up to her she would have refunded our money. For us, this last leg of our vacation was a big bummer.