This Weekend at the Duck – June 3, 4

Posted on June 1, 2011 by rubberduckyblog

This Weekend at the Duck

Saturday

2-3pm – Ice Cream Social Build your own sundae in the Rec Bldg Sm 1.70 lrg 2.68

 3:30-6:30pm – Wii on the Big Screen

 7pm – Canucks vs Bruins on the Big Screen

RDR Grill Specials

 Caesar Salad Full size 4.99 Side salad 3.49

Bacon Ranch Chicken Burger Served with fries 7.59

Substitute Lattice Fries 65c

– Check the Ducky Express schedule posted on the Gumball Machine in the Rec Building. Free rides this weekend

 -RDR Grill and Concession Fri 9am-10pm; Sat 9 am-11pm; Sun 9am-8pm

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The pictures say it all

Posted on May 30, 2011 by rubberduckyblog

Saturday morning turned out to be a nice, sunny garage saling day. If you have watched the news this weekend you already know what came next.  It is one of those weekends that we will not forget for a long long time. Everyone here just said the same thing “We have never seen anything like it”  The pictures tell the story – the ground was white with hail. It started and just woudn’t stop. I think it must have hailed for over an hour. Add that to rain and it was not a good campfire evening. At least we did not get much wind and fortunately no funnel clouds. Follow this link to my photobucket storm album. Some of the pictures didn’t turn out well,  but you may notice that most were taken from the comforts of a truck and the rec building. No one really wanted to venture outside. http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa139/rdrandc/May%2028%202011%20storm/

We can’t say for sure how much rain we got because someone was nice enough to turn our rain gauge upside down. But I am estimating the pool level went up approximatley 4″ and  the temperature in the pool also dropped 5 degrees. Luckily there was not too much damage  – a little bit of hail on some campers, a couple awnings and some flowers. Of course there are a few puddles still hanging around, but we are on the way to drying up again. We are desparately hoping that the forecast doesn’t change and we finally get a warm, sunny weekend.

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Posted on May 26, 2011 by rubberduckyblog

Saturday 2-3pm – Ice Cream Social Build your own sundae in the Rec Bldg Sm 1.70 lrg 2.68 6pm –

Bingo Fun bingo in the Rec Building, no charge to play –

 Check the Ducky Express schedule posted on the Gumball Machine in the Rec Building. -RDR Grill and Concession Fri, Sat 9 am-11pm;

RDR Grill Specials

 Caesar Salad & Chicken Fingers A side Caesar Salad and 3 crispy chicken fingers 7.75

 Grilled Cheese Burger We toss out the buns in exchange for grilled cheese sandwiches for this tasty, artery clogging burger. Served with fries. 10.99 Add bacon 60c Substitute lattice fries 65c .

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The unofficial kickoff to Camping in Manitoba

Posted on May 25, 2011 by rubberduckyblog

May Long always seems to be the big kickoff to get camping started. Rain or shine most hard core campers will come out. Unfortunately this year we got more rain and clouds than we did shine. However everyone seemed to make the best of it. The Rec Building was full from morning to night on Saturday. We had originally planned to do movie night in the outdoor theater but that got changed to the big screen in the Rec Building. Sunday was at least a decent day and a nice campfire night.  Karaoke is always a popular activity and this weekend was no different. It was solid gold singers from 4pm to almost 10pm.

 Surprisingly the pool was still pretty full despite the rain. The temperature was about 88F on Friday and was able to hold it’s own and only drop down to 84F right now. Even though it was cold outside at least it was warm inside the water. The ones that suffered the most were the parents that had to be on the outside.

The best part of Monday happened at about 8am and then went down hill quickly. I have a few campsites that I wanted to get some pictures of for the website so thought that would be a good time since the sun was shining and most people were still sleeping and wouldn’t be disturbed by someone stalking their campsite.   I was able to walk around in a sweater and still be comfortable. A short couple hours later I was ready to find my winter coat. As they say “If you don’t like the weather, wait 15 minutes and it will change” Mother Nature was nice enough to give me some leaves on the trees, but unfortunately she also gave us some mud puddles for the pictures. So, I will have to stalk some other campers on a drier weekend to get a better picture, but these will do for now.

