Lake Superior Retreat

Jeff and I built our home in 2002. It is an engineered log home, with in-floor heating throughout. It has been our sanctuary, a place where we could totally relax and rejuvenate.

Jeff is a rheumatologist, I owned an oriental rug store, our twins, Daniel and Stephanie are now 30, immersed in their careers and having their own adventures.

We hike the Superior Hiking trail, all seasons. It is fun in the winter when Jeff builds a fire, in the snow, and we roast hotdogs for lunch.

Our favorite close and quick hike is along the Beaver River.

We hire a trawler and go fishing for salmon, lake trout, white fish, herring. We try to get steelhead trout in April when they are migrating.

We cross country ski, downhill ski and snowshoe in the winter. Visit Grand Marais, Grand Portage, and get up to Thunder Bay to tour Fort William, a particular favorite of our kids.

We have so many wonderful memories of sharing our “cabin” with family and friends. It’s the first place our kids want to come back to, our Beaver Bay house and the North Shore. They tell us emphatically, “Never Sell the Beaver Bay house”.

We want to share it with other people so they can enjoy it as much as we have.

Our property is unique because we leave our grounds “natural”. We are “Boundary Waters” people, we prefer a natural landscape. We live in a very orderly, professionally landscaped neighborhood, which at times we find restrictive. We then spend time at our Beaver Bay cabin with all its unorganized flora and indigenous fauna. Very relaxing.

Our landscape will not appeal to some people, which I completely understand. They may prefer grass, and spirea, potentilla, hosta, etc. There are plenty of other places to rent with those amenities.

The first thing a few of my siblings want to do is “pull weeds”. I try to explain that the plants that want to get rid of are not weeds. They don’t understand. They need to put the landscape in “order”.

We have a large driveway and area to park and a path down to the lake. We have 4.75 acres of woods, 269’ lake shore, it’s more secluded and gives you the feeling of a rustic environment, while being comfortable in an elegant house. Our kids had many wonderful adventures exploring the woods.

We do have a new neighbor on our left (as you face the lake). Very nice folks, but they are adamant that our vacation rental guests do not walk on their property.

It is not a typical contractor/builder home. Jeff, my husband, was the general. Along with his cousin, David Johnson, they pulled a crew together of gifted carpenters, a stone mason who was an artist. The stone surrounding our fireplaces and the outside of the house is from our shoreline.

Along with other gifted contractors, electrician, plumbers, tile guys, tongue in groove hardwood flooring.

The house was built to our specifications. The large wood beams and support beams were from Brooks Minde.

The Norwegian Planking was milled specifically to fit our walls. Jeff and his male family members did the chinking while our kids, Daniel and Stephanie cheered them on.

The feeling of the rustic, artistic interior simply feels good. Views of Lake Superior from every room. Our house sits on a hill, 100 feet from our shoreline and fire pit.

The hand tied oriental rugs (my business) throughout the house add beauty and elegance contrasting with the rustic wood. Plus they are sooo durable, some are 60-70+ years old and still look like new.

The kitchen is well equipped because I love to cook. So I have outfitted the kitchen with my favorite kitchen toys. There is even a bread making machine there.

We can’t forget the in-floor heating. It is a pleasure to not need to put on slippers or shoes to avoid the discomfort of freezing your feet

The deck has a fair number of trees around it (you can still see the lake), it feels like you are in a tree house.

The property is secluded. It feels very serene.