The 2024 summer season has proven to be one of the most busy, exciting, creative, rewarding and surprising summers in our lives. Not only was it the birth of our little homestead, Hideaway Tiny Acres, we also took our guest cabin and converted it into a rental which currently is advertised on Airbnb. Actually we started doing that late in the season in 2023 with great response and decided to make some updates and move forward for 2024.
We wanted to offer a space for people to come and stay who are looking for privacy, quiet and solitude but have some basic amenities and comforts in the 320 square foot rental cabin known as the Hideaway Tiny Cabin, such as a cozy queen bed with bedding that is soft and has natural fibers, a kitchenette with a coffee pot, small sink, induction burner and barbecue grill, microwave and a refrigerator. Also counterspace that doubles as eating space for 2. We added internet and a flat screen tv because even though we all love the idea of disconnecting from the world, it’s important to be able to reach your loved ones and whoever you need to connect to along with binge watching your favorite show if you wish. Being 5 minutes from the town of Curtis and centrally located within an hour of some of the biggest attractions the Upper Peninsula has to offer also makes this a very desirable base camp for your getaway. We also added a screened porch and put a dining table for 4 for dining al fresco in the warmer months. Guests love the fire pit and the outdoor games we provide to complete their disconnect from the outside world.
We listened to our guests and they told us they loved the solitude of the location along with the basic amenities we provide. We took that information and decided to expand but to keep it small and personal. All summer long we’ve been working on a private space for guests who have a travel trailer or motorhome who can enjoy the same peace and solitude as our guests in the Tiny Cabin along with hook ups for water, septic and power. Although we have 8 acres and quite a bit of our property is undeveloped we thought that would be a great place to put a camping space. The problem was there was no way to get a vehicle back there. So Don went to work this spring and cut down a bunch of trees and bulldozed the area where he put a road (it helps that he’s a retired logger with a chain saw, forwarder, dozer and dump truck laying around).
With any project it seems things take longer than you allow time for. And this project was no exception. After taking down the trees and dozing a path for a road into the camping space, then came the need for gravel for the road. In order to make this happen most people would hire someone to haul in the gravel and distribute the gravel evenly across the road area. But not Don. This is a man who will not tackle a project unless he can do it himself, or at least most of it. He made a deal with someone and bartered for the gravel. He has a friend who had an old dump truck ( and I mean OLD) not in use that he bartered and obtained.
We already had a forwarder which is not really designed to scoop the gravel but he made it work. And so the work began in spring. The problem he ran into this spring is that it was a WET one, and the road took forever to dry enough for him to work on. It’s not like we didn’t have anything else going on so in a way it worked out.
As the road building project was winding down it was time to think about where to put the camping space. We discussed it for months and changed out minds a few times but we decided to make it between two chokecherry trees and call it Between The Chokecherry Trees (as you can see, we sometimes try NOT to over complicate the obvious). Then came the project of creating the space. The power, water and septic had come prior to this but I didn’t really document that journey. It just kinda showed up one day which is a lot like Don’s projects. He wanted to accommodate anywhere from a small travel trailer to a 40 foot motorhome and everything in between. We kept in mind not everyone wants to camp out where there’s a lot of people so in this space you can count the number of people on one hand within 8 acres. So he decided to pour a concrete slab. Again, no mystery here; the man set out with his trusty over 40 year old concrete mixer to complete the task himself. He acquired this mixer all those years ago by finding it discarded by someone else and scooped it up. So the task began. There were some setbacks with this project, such as the trusty mixer decided to die a much needed death after all those years. Don borrowed another mixer from a friend then he happened to find another mixer on Marketplace in Paradise and we set out one rainy day to retrieve it. Another setback occurred when the wrong type of components he needed to mix concrete were ordered and delivered. Once these obstacles were overcome the pouring of a concrete trailer pad between the chokecherry trees.
We even have a fire pit for guests to build bonfires and create memories.
We still need to work out the details of where we’re going to advertise our camping spot, but you can be assured it offers the best in seclusion, privacy, and solitude.
Stay informed on updates of Hideaway Tiny Acres by commenting below and joining our email list of subscribers. And stay tuned – the cabin will be open year round to accommodate guests who want to partake in the winter sports offerings in the area or to just come and hang out in a cozy, toasty warm cabin! CLICK HERE to book your stay. Lots to share in future posts!
More Later
Nancy and Don