Antler Lake Cabin Salvage

For the past several years, Jason and I have been dreaming, planning, and saving for a little cabin for our family. After tracking down and contacting the owners on Facebook (yep, story there), we finally found one that fit! It is 90 minutes from home, has three acres for our dogs and kids to run around without worry, and is on a quiet no-wake lake. From our cabin, you can reach a bike path that goes all the way up to Duluth. There are several small, cute Wisconsin towns within 10-15 minutes in either direction, and an amazing state park 25 minutes away. It is only a one-room cabin, 20x20. And it is just enough. We closed in January!

And then.

One week after we closed on the cabin, Jason was notified by his employer that he would either need to relocate back to the DC area or be laid off on December 31 due to a shift in the current CEO’s preferences for onsite collaboration.

I have a red spiral notebook full of research notes, plans and budget options for making our cabin livable. We had a 1-year, 2-year, 3-year and 5-year plan. But we didn’t have a plan for this. One week after closing, the red-notebook went right out the window (not literally--there’s a lot of good stuff in there!). We have been busy trying to find the silver lining (there is some!) and thinking about the bare minimum that we need to keep baby-stepping in the right direction, while large parts of our lives seem to be temporarily in limbo.

Our tiny cabin is “rustic” at best, and we have fondly dubbed it the “shit-shed” because it is currently full of nesting squirrels and raccoons. It has no plumbing, no electric, no septic (but it does have a screened in porch!). As we have visited the cabin this spring, the animals seem to be making it exponentially worse, and if we let it go much longer, we are worried that we will have to tear it down.

Instead, we are asking for help!

We are working with a contractor who has put together a basic plan to help us make the best use of what is already there. We need to redo the siding, the windows and screen porch to be sure that we can keep the critters out! This would give us a cabin space, cleared to the studs. No kitchen or bathroom, but it would at least allow us a sheltered place to sleep this summer. It won’t be much, but it will provide a greatly needed space to connect differently as a family and with friends.

To cover the costs from the contractor, we need $6,000 in addition to what we have saved. We are hoping that with a little help from our family and friends, we can do this!

This cabin, the space for us to step away, and the land full of trees and adventures gives me hope. We need it. When we are there, I am able to breathe deeply and believe that we can fill up with enough strength to sustain us through the years ahead. If you can help us keep this cabin standing and keep moving towards our dream, we would feel deeply grateful. Whatever contribution you make will help!