I would walk that river and find where they are crossing! That is always a hot spot especailly since the other side is private! Also, I read this on here but the acorn caps with notches in them is sign that deer have been eating them. Any droppings around means that they have been there at least 1 time! I hunted for 2 years before I even saw my first deer that wasn't running 300 MPH. Once I learned to pay attention to the wind and BE STILL I started seeing and killing deer! Keep your head up and just enjoy the outdoors first, learn as much as you can 2nd, then killing deer will be an easy 3rd! It will all come together.
One more thing. You don't NEED a tree stand for it to be a stand. Find a tree and some branches and build you a small blind on the ground. A few of these placed around will give a spot to go to that will hide you and you don't have to worry about carrying in a treestand every single day!