McJoppa, The Hut

05/05/2024

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Several things have to happen for lake season to be official .the.hut :

✅Ice Out
✅Kayaks out of storage
✅Loon calls
✖️Boat lift off the dock
✖️Pontoon out of storage
✖️Fishing licenses printed
✖️Adirondacks moved to the end of the dock

12/31/2023

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2023 in numbers:

16 Airbnb stays -50 nights total
13 Airbnb guests left reviews (all 5 stars)
8 Airbnb cancellations
Busiest Airbnb season Sept-December

3 nights donated to fundraiser for Q***r Holiday Market
3 nights donated to Save the Boundary Waters

23 repeat guests (direct bookings)-124 nights total
0 repeat guest cancellations
Busiest repeat guest season end of Jan-Feb, May-Sept

Go where you're loved. Stay where it's consistent.
📍 .the.hut

Pics from previous snow seasons

12/11/2023

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How are you feeling as we head towards the new year?

2023 was a year of recovery from spinal fusion surgery for me. Just had my one year MRI and there is no sign of the benign spinal tumor that caused the mystery pain in my hip, my spine has fused successfully, and my doctor is delighted as are we.

In 2024, I want to take daily deliberate actions towards stability and health: making sleep a priority and getting outside with the sunrise (as I write this it's 9:15am and I'm still in bed).

We will have almost ten days at the cabin for our Winter Break. We're so grateful to be able to reflect on the past year and welcome the new year .the.hut

Thanks for following along and even staying there on occasion. 💝

11/21/2023

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Looking forward to gathering with family and friends

🥧This year's pies:
Apple
Blueberry
modernhoney.com "The Best Pumpkin Pie"
Sister Pie's Salted Maple pie

🎲This year's games:
Diced Veggies
Chicken!
No Thanks!

Mealtime after Detroit Football, in memory/tradition of Chrissie's papa

Ten guests-plus the two of us- way too many pies, but what else do you have for breakfast on Friday?

Favorite/worst side dish?
Favorite: corn pudding
Worst: sweet potatoes

10/27/2023

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The temp is dropping as I write this, so I need your input as I get ready to hunker down.

📺 What's your last binge watch?
📖What's the most recent five star book you've read?
🥣What's your favorite soup?
🎲What's a board/card game you could play over and over?
🧘🏻‍♀️ What's your favorite YouTube exercise channel?

Which of the above would you spend time doing at .the.hut

📷

10/21/2023

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I think this is the latest I've ever seen the aspens hold on to their color in Ely.

👵🏻👴🏻I'm starting to see the interest my grandpa had in his five year weather diary because I look at my Instagram timeline and see three years ago it was snowing on this day. Then I say it out loud and Rich answers, "No wayyyy! That's CRAZY!" Did Grandpa have the same conversations with Grandma?
the.hut

07/12/2023

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Are you Team Chaise or Team Chair and a Half?

I got the chaise in a traditional lake stripe and thought I would love it. 'Lo and behold, it didn't fit my 5'8" height, my legs hung over the edge, and I also learned getting out of it ain't easy.

So, I found a new to us, feather-down blend chair and a half and added it to the loft reading area.

Now to actually make time to sit and read.

Which reading chair do you prefer?

04/17/2023

.the.hut is the perfect size for four guests. 1200 square feet on .6 of an acre, yet has the ability to make guests feel far from everyone while being just over a mile from town.

04/15/2023

Ice Out anticipation is a big feeling

I've seen neighbors putting in their canoe when just the edge of the lake is melted and there's barely any room to squeeze in the paddles

I've stood at the end of the landing and chopped at a thin layer trying to help Mother Nature move along

As a family, we've taken turns shot-putting large rocks onto the lake ice and cheering loudly when they broke through the last thin layer of the season.

The territorial calls of loons start immediately on ice out day. It's magical to lie in the loft bed and listen to the walls and yodels long after lights out.

Night time temps are trending towards above freezing. In less than a month, the loons will return.

The anticipation makes me smile in my sleep.
It's a big feeling. .the.hut

Pics by

02/01/2023

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When you're here, you're home

Our kitchen has everything you could possibly need from pots and pans of all sizes to good knives, ample dishes, serve-ware, cooking utensils, glasses, baking supplies, a spice rack, toddler dishes, and not to mention--the view overlooking the lake.