Another of my picture goals was to get someone catching a fish. A few of our seasonals were out fishing Sunday morning so I grabbed my camera, headed out and put the pressure on for them to catch something. Within a couple minutes Jesse was able to help me out.

Fishing at Rubber Ducky Resort and Campground

The Big One

We have two momma ducks sitting on nests right now. Sadly they did not hide themselves well enough this year and were too much tempatation for some people.  Some of the eggs are now sitting broken outside the nest. Hopefully there are still some that will survive, but we won’t know for a couple weeks.

This Saturday coming up is the town wide garage sale in Warren.  If anyone is into garage saling and bargain hunting this is the weekend. You can usually hit 30 sales in a couple hours within a few blocks of each other. There are certain areas that you can start at one end of the street  just keep walking and shopping.

Gotta love these short weeks. It’s almost the weekend already!

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This Weekend at the Duck

Posted on May 12, 2011 by rubberduckyblog

       Saturday

Free Mini Golf All Day

2-3pm Ice Cream Social

  We will put out a selection of toppings and you get to build your own personalized ice cream sundae. Sm 1.70 Lrg 2.68

6:00pm Movie Night in the Rec Building

  Space Chimps 2: Zartog strikes back

   After accidentally blasting off on a solo mission to Planet Malgor and kicking it with his new friend Kilowatt, brainy techno-chimp Comet attempts to prove his bravery by teaming up with his simian comrades to defeat evil alien leader Zartog. Chock-full of silly jokes and thrilling action sequences, this animated adventure will delight kids as it plays up the quirky characteristics of Comet’s best buddies Ham, Luna and Captain Titan.

RDR Grill Specials

Slushees and Ice Caps – 1.99

Fish n Chips – 6.99

Try Our New Items: Dry BBQ Chicken Wings, Churros, Pizza Stuffed Pretzels

– The Pool will be open in the afternoons

– Check the Ducky Express schedule posted on the Gumball Machine in the Rec Building

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Feathered Friends

Posted on May 5, 2011 by rubberduckyblog

Since it is such a nice day I figured that I should go outside and enjoy the sunshine. Apparently I wasn’t the only one with that thought

I had seen them come in for a landing on the pond about an hour earlier and then never thought anything more about it. I drive up to my flower bed and start working away but, I must have sensed that I was being watched because I look up and see them hanging out across the road.  For some strange reason I had decided that I should bring the camera outside with me in case I found something interesting to take a picture of. I kept expecting them to take off the more I moved around but, they just nibbled some grass and eventually sat down to continue watching me doing my work. I then drove away again and they still sat there not even caring about what I was doing.  It is now about an hour later and they are still sitting there suntanning. We quite often see them out by the pond, but it is unusual for them to come right into the campsites and hang out for so long.  Maybe they are just confused and think they are ducks.

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And away we go…

Posted on May 3, 2011 by rubberduckyblog

Yes, yes I know I have been falling down on the job. The last couple weeks seem to have flown by and I realized today that is has been too long since I have updated my blog.  The last week or so has been a whirlwind of activity finally getting ready for camping. The spring cleanup is now done and ironically thanks to the snow, the grass is now green. The propane filling area is ready to go.   The pool has been drained, cleaned, tuned up and is now refilled and heating. If all goes well we will be swimming this weekend! (Check for details on Friday) Our to-do list started at 2 pages and is now down to only one or two things left. Phew.

After a slow start to the season it finally is starting to feel like camping time. I was surprised at how many die hard campers we actually had out last weekend.  There were a number of seasonals and a group of 3 families together. The snow and rain didn’t stop the boys from fishing all day. The group set up a dining tent around the hot tub and were still able to splish splash around. After seeing some pictures and talking to people in other areas of Manitoba, we can’t really complain too much here. Sure the snow sucked, but at least it was only an inch or so, not a foot. Once again we are hoping that Mother Nature is done and we can get on with summer. I have this feeling of deja vu like I have thought that before.

This weekend is the annual Meadow Lea ATV Derby. If you like to get dirty and play in the mud then apparently this is the derby for you. From what I hear it is normally a wet ride and this year should be especially mucky. I heard reports that if you have a 2WD you may not even make it through some portions. It sounds like there is a group of riders making plans to head out from here on Saturday morning. Rubber Ducky will be manning the BBQ’