Making Camp Arkansas family creates a fun-filled getaway Story by Tracy Maruschak Photography by Brad Simmons Little did Cynthia and Kirk Dupps know that their search for the perfect property would lead them just 13 miles away from their home in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. We had been looking for several acres preferably on a river to build a log house or build a getaway house, Kirk says. After five years of looking, they went to a local real estate agent specializing in land sales. We wanted five to six acres on a river close to Eureka Springs, Kirk says, and he said Opposite: Whimsy prevails in the kitchen, with its refrigerator painted plaid. Right: Cynthia created the fish settee, topped with boat cushions. 72
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Opposite: The cottage is both hunting lodge and family retreat. Above right: The dining area. Above: A former curio cabinet now displays fishing tackle. that s what everyone wants. As the couple was leaving the office, the agent thought of a parcel that they might be interested in seeing. When they arrived on the site and drove down a winding road, wild turkey and deer crossed in front of the vehicle. A few miles further a dilapidated log cabin appeared sitting 500 feet from the White River. We were in the back seat squeezing each other s legs trying not to act too excited, Kirk says, but we blurted out, We ll take it! Unfortunately, the property was not five or six acres, but 1,500. So the Dupps acted quickly. Kirk called three friends, told them about the property and made them an offer they couldn t refuse they would split the sprawling land in fourths. We made a deal that when we could afford to buy them out, we would, Kirk says. The Dupps quarter of land included the rundown log cabin that they would renovate. Kirk would have been perfectly happy just leaving it as a shell and sleeping in a sleeping bag, Cynthia says. Thank heavens we did what I wanted instead of leaving it like it was. Cynthia and Kirk have plenty of experience renovating old homes. They have refurbished five others during their 26-year marriage, including a centuries-old brick home to which they added a 100-year-old log cabin as a den. We have the ideas in our heads and we just go for it, Cynthia says. From conversations with Eureka Springs locals, the Dupps estimate the 800-square-foot cabin was built in the late 1920s to early 1930s as a family hunting lodge. The structure and cedar logs were in excellent condition. Cynthia and Kirk inspected the logs for cracks and holes and gave the logs a thump to check for hollowness. 74 L O G H O M E L I V I N G
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Cynthia attributes the logs good condition to the intact roof and wide overhang. Some of the ground-level logs were replaced with cedar logs from the property and chinking was patched by a local contractor. Fortunately, the logs were previously sealed and soap and water was all it took to spruce them up. But most of the windows and doors were missing or broken and needed replacing. The original layout consisted of two rooms and a large screened porch. But many important necessities were missing. It had nothing no kitchen, no plumbing, Cynthia says. At that point, our kids were teenagers and if they were ever going to go with us to the cabin, we had to have amenities. Heating and air conditioning, a galley kitchen, telephones and electricity were among the modern conveniences added by the contractor. It took six weeks, longer than expected, for the Dupps and their crew to finish the renovation. The porch was converted into sleeping quarters with a master bedroom and bunk room that share a full bath. The cooking area of the old screened porch was left intact. The couple enjoys barbecuing there year-round. The cabin had two huge stone chimneys in it, one was a fireplace in the living room and the other was on the screened porch that was used strictly for cooking, Kirk says. We use it to smoke turkeys at Thanksgiving or we ll cook ducks and geese at Christmas. The cabin has become more than a hunting retreat for the Dupps, it has become a place for the family to gather for special occasions. A natural spring supplies water to the cabin through an iron pipe that the Dupps discovered. We found a big cistern area someone had made to house water from the spring and an iron pipe they had laid, probably in the 1930s, to run spring water to the cabin, Kirk says. Fresh water runs from the spring into the cellar s holding tank, filter system and hot water heater. The water then runs through the cabin and out a release valve into a horse trough in the backyard. The water collects then flows through the trough, where freshly caught trout can be held until ready to eat, and back into the river. The pipes never freeze because the water continually flows through this system, naturally by gravity, Kirk adds. To make the cabin appear more cheery, the couple painted the ceiling and wood trim hunter green and removed the carpeting. We pulled up two layers of nasty carpeting and underneath was Opposite and right: In the bunkroom and throughout the house, wooden shutters can be lifted for light and latched securely when the Dupps leave. Below: The cabin s original, gravity-fed cistern system brings running water into the bathroom. 76 L O G H O M E L I V I N G
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Opposite: The former porch, which attaches to the log portion of the cabin, was converted to bedroom space. Above right: Many of the home s antiques came from Cynthia s shop. Above: The cabin is a year-round retreat. For more information, see Resources. a gorgeous floor that had been painted three times green, blue and red, Cynthia says. She and Kirk sanded the floors, leaving traces of paint and finished them with a layer of polyurethane. Interior shutters are latched to the ceiling to let light shine in and securely locked when the Dupps leave. Lodge-style furniture and accessories collected over the years and items from Cynthia s interior design and antique store, Pump and Circumstance, decorate the cabin. Cynthia designed much of the furniture, including a bench with a large wooden trout for a back and boat cushions for seats. A cabinet that once housed cups and saucers displays Kirk s collection of fishing lures and memorabilia. It s just little things that we care about, not anything that we specifically went out to look for, Cynthia says. Kirk is especially proud of the stuffed turkey displayed in the cabin. It was the first turkey I ever killed, says Kirk, who is Arkansas Game and Fish Commissioner. I had been hunting turkey for five years before I killed my first one. Persistence has paid off for the Dupps in hunting for wild game, finding the perfect property they now own all 1,500 acres and renovating antique cabins. We re in heaven, Cynthia says. It was just meant to be. 78 L O G H O M E L I V I N G
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