We want you to feel comfortable, like you were personally invited .the.hut because you're sharing our home away from home.

11/18/2022

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Favorite winter escape?

Do you head to more snow or heck no snow?
the.hut offers both options: you can spend your time outside or only set foot coming and going.

pic by guest

11/04/2022

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The upstairs back bedroom is like the middle child

"excluded, ignored, and outright forgotten"

Even though this bedroom is overshadowed by the loft, it knows how to work as a team member. It's a people pleaser, well adjusted, and just as comfortable.

Do you believe in Middle Child Syndrome?the.hut
Bedroom pics by

10/11/2022

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Are you taking care of yourself?

It's been a long time since we've posted. We're still here! Trying to find balance between work and taking care of our mental health (these days it's a lot of doing nothing) and taking care of our physical health (these days it's doctors' appts)

Oddly enough, the cabin helps us with all three mentioned above!

Cabin dates are now open through late winter. Make some time to come up to take care of yourself.

Link in bio .the.hut

08/15/2022

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Totally agree with on Airbnb Instagram photos

"When someone comes to our Instagram profile, I want them to instantly feel what is like to be at our cabin-which means lots of interior and exterior photos."

Our cabin sits on top of a hill on Shagawa Lake and being there is like being in a tree house right on top of a lake.

Being in the cabin is like being outside the cabin because the grand windows frame the everything outside.

Meanwhile, time to remind our followers what the interior looks like.

Airbnb rental dates available late October through January. Click the link in our bio .the.hut

07/05/2022

What do 4 old friends (without kids) hanging out at the cabin do for a week?

Nap whenever we want!

And read, do crosswords, fish, pontoon, SUP, stare at the lake from the dock, stare at the lake from inside, do yoga, try to befriend red squirrels, eat, and eat some more

From my current vantage point in the corner of the red couch, I can hear three people snoozing.

What would you do?

05/24/2022

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What's your go to karaoke song and why?

Hello Friends and New Followers! We are spouses and .the.hut hosts: Chrissie and Rich and we've NEVER done karaoke together in the fifteen years we've known each other.

Rich's go to karaoke song is Johnny Cash "Ring of Fire" because of the range. This choice cracks me up because other than DEVO songs, he doesn't sing much. Witnessing Rich karaoke is on my bucket list of Things to Witness, (along with watching Rich drum. He was in a band a lifetime ago and played at First Avenue -City Pages reviewed the band saying 🥁the drummer was the most talented-he's so dreamy! The band even had a hit on Cities 97)

Chrissie's go to karaoke song is "Act Naturally" by either Buck Owens or Ringo Starr. I like the h***y tonk of the song and usually start singing it all shy and tight, then something takes over and I ham it up loosey-goosey. Anything for a laugh! said the introvert.

If Ely Steakhouse ever gets karaoke going again, I highly suggest attending and playing karaoke roulette with your friends. The rules of the game are that you can put in requests for each other secretly, but they have to be songs that everyone would know. Then they'll never know when it's their turn to sing. So much fun!

🎤What's your go to karaoke song?

05/15/2022

04/02/2022

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Kinda purty. April 1 sunset .the.hut

02/02/2022

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Winter is halfway over! January is all the way over-longest month ever?

Cabin photos by guest 💝

01/24/2022

Fantastic Mr. Fox -filmed from the dining window

All part of a lovely Sunday:
Pajamas all day
Reading in the loft chaise
Getting up close and personal with Foxy
Homemade shrimp and grits for dinner
A game of Ticket to Ride (the key is getting the longest paths)

What else should we have added our agenda?the.hut

01/07/2022

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The view from the loft?

Chef kiss!the.hut
Photo by

01/04/2022

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This beautiful watercolor was gifted to us from Instagram friend turned real friend and was painted by her hiking friend artist, .pine , who we also hope to be friends with in person 💝.

I see pontoon rides with them in our future ( , too)

We are immensely grateful for this forever gift.

12/22/2021

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Countdown to the cabin, cabaña, kabine, hytte, qolka, and the universal feeling of pulling up the driveway, stepping out of the car, smelling the cedar, and the first peak of the lake.

It’s all building up in my heart! Three days!

Thank you to all of our guests this past year. We hope our cabin offered you respite from the rest of the world. We’re so happy is filled with so much love from five years of really great connections with our guests.

We look forward to seeing you soon, so you can experience the countdown until you pull up the driveway.

11/28/2021

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Do you know what I love about this picture?

I love that
📷 there's no filter

🦃 it was taken the Thanksgiving weekend we moved ourselves into the cabin five years ago. I know it disappointed our families because we normally host Thanksgiving, but weather and timewise it made sense. No regerts.

👩🏻‍🍳 it's the view from the kitchen sink window .the.hut

11/20/2021

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Still have open water on the lake, but we cannot wait to be able to walk around the islands

Last year we had perfect "wild ice" from frozen temperatures and no snow. Perfect for skating. Will it happen again?

The sound of the lake freezing is one of our favorite seasonal sounds.

The Ojibwe share a story that the sound is the Windigo creature crawling under the ice, in search of greedy children to feast on.

Oh, if you could only hear the sound while walking on the ice, it would raise the hairs on the back of your neck. So thrilling!

And the fact that clear ice only needs to be four inches thick to walk on seems unreal.

Come stay .the.hut this winter and experience walking on the frozen lake. Some December, January, and March dates available.

Photos by

11/10/2021

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Grateful to have this view in our lives and to be able to share it with others

Sunset from Friday, November 5, 2021

11/02/2021

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Tell us about a meal you've had or are planning in this kitchen

I once bragged about my grilled cheese abilities only to make thee most burnt grilled cheese I've ever made in my life. Nothing comes close. It was destroyed! (Moral: don't brag.)

And you know what?
My friend ate his half of it with me then and now let's me know often how much I bragged and how blackened it was. Belly laugh every mention.

I'm in a food frame of mind-already planning Thanksgiving menu and shopping

I'd love to read about your food memories at the cabin. 😉Pretend you're working, but really you'll be adding to our Instagram scrapbook.

10/29/2021

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Trick or treat?

We're fans of a harmless prank-even better if it's a good scare

10/27/2021

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What makes a great Airbnb host?

We just returned from a trip to Boone, North Carolina in which we had the pleasure of connecting with three other host couples (plus the Airbnb where we stayed .shiloh )

We had a progressive party and spent time at each place gleaning ideas from each other.

In meeting all of them and sharing stories about being hosts, it confirmed that a great Airbnb host is confident, collaborative, humble, secure, responsive, and has an eye for detail.

That connection was the highlight of our trip and we're still smiling several days later about the memories created that night.

Now we're trying to figure out how to bring all of these hosts to Ely. We cannot wait to spend more time with them.

As an Airbnb guest, what do you think makes a great host?

Photo by

10/11/2021

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How do two public school teachers afford to buy a cabin????

Good question.

We got married late in life-both of us were in our forties and we each had our own homes.

We moved into Rich's house and kept Chrissie's house as a long term rental. During those landlord years, Rich would spend every night researching cabin real estate: lake information, fishing stats, etc, dreaming of owning a cabin.

Five years later, we sold Chrissie's house and put a bid on a seasonal cabin on Burntside Lake in Ely. We wrote a letter to the owners, who accepted our bid only to break our hearts to rescind the offer. We were devastated.

Meanwhile, McJoppa, The Hut had been listed for months with photos showing an unfinished cabin. It was completely out of our realm to buy it and to be able to finish it, but that didn't stop us from asking about it.

Lo and behold, the price listed for McJoppa, The Hut was for a finished four season cabin, not what was shown on the listing photos. After a few months of negotiating, the cabin was ours as of October 2016.

With Rich's skill as a handyman and Chrissie's eye for detail, we're now in our fifth year as five star Airbnb hosts -Grateful for each other's strengths and our long list of fantastic guests-especially those who connect with us/message us on Instagram💝.

We still cannot believe our fate in finding this cabin and calling it ours. Luck? No. Persistence? Definitely.