We Bought A ...

Zoo! Cabin!

View of the cabin from the top of our stairs heading
down to the lake

I have always dreamed of having a cabin up north. My family has been going up to the Longville area for decades, starting with my Grandpa. After being introduced to the area, he then convinced my grandma to bring the whole family (7 kids!) up to Lake Wabedo once a year to stay at rustic Wolf Lodge. The men and boys later started a tradition of making the trip up north for the fishing opener every May (now women and girls are welcome, too). By the time I came along, there were lots of Wabedo stories from the olden days, and my generation got to continue the tradition as well. When I think of my summers up there, I think of fishing with my dad while watching the sunset on the lake, bonfires, playing cards with my cousins and dear old Myrtle and Joyce, laughing while playing games with family, swimming off the dock, swimming under the bridge, walking to the Blue Heron, tubing, learning to wakeboard, Frosty's ice cream, turtle races...

Wolf Lodge eventually closed around the time I was in high school, and slowly, some aunts and uncles began buying properties up there. I felt lucky to have family members who invited me to stay at their cabin or house for vacations here and there, and I hoped that someday I could do the same. I never really imagined that it would work out, or happen so quickly!

Eric and I check the MLSonline all the time. We just love looking at houses and cabins and seeing what's out there. So when we came across a couple cabins in the Longville area that were priced really low (as in, I actually called a realtor to ask if the list price was accurate or were they missing a 1 in front of the other numbers!), we decided to line up a realtor to show us the properties. We looked at two cabins, and were pleasantly surprised with one on Hand Lake. So....long story short...we closed on Friday, August 3, and spent the weekend up at our new cabin. It needs some TLC in some areas (namely some of the walls that are just bare wood), but it is super cozy and we can't wait to make it our own. I'm sure we'll keep you updated on our cabin projects here on the ol' blog.


Click here to see an album of pics I took when we first looked at the cabin.

Happy Heidi with the lake behind me

Cheers! The night after the closing - we spent the afternoon
cleaning and getting one of the bedrooms ready for
us and Emmett to sleep.

Some fun facts about the cabin:

• Built in 1980 (it's the same age as we are!)
• 460 square feet
• Wood-burning stove
• Running water/electricity
• Has a garage (super rare find!)
• 0.84 acres
• Sits in a small bay of Hand Lake, which is 260 acres
• Takes ~3-3.5 hours to drive up there from St. Paul

Emmett loves looking out the door and windows.
This is the door facing the lake. I'm standing in the
living area with the kitchen to my left.

Mom, can I shut the door and then open it and
then be sad that I shut the door?

Bathtime in the sink, overlooking the yard and lake.

 That's all for now. We'll keep you posted as we clean it up a bit and make it more homey and Stoney. :)