The new social gathering site is apparently the lodge...even though it is not done yet.

The magnificent ponderosa pine logs meet at the corner to make a structure that is like a piece of art. Beautiful!

The Breker boys and the Heikkila boys moving some serious dirt.

Benaiah Breker playing in his giant sandbox.

Nate Rud tapers some log ends to prevent ledges at butt joints. You can also see the Sil Seal insulation between the logs. Calking will come later.

The ladies of the lodge: Patty, Olivia, Hadassah, Lindsey, Adeline, Teresa, and Cher.

Joe Breker's Black Angus herd grazes the pasture around the construction site. They are anxious to see the finished building.

Joe spends a lot of time working on the lodge and also showing visitors the exciting progress around the site.

Joe Breker and Eugene Breker talk over main level window placement ideas.

Hadassah Breker stealing 'Grandma' Patty Breker's shades at Coteau des Prairies Lodge.

Chuck Sundlie rides a log over the lodge to be put in place. Is he working or playing?

A log cleaning crew is hard at work grinding rough knots and splinters and buffing the log smooth.

It will take a lot of grinder pads and elbow grease to get through all 594+ ponderosa pine logs!

Bird's eye view of the main level floor with a beginning of a rim of logs on the edges.

Working one beautiful evening, Kirk Ivankovich guides a log into place.

A gorgeous 12 inch log finds a home in the northwest corner of the great room.

A two man log lifter. As you can image, it is an essential tool for building with logs.

Just look at those pretty ponderosa pines glowing in the evening sunlight.

Joe Breker counts the rings on a ponderosa pine log. Most of the trees appear to have been around 100 years old.

Nate Rude, the general contractor, is at it again with his chainsaw. He is removing the rough end and cutting the log to a proper length.

Kirk Ivankovich, our resident hand model, snapping chalk lines to frame out the main level rooms.

Noah Breker watches as the cement crew pours footings for the entryway.

Who says girls can't build with logs? It can be done, just ask Maria.

The ultimate tool for building a log lodge!

John Hanson uses his trusty draw knife to remove excess bark and rough wood from a log.

Olivia Breker and John Hanson selecting a log from the log yard to be cleaned and used in the wall.

No stranger to heavy lifting, Nate Rude, hoists a massive 12 inch log for some adjusting.

Emma Marthaler and Emma Breker explore the construction site.

Kirk 'the Man' Ivankovich, guiding a pretty looking log into place.

Nate Rude, lifting the very first log into place with his awesome boom lift.

Dueling log buffers.

Construction in full swing. Cement crew digging a hole for footings for the second floor lounge. Nate and Kirk talking over floor plans. The log crew cleaning logs.

Phillip and Joe Breker grinding rough spots out of a ponderosa pine log.

View of Coteau des Prairies Lodge from the Frenier Dam road northwest of the lodge.

View of the Coteau des Prairies Lodge construction site from the locally reknown Windy Mound, across the border in South Dakota.