Our first extended stay at LLR and our official 2005 summer vacation. We arrived at 3:00 PM on Friday (quite a bit later than we wanted- you know the packing routine). We were met in the driveway by Scott from Tice Construction. Once again we were eager to pursue the remodeling of LLR and he had come recommended from many sources. As the Eagle was meeting wtih him, we were greeted by one of our new neighbors. Turns out he lives close to us back home and also is a fan of the Eagle's radio station. Nice people.
The vacation week is a blend of work and play. But even the work is rewarding as we make LLR more of our own. Later in the week Grandma and Grandpa come for a visit. We manage to get Grandpa in the boat (Yes the Main Store fixed it in time) and went for a quick power troll of the west shore of Loon Lake. Using grandpa's infamous trolling lures were were able to bag some pretty nice Northern Pikes.
We sat by the fire and enjoyed good laughter and tried to come up with some lyrics for a LLR official song. Here is what we have so far (sung to the chorus of "Home Home on the range")
Loon, Loon Lake retreat. where we a ll sit around and we eat. We sit by the fire in our swimming attire and the skies are not cloudy all day. Oh well..it's a start.
The end of the week came and we really didn't want to go home, but the temperatures and humidity started to climb and it was probably the right time. As we headed home, of course we had to stop by the Chattering Squirrel of a quick cup of morrocan coffee and some home-made ice cream from the gift shop. We'll be back in two weeks..can't wait!
June24, 2005 (posted by The Eagle)
Our first weekend up. It took us several hours to get packed up and ready to go. Think of it as kind of a "stocking up" exercise. We needed all the cleaning supplies, new bedding, and of course the food. This first trip up we would haul up the boat, so that provided extra cargo room. But after this weekend we would be faced with the task of trying to fit 4 kids and all our stuff in a Durango. Not an easy challenge. We have a car-top carrier left over from our camping days that proved to be a great investment. As is typically the case, we used every square inch of cargo space and somehow wedged the dog into the back.
The goal of this weekend was to get the place clean enough to sleep in and still have time for a little fun. The kids quickly found out that Loon lake is a great place to swim. Sure there are some weeds about 15 feet out, but in close to shore the bottom is nice and sandy and with a little work, we will have a great little swimming area. We got ready to launch the boat but found out that there was a mechanical problem, so before we left we hauled it over to the Main Store and left it with them hoping that it would be repaired and ready to go the following weekend (which would be the the of July holiday weekend).
Right before we left on Monday we were greeted by our friend Steve from New Creations. He was tasked with repairing the unsafe deck that extends out from the lake side of the Main Lodge. He and his partner were going to spend the next few days getting that project done so that when we returned the following weekend we would have a deck that was safe to walk on.
June17, 2005 (posted by The Eagle)
Today is closing day! We are excited about the future of LLR and the many memories it will provide our family over the years. because of scheduling we only had time to drive up to Siren for the closing and then go spend only a couple of hours at LLR. It was a beautiful day. The sign was shining and it was about 80 degrees. The first thing we did was had lunch on the dock. As we were sitting there we noticed a wild iris projecting from the bank. What a visual treat. After lunch we took some quick measurements and pictures and then headed to Grantsburg to meet with an architect. We were eager to get going right away on the renovation. The architect wasn't the right match for us and wanted to charge much more than we were comfortable paying. So, we started back towards home, thinking out loud of all the possibilities that LLR could become. We wanted to get back as soon as possible and start living the dream.
June 9, 2005 (posted by The Eagle)
About 8 days before the closing. We are getting ready to make the big transition and are excited about spending the first few hours at Loon Lake Retreat. On that first day after we sign the papers, we will head to the main lodge and just take pictures, make measurements, and do some brainstorming on how we want to remodel things. Later that afternoon we will be interviewing an architect. We decided we need a set of plans to move forward with. The plans will give us the long term vision of what Loon Lake Retreat will be like when we ultimately have done everything we want to.
Last night there was a big storm at home. It made the Eagle think about what it would be like if we were at the lodge and there was a big storm coming through. What would we do? Where would we hunker down? Those questions will all be answered in a few weeks as our plan unfolds. It brings back memories of our Church camp that was flattened several years ago just about 25 miles South of Loon lake Retreat. Everyone survived that storm (3rd & 4th graders), but the entire camp was flattened except for the basement of the main lodge. Ultimately the camp was moved to another property in Minnesota. Two days after we close on Loon Lake Retreat our own 9 year old will be venturing off to camp for her first time. Camps...Cabins.. the great outdoors... What a great way to create memories for years to come. That's what Loon lake Retreat is all about too.
Prologue - June 2005 (posted by The Eagle)
This story starts like so many stories... Once upon a time.
First let me introduce myself. They call me Eagle. Just about everything you read about here at Loon Lake is from my perspective. I like to think about it as a view from above, but that could be misconstrued as some sort of egotistical statement. Really this story is just unfolding and not even I know what will happen in the days ahead.
What I do know now was that this whole retreat was born out of a trip to Chetek Wisconsin to spend a spectacular overnight at a beautiful resort called Canoe Bay. Now Chetek is quite a ways from Loon Lake Retreat (over 1 hour) but that's not important right now. You see the Eagle's wife never really was keen on owning a retreat of her own.. She loved the great outdoors; hiking, camping, etc., but it was limited to the annual summer cabin rental in various parts of the upper Midwest. Well it was on this trip to Canoe Bay that she had a change of heart. She wondered out loud that owning a cabin might be good for us. At that time we had three young girls and a fourth on the way, and it was getting harder and harder to pack everyone up and move out for a week. We dreamed of a place where we could get to by just jumping in the car and arriving in under 2 and a half hours. Not a lot of packing, just some food and a few personal items. We would have the retreat constantly supplied with separate sets of clothing for each of us. A place where we could escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and our busy neighborhood Cobblestone Lake.
I took no time starting to research. First I drew a big circle which represented a 2 1/2 hour drive from our home which encompassed both Northwest Wisconsin and Northeast Minnesota. I actually started to view websites from various real estate companies like Chetek Real Estate (for the Chetek Area), Century 21 Sand County Real Estate (For the Siren and Danbury Wisconsin area), and Edina Realty for the Northern Minnesota area. Actually, I found out that the Wisconsin Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and the Minnesota MLS only shared information occasionally, so it required looking at multiple sites for new listings. The other site I cross-referenced listings with was the Wisconsin DNR (Department of Natural Resources) lake maps. After I found a listing that had potential I would check out the lake information as to how big it was, the maximum depth, and more importantly what kind of fish were found in the lake. The other resource site I would use frequently was MapQuest to not only find out where the property was located, but how far it was from our home.
I worked with several different real estate agents, but the one who helped us find Loon Lake Retreat was Christina Widiker. When I had done some earlier research I thought she had done a nice job of marketing herself and her website was very well done. She was able to take our wish list and locate the perfect place. Our financing came in place through the First Bank in Grantsburg and our remodeling funds (because the place needs some sprucing up) were arranged by our friend Jill Meents.
At the time of this writing we haven't closed yet, so the retreat doesn't quite belong to us yet. But we already have great plans for the future. Check back and watch the story unfold. Perhaps someday you'll get a chance to visit... to sit back, relax and enjoy Loon Lake Retreat.
- The rustic Main Lodge of the retreat
