🪵🪓A Truckload of Logs Means Winter Prep is On!🪓🪵

While most folks are soaking in summer sunshine, we’re thinking a few months ahead—specifically, about the wood needed to feed our outdoor wood boiler so everyone can stay warm when the snow flies.

This week, a massive semi pulled into the property with its bed stacked high with freshly cut hardwood logs—our first big delivery to kick off winter prep season. It’s an impressive sight: bark-covered hardwoods, still scented with sap, unloaded right here at Two Rivers Motel & Cabins.

🔥Wait, what’s an outdoor wood boiler?

It’s kind of a winter workhorse. Instead of individual fireplaces or stoves, we use a central outdoor wood boiler to heat water, which then gets piped underground to warm our cabins. It’s efficient, reliable, and perfect for handling the unpredictable winters we get up here in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

🏠Does the outdoor boiler heat all of the cabins and motel rooms?

Our outdoor boiler provides heat for the Office (our house), two of the cabins, and all the motel rooms. The other two cabins are heated with propane fireplace furnaces. Sometimes, the boiler heats the cabins and motel rooms so effectively that you might feel the need to open windows and/or doors to cool things down. It also supplies hot water for our house, the two cabins, and the motel rooms. Guests need to be cautious with the hot water during this time, as it can heat up very quickly.

🪓The process begins now

Once the logs are off the truck, we’ve got serious work ahead: cutting, splitting, and stacking all that wood before the first frost. It’s labor-intensive, but there’s no shortcut when it comes to staying warm up north. Plus, nothing beats the smell of fresh-cut hardwood.

🪵We use the good stuff

This delivery has dense hardwood maple—slow-burning and high-BTU, perfect for outdoor boilers. These logs don’t just burn hot; they burn long, which helps keep the system running efficiently through long stretches of cold nights. We specifically request logs that are approximately a foot in diameter, so we don't need to split them after cutting them down to fit into our boiler.

🪵How much wood do you use in a season?

We typically use between 20 and 30 truck cords of wood. This first delivery of wood (the back trailer plus a few logs from the front trailer) is 13 truck cords, approximately half of what we will use in a season. A season for us typically begins in late September or early October and lasts until mid to late May.

❄️Why it matters

Thanks to the outdoor boiler, guests can enjoy warm, cozy cabins and motel rooms no matter how far the temps drop—without lifting a finger to build a fire. It’s behind-the-scenes work that makes a big difference in the guest experience.

So next time you want to snuggle up in one of our cabins or motel rooms after a long day on the trails (or having fun during other winter activities) in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, just remember: that warmth started with a truckload of logs, some hard-earned sweat, and our dedication to keeping winter magical and comfortable.