LITTLE HEART RIVER LODGE

from River + Ranch Magazine - Volume 6: Issue 4 August/September 2023

BURKE HOMESTEAD

Sitting on family land, surrounded by trees and beautiful scenery, this featured log cabin fits in perfectly with its surroundings. “My husband wanted an authentic log cabin,” explains one of the owners. “It was a process,” she admits.

To build an authentic log cabin, the couple sourced the timber from someone in Amidon, ND. The couple also drew up the design themselves, and, with the help of their regular hired hands, they constructed much of the cabin themselves. “It was a lot more work than we thought it would be,” says one of the owners. At the end of the project, they enlisted Redford Signature Homes to install the roof and do some interior finishing work.

All the hard work has paid off now that their log cabin is complete. “My husband asked me, ‘why didn’t you talk me into this 20 years ago?’” says one of the owners. “He comes down every day. We have a lot of get-togethers here. It’s a really great, relaxing place to be.” Much of the home’s peace can be attributed to the natural beauty of the surrounding area. The home sits on 560 acres, right near the Little Heart River. The owner says she loves being out at the cabin when it rains because she can hear it pouring even when inside, and while it may be harder to traverse, the area is beautiful in the winter.

In addition to the land’s natural beauty, the owners chose to build a cabin on this land because it has been in their family since the 1950s. One of the owners recalls, “I remember coming down here when I was 8 or 10 years old. Back then, Dad had another four hundred acres across the road.” The current owner bought the land from his mother when his father passed away. Both the current owner and his father used the land for cattle grazing, but the 560 acres also provides a perfect place for hunting pheasants and deer. The cabin serves as the headquarters for the owners’ ranch rather than their home. “We talked about living down here a couple of years ago. We decided no because we would have to build on a master bedroom, a closet, because there’s really no closets, and we both decided it’s nice to be close to hospitals,” explains one of the owners. “Besides, it’s more fun not living here. It makes it more of a retreat.”

Commercial and Residential: Construction Specialists focused on New Design-Build and Remodeling Services. "We believe cooperative work and your continued satisfaction is the key to our success for over 21 years."

While the owners do not live down at the cabin, they have filled the cabin with meaningful pieces to create a home away from home. The butcher block in the kitchen comes from a meat market one of the owner’s father’s owned and ran in Mandan for many years. The sign “Kist’s Fresh Meats Home Made Sausage” comes from that shop as well. The painted china cabinet comes from one of the owner’s mother’s homes after she died. “I just couldn’t let it go. I brought it down, and one day I came out here, and I thought, I have to paint that,” explains the owner. The floating shelves next to it displays meaningful memorabilia like the “Kist’s Fresh Meats Home Made Sausage.” The owner explains, “Everything up here is special to us somehow.”

The home also displays the owner’s love of art. An artist herself, she has done various art projects that have ended up on the walls of their cabin, including painting the antlers that hang above the bed. The owner’s son has also followed in his mother’s artistic footsteps as a professional photographer, and many of the photos hanging in the cabin are his work.

The cabin is an inviting place to be in with its warm wood tones, bold colors, and beautiful surrounding scenery, tucked away from busy cities. Truly a retreat, it is no wonder the owners spend so much of their time here, and it promises to remain a retreat for future generations.