Saskatoon Berry Season is Coming

Posted on June 21, 2012 by rubberduckyblog

Growing up in the Warren area one of the best memories of summer was when the Saskatoon Berries were ripe.  You could walk out into the bush and grab a juicy handful straight from the tree.  Our house was always full of Saskatoon goodies – crisps, pies, tarts, you name it.  A big bowl of Saskatoon crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is one of the most traditional Manitoba desserts you will find.  Only a few short years ago when you were driving around during berry season you would pass lots of berry pickers on the side of the roads. It was just the country thing to do, park on the side of the road and head into the bushes. The experienced pickers had the setup down pat – first you go steal a belt out of your husband’s closet, then you thread the belt through the handle of an ice cream pail, next you buckle it at just the perfect length around your waist, and voila the perfect hands free picking apparatus. Before all this you would usually need to pull on the long pants and long sleeve shirts. Then douse liberally with bug spray since those skitters were always hungry in that bush. Typically it would be in the middle of a heat wave. As you can imagine this was not really a fun time for most people. But in the end when the pail of berries was sitting in the fridge ready to eat, it was all worth it. And yes I speak from experience as I have donned the gear and picked a few pails in my day. Unfortunately many of these prime berry patches seem to be disappearing and fresh Saskatoons are getting harder to find. I am lucky to have an inside track on some fresh, local saskatoons and I thought I would share with all of you. Eastern Plains Saskatoons is a group of local growers who have recently started selling their berries in our area. Anyone that is interested in getting some fresh berries can preorder now. The exact date of availability is still yet to be determined as it is somewhat up to Mother Nature at this point. As of right now they are leaning towards availability sometime in the first few weeks of July. Once that date is confirmed anyone that has preordered  will receive a phone call or email to let you know when and where to pick up your berries.  And then after you have picked up your berries and created some tasty treats feel free to drop off samples at the office 😉 jk

If you would like to order you can contact me by email (rducky2@mts.net)

or Brent from Eastern Plains by email wolfeb@mts.net  phone 204-461-2623

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Time for another update

Posted on June 14, 2012 by rubberduckyblog

There haven’t been too many visible changes in the pool lately but the last few days have seen some minor tweaks. They have been installing the piping for the water umbrella and spray tree and pouring some concrete.

As you can see they have part of the concrete on the floor and still some left to finish.  I am impatiently waiting for the floor and steps to be finished. I think that will change the appearance dramatically. The pit for the hot tub is now ready to go. It doesn’t look like much right now, but soon it will be a nice relaxing place to spend some time.

The biggest change came this morning when they back filled the area around the pool and hot tub. It went from looking like a construction zone to somewhat resembling a pool area, kind of, sort of. Well to me it does anyway. You may need to use your imagination a little. If you look back to what it was like a couple weeks ago it is a significant change.

As I type, the guys are busy playing in the mud putting in the sewer and water lines to the campsites. (If you are listening Mother Nature please turn off the tap for a few days.)    We have fire pits and picnic tables waiting to be placed on the sites. Things are starting to come together. This is the time when everything goes from OMG we are never gonna get done to WOW it’s a campground.

This weekend at the Duck someone will win their stay for free. I had a cancellation and now have a couple of our always popular pool area campsites open for this weekend. It is going to be another activity filled weekend:

Saturday

11am – Father’s Day Scavenger Hunt. Pick up your list at the office and find as many items as you can. Bonus points for first completed list.

2pm-3pm – Ice Cream Social in the Rec Building. Build your own ice cream sundae. Sm 1.70 lrg 2.68

7pm – Fun Bingo in the Rec Building

Sunday

9am-noon – Free Coffee for all camping dads at The RDR Grill and Concession

10:30- 11:30 – Bounceroo

 

Giant color your own Father’s Day cards with crayons are available at the Concession

RDR Grill Specials

Taco Fries

Crispy Fries topped with seasoned ground beef, salsa, sour cream    and shredded cheddar.

Regular Fries                        4.79        Lattice Fries             5.29

Cappuccino               1.69

Twister flavour of the weekend – Double chocolate chip cookie dough   

There are only a few serviced sites left so if you want to join us this weekend book online or call me at 204-322-5286.

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It’s DuckyFest Planning Time

Posted on June 4, 2012 by rubberduckyblog

As we turn the calendar to June that means it is time for some hardcore DuckyFest planning and I am asking for your help.  Although we have some great activities lined up already we could still use some more. If anyone has any suggestions for new activities please feel free to let me know. We are also starting to collect silent auction prizes. I have posted the 2012 donation request letter on our website. Feel free to download, email or print in anyway you need to help support our Cancercare Fundraiser.

Thanks in advance for your support.

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Where the green grass grows

Posted on May 31, 2012 by rubberduckyblog

I have had a few people asking for an update so I figured it was time to take advantage of a sunny day and head out to the new campsites with my camera in hand. Other than grass growing and leaves coming out there hasn’t been a lot going on over the last week or so.  Mother nature has had a small hand in that, but hopefully she has fixed the leak in her plumbing and adjusted her thermostat. As you will see from some of the pictures it was still not completely dry yet. It made for a good workout though with some mud weights added to the bottom of my shoes.  I may be slightly biased, but these sites are turning out even better than we had planned. As the saying goes, the pictures just don’t do it justice though. You need to come out and listen to the birds and the frogs as you walk around and experience the transformation for yourself. Although we had a vision of how these sites would turn out when they were completed it isn’t until we get to this green grass stage that you can walk out there and just say “Wow”. Keep in mind as you follow us on this expansion journey it was only 2 short years ago that the whole area was wide open field with not a tree in sight. I have tried to keep a timeline by taking similar pictures each time I go out. The before pictures were taken in mid to late April.

Waterfront on North Lake

Waterfront on North Lake

And now just some random shots, no more befores

As I walked I noticed that lots of the trees had a couple feet of bare branches sticking out the top. I don’t know a lot about plants and trees so maybe someone can enlighten me and correct me if I am wrong. To me it appears that this is all new growth from this spring. It looks like the tree has done some growing and the leaves still have to catch up. It looks a little silly right now but another couple feet this year is great.

For no particular reason I just thought I should throw in a picture of the shiny, new dump truck.

South Pond

To most people this looks like a piece of dirt. To me this looks like a lot of hard work by our awesome staff. The forecast was calling for rain and they managed to get the whole area seeded in time. Without their effort the grass would not be this green right now.

And that concludes our picture tour. Stay tuned for more.

Happy camping.

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Who remembers?

Posted on May 29, 2012 by rubberduckyblog

Yep the weather has not been the greatest over the last few days. We were happy to see the rain at first since it will help our grass grow and our lakes fill but, enough is enough. We’re good for a while. There was actually a surprising number of die hard campers out this weekend. I only had one cancellation because of the weather.

So now back to my opening question – Who remembers what happened a year ago? That’s right it was the great hail storm of 2011. Here’s a flashback link to my previous post. I remember a few of us gathering in the Rec Building watching in amazement as the ground turned white. Despite the wet start last summer turned out pretty darn good so here’s hoping this summer is the same.  As I type, the sun has come out and the clouds are gone away. Things are looking up for the rest of the week and into the weekend.

This weekend is our Annual ‘Duck the Tax Weekend’. That means we pay the taxes for you on your camping fees. There is a new twist to our Saturday Afternoon ice cream socials. You now have the option of vanilla soft ice cream. Also this weekend is going to be Bubble Zone and movie night in the outdoor theater. The movie is tentatively Kung Fu Panda 2. Oh and don’t forget all that splashin’ in the pool and relaxin’ in the hot tub. There was one little ducky that was not found during this past weekend’s ducky hunt. He is still hiding and patiently waiting for someone to find him. If you are camping this weekend be sure to check at the office to see if he has been found. If you find him just bring him to the office to claim your prize.

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Spreading our Wings

Posted on May 16, 2012 by rubberduckyblog

If you have driven past the campground lately, you may be wondering what going on. Well here’s the scoop….

There will be lots of changes happening at Rubber Ducky this year – We are expanding! The construction is already under way on a second pool and hot tub. The proposed opening date is July Long weekend, just in time for our campers to enjoy the great Manitoba summer by the pool. This new pool and hot tub will both be larger than our current ones. There is also going to be some fun features like a water umbrella, a spray tree and even a couple benches for relaxing. It’s definately gonna be a popular place on a long hot summer day.

The next phase of campsites will be located between the existing campground and Scrapyard Paintball. This area will also include 2 man made lakes which will be perfect for paddle boats, rowboats and other floating objects. Some of the seasonal campsites will even be waterfront lots along the shores of the lakes.  The plans also include some pull through and back in sites for daily, weekly or monthly sites.  We are expecting that these sites will also be ready to go sometime in early July.

Despite the construction the fun times at the duck will still continue. Our activity schedule has most weekends filled in now and I still have some things in the works. One of which is a grand opening weekend for the expansion which is going to include a time capsule. Everyone who is camping that weekend will have the opportunity to place a small item, note or picture in the capsule. It will then be buried deep in the ground where it will remain until the reopening time. Traditionally time capsules seem to be left for 20-25 years, but I can’t wait that long. My plan is to only wait 5 years then do it all over again. Hopefully a lot of the same campers will join us again on the 5 year anniversary to relive through the memories. I am still working on the date and final details of this event, so stay tuned. As you probably noticed from previous posts the existing pool is being enjoyed by everyone and is unaffected by the installation of the second pool. It is actual quite interesting to see the construction progress from bare ground to finished pool. 2012 will be an exciting year at Rubber Ducky. We hope you and your family will enjoy the improvements and upgrades.

Our future plans also include replacing the existing picnic shelter with a screened in addition to our Rec Building.

If anyone is interested in seasonal camping, we are now accepting deposits for these new seasonal campsites. If you would like more information contact me by phone 1-866-254-7636 or 204-322-5286. Or by email at info@rubberduckyresort.com.

Of course I have some pictures to share. Here’s a few.

Before construction

Taken this past weekend.

Step # 1 in construction. First you make a big mess. This is the beginning of one of the lakes

Then you clean it up. This is the view from the hill looking down on one of the lakes. Not quite full yet, but it is coming along nicely.

As the weeks progress I will be posting pictures and updates so be sure to watch our blog and follow us on Facebook.

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New and Improving

Posted on May 14, 2012 by rubberduckyblog

Spring is always a time of new beginnings and upgrades. We have been taking care of a few minor tweaks around the campground lately. We have some comfy, new patio sets around the pool area.

One of our employees has spent many hours splashing some paint around on posts, signs and the play structure. It’s not quite completed yet, but we are in the process of constructing a second play structure to the North of the parking area. (pictures will follow)

The mini golf is receiving a major tweak thanks to one of our VERY talented employees. Considering I have absolutely no artistic talent whatsoever this completely amazes me. We printed out some black and white templates and she turned them into this

 

Some holes also have some new obstacles

There are still a few more changes and upgrades coming this year. Stay tuned for more information….

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Posted on May 11, 2012 by rubberduckyblog

Does this picture look familiar to anyone? Yep that’s our pond and some of our campers. We were fortunate enough to have our campground chosen to be on the front cover of the 2012 Interlake Tourism Guide.

You can view the full guide at www.interlaketourism.com.

The photo was taken by J.B Photography from Woodlands.

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A great start to the season

Posted on May 3, 2012 by rubberduckyblog

It is hard to believe that this is only the first week of May. With such an early start to camping it seems like it should be much later. But, don’t get me wrong I am certainly not complaining. We have had many of our seasonals out and about relaxing at their campers. Quite a few have commented how nice it has been to slowly get things ready for May Long and not be rushed at the last minute.  There have also been a number of weekend campers out as well. We even had a birthday party here last weekend.

The rain we have gotten this week has been a welcome relief. It was certainly getting very, very dry.  We have spent the past few weeks transplanting trees and planting grass, so it was a huge relief for us to have this moisture. You could almost hear the trees sighing as the rain started.  This has been pretty much the perfect week for grass growing with a little rain, then a little sun it should be sprouting in no time.  According to the forecast this should be our last dreary day, then back to sunshine for the weekend.

This weekend is our Pick Your Ducky Discount. When campers register they will pluck a duck and win a discount of up to 50%.  It usually brings a few laughs since I have a game where the ducks quack and swim around as you pluck them. Also this weekend we will be having our Welcome Back Potluck. Enjoying some good food is always a good excuse to get together for some good times with fellow campers. Anyone that is interested can bring a dish to share to the Rec Building for 5:00 on Saturday afternoon.

Don’t forget that even if you are not quite ready to start camping yet, you can still come out for the day. Bring the kids for a swim and spend the day poolside.

This is some of our happy campers from last weekend. (They are blackberry pictures so I apologize for the quality). As always the pool is the place to be on a Saturday afternoon at the Duck.

Campground pool open may

Campground pool open may

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Only at the Duck

Posted on April 20, 2012 by rubberduckyblog

I have unconfirmed reports that Rubber Ducky Resort is the only campground in Manitoba with a heated pool now open.  Today is the day that swimming season officially begins. The pool temperature is sitting at 80F right now and it will keep climbing a few more degrees over the next few days. Now I know what you are thinking – yes it is going to be chilly when you get out. So you finish your swim with a dip in the hot tub to warm up, then throw on a sweater and make a mad dash back to the camper.  It does seem to help if you are under 14 years old. Somehow the kids just don’t seem to feel the cold and will have fun in the pool anyway.

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