We stayed all of June and July at Robin's house and found it a very comfortable home in an incredibly serene forested sandstone canyon yet only 10 minutes walk from great dining options in the town of Afton. The home has everything we needed for an excellent stay for even such a long time as two months.
Robin has preserved much of the century-old charm of the house, with additional eclectic furnishings from her travels in southeast Asia. While the house has many aspects of a 100 year old home, Robin has equipped the house with modern appliances that strike a perfect balance for comfort and efficiency in the home. The WIFI is very high speed (we work remotely part time and had excellent WIFI performance, including for watching streaming video). Sprint cell service is sufficient for voice, but not data unless you are in Afton town. But with wifi in the house, there was no problem with this for us as Sprint customers. other services may have better cellular capabilities, check with your provided if that's critical. TV includes Comcast basic cable and local stations, so there are good TV viewing options.
The stillness in the forest was incredible, only 3 blocks from the main road through Afton, which can carry a fair bit of traffic and even had construction in progress during our stay, we heard nothing of city noise nor saw nothing of city lights. Several deer share the forest and graze within 20 feet of the house. We had a doe with two fawns visiting outside the back porch and through the front yard 2-3 times daily through our entire stay. We also observed several other does and a buck throughout our stay. They are cautious but present daily, at arm's length. A variety of birds with many different evening songs are present in the forest throughout the day and roost late evening, adding to the tranquility of the yard, especially sitting out at night. As in any forest, there can be mosquitos and ticks (lots of june rain brought quite a few mosquitos), so beg repellent is recommended for sitting outside evenings or mornings, when they are most active.
The location is fabulous for walking in and through Afton, and along the St Croix (the River Road provides a very quiet walking space for potentially miles, along the St Croix). A wine bar, Swirl, and several excellent, modern fare restaurants are walkable within 10-15 minutes. Swirl features very good wines and free wine tastings friday evenings, as well as great dining fare. The town of Hudson is also a bit of a foodie mecca, only 15 minutes by car. A paved bicycling trail runs from downtown Afton all the way to downtown Hudson, 7 miles one way. The twin cities are just slightly further, 20-30 minutes to St Paul, 30-40 to Minneapolis, on I94, so very accessible even for a long evening out.