Mark W
Well-known member
My wife Diane and I have had a plan to retire by a certain age and find ourselves a little over a year away from our self appointed date. The past year or so we have been looking to purchase a cabin so we have a place to relax and a place the kids (and someday our Grandkids) would want to come and visit us. We set a few parameters (cost, type of cabin, what type of lake, what type of area, no more than 90 minutes from home, etc....) and started the process. We looked at a few cabins that were nice but just didn't seem to have that "feel" we were looking for. Right before Christmas a cabin went on the market that on paper seemed to have everything we were looking for. While we were deciding if we wanted to go look at it before we left for SoDak for Christmas, our realtor got a call saying an offer was made on the cabin. Off we went to take a peek.
Location was perfect. This place was on a chain of lakes covering about 5,000 acres total. One of the lakes in particular is known for fishing, especially ice fishing. There are also many smaller coves and marshes that are known to have early ducks hanging around. Checking a little more into the hunting scene it appeared to be more than just local ducks and early season hunting. Lots or nearby marshes and some nice flowage areas where late season ducks and geese stick around for a long time. Cabin is on Pokegama Lake in Chetek Wisconsin.
As soon as Diane and I saw the place we knew it was going to be "the one". Nice piece of property, elevated from the lake and set back from the lake shore. Whole area between the cabin and the lake is natural (well as natural as it can be with plantings of hosta and ferns and other shade loving plants) with a nice level grass area down by the waters edge. Storage shed next to the lake that has power to it (nice place for a small fridge to keep the "pop" cold) and while it is a bit rustic, it will do for now.
The cabin itself was built in 1986 and was in the care of the original owners until a couple years back where they sold it to the couple we purchased it from. Due to the ease of obtaining public records, we found the original owners and spent quite a bit of time talking about the place. Made me very comfortable that we weren't buying into someone else's problem property. Turns out they built their new home just down the street and are more than happy to show us around and help us learn about the place they called home for many years. The current owners bought it when they got married and intended to use it as a family gathering place. Each had been married previously and came with 3 kids each from prior marriages (sounds like the Brady bunch). I was sad to learn the marriage wasn't to be and thus the reason the cabin was listed for sale.
The cabin is what is called an insulated log cabin. We like the look of log cabins but heard they were not very efficient and required a lot of maintenance time. From speaking with builders and owners of insulated log cabins, we skip some of the maintenance and vastly improve on efficiency. Time will tell I guess.
Anyway, we made an offer on the cabin and it was accepted. We closed yesterday afternoon and can't wait for the fun to begin. Place needs a good cleaning and next weekend that begins. The old 14' Lund will make it's way up there in the spring along with the Hoefgen and Poke boat. Wife is saying we need to find a pleasure boat for us and for when the family and friends come for a visit. May have to have a couple of guys ice fishing visits before he season closes as well.
Thanks for reading. Hopefully some of next year's hunting shots will be from the cabin area. Here's a shot taken in the summer.
View attachment cabin6.jpg
Mark W
Location was perfect. This place was on a chain of lakes covering about 5,000 acres total. One of the lakes in particular is known for fishing, especially ice fishing. There are also many smaller coves and marshes that are known to have early ducks hanging around. Checking a little more into the hunting scene it appeared to be more than just local ducks and early season hunting. Lots or nearby marshes and some nice flowage areas where late season ducks and geese stick around for a long time. Cabin is on Pokegama Lake in Chetek Wisconsin.
As soon as Diane and I saw the place we knew it was going to be "the one". Nice piece of property, elevated from the lake and set back from the lake shore. Whole area between the cabin and the lake is natural (well as natural as it can be with plantings of hosta and ferns and other shade loving plants) with a nice level grass area down by the waters edge. Storage shed next to the lake that has power to it (nice place for a small fridge to keep the "pop" cold) and while it is a bit rustic, it will do for now.
The cabin itself was built in 1986 and was in the care of the original owners until a couple years back where they sold it to the couple we purchased it from. Due to the ease of obtaining public records, we found the original owners and spent quite a bit of time talking about the place. Made me very comfortable that we weren't buying into someone else's problem property. Turns out they built their new home just down the street and are more than happy to show us around and help us learn about the place they called home for many years. The current owners bought it when they got married and intended to use it as a family gathering place. Each had been married previously and came with 3 kids each from prior marriages (sounds like the Brady bunch). I was sad to learn the marriage wasn't to be and thus the reason the cabin was listed for sale.
The cabin is what is called an insulated log cabin. We like the look of log cabins but heard they were not very efficient and required a lot of maintenance time. From speaking with builders and owners of insulated log cabins, we skip some of the maintenance and vastly improve on efficiency. Time will tell I guess.
Anyway, we made an offer on the cabin and it was accepted. We closed yesterday afternoon and can't wait for the fun to begin. Place needs a good cleaning and next weekend that begins. The old 14' Lund will make it's way up there in the spring along with the Hoefgen and Poke boat. Wife is saying we need to find a pleasure boat for us and for when the family and friends come for a visit. May have to have a couple of guys ice fishing visits before he season closes as well.
Thanks for reading. Hopefully some of next year's hunting shots will be from the cabin area. Here's a shot taken in the summer.
View attachment cabin6.jpg
Mark W
