Quite a few years ago, I felt the need to buy some land so our children, grandchildren and descendants would have a place to hunt and recreate.

After several failed attempts to buy parcels of land through a paper company's sealed bid process, we were successful.

We finally had a little piece of heaven located north of Chisholm, Minn., to build our "hunting shack." With my oldest son and several other friends and relatives, including my 90-year-old father, we erected a modest 28-by-32 cabin with attic trusses. The main floor includes a kitchen, dining and living room area. The front part of the cabin is for storage, housing ATVs, a generator, tools and other recreational necessities. The 14-by-32 second floor is partitioned into bedrooms on each end, and a center area with two sets of bunk cots.

My wife added her special little touches with window dressings, throw rugs, furniture covers and some rustic upholstering, in addition to interior painting.

We have added a second-floor deck with screen porch below, a rustic roof, a pump house, a shower house and finally a separate garage. We have added additional acreage to our original purchase for all varieties of recreational activities including hunting, hiking, ATV riding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and much more. Our cabin is off the grid, but we installed a complete electrical system hooked up to a midsize generator and a separate 12-volt lighting array powered by three roof-mounted solar panels. Our main source of heat is from a wood-burning stove donated by a nephew. Our kitchen cabinets were built by another nephew. Most of the furniture was donated.

Some who have visited our shack call it the Taj Mahal, but we completed the work ourselves except the Sheetrock, the well and the slab for the garage. There is and always will be something to do at the cabin. Along with our family and friends, my wife and I cherish every visit to our little piece of heaven.

Anne and Randy Doesken, Coon Rapids