"It's like a reverse snow globe": Man turns his kids' old fort into "glass" cabin in Walker
WALKER, Minn. – Walker is known as the "Muskie Capital of the World." But muskies aren't the only fish you'll catch here.
Walleyes, northerns, and even eelpout can be reeled in on Leech Lake.
"You can either do a poor man's lobster, boil them, dip them in butter, or you can deep fry them just like you would any walleye, perch or anything. So yeah, very good," said Jack Shriver of Shriver's Bait Company.
From a taste of lake life, to a taste of cabin life. Keith Stetz loves his northwoods getaway.
"It's like you drive into a whole different place. It's the trees, it's the peacefulness," Keith said.
But for him, peace and quiet doesn't necessarily mean privacy. Keith spends much of the winter in what used to be a fort his kids once played in.
"It had a water balloon launcher on there. It had a waterslide on here," he said.
When his son and daughter grew up, Keith wanted to replace the fort with one of those see-through domes people enjoy in the winter. But he thought they were too expensive. Then he got an idea: Why not turn the fort into a see-through cabin?
"I put the rafters in and the walls and I enclosed it. Put flooring down, got some furniture for it, and we just enjoy it in the winter," he said.
The roof and the walls are actually made out of high-density plastic, so it doesn't crack when January nights dip below zero. A sunflower heater keeps the little cabin warm, but most of the time he doesn't need it.
"When the sun's out, the sun does all the heating. I mean, it will get very warm in here," he said.
Family meals are eaten in the cabin, and there's entertainment of all kinds. But mostly, Keith is here for the scenery. A transparent, 360-degree view allows him to watch the wildlife during the day, and see the stars at night. And if it happens to snow, that's even better.
"It's like a reverse snow globe, where you're sitting in the globe and the snow is outside," he said.
When he initially built the fort, it was to make memories. Turning the fort into a mini-cabin means the memories will continue.
"It's like plucking a miserable, winter day out and putting in a beautiful, spring day. Because you are sitting out in the sun. It's still cold out and snowy," he said. "We'll sit out here for hours."
Keith says he and his family will spend holidays in the transparent cabin, and he continues to make modifications to it. In the summer, he takes the bottom sheet of plastic off and adds screens to keep the bugs out.
