Lori and Michael Lins of New Brighton consider their second lake home their empty-nester retreat. The couple bought their first cabin in Webster, Wis., in 1993 when their children were 2 and 6. "We could look out the window and see the kids playing on the beach." After daughter Erin and son Ryan started using it less, the Linses sold the original cabin with a lawn, and replaced it with the more private year-round cabin near Spooner, in an area Lori describes as "wooded and wild."
Value: About $900,000. "It's worth more than our New Brighton residence," Lori said. "It will be a summer retirement home."
Distance: About 110 miles from the Twin Cities, between Webster and Spooner, Wis., on Middle McKensie Lake.
Unique feature: The variety of woods used in the construction, including ponderosa pine for the ceilings. The walls and staircase are white pine and red cedar. The floors are birch.
Furnishings: "The dining table has log legs, but I didn't want too much 'logginess.' I wanted it to be comfortable but practical when you're wet, buggy and dirty."
Wildlife encounters: A mother deer with her twins, a bear and a family of raccoons, all seen from the house.
Area must-see: The Heartwood Conference Center, a beautiful resort outside of Trego. It's open to all and great for hiking and cross-country skiing.
JOHN EWOLDT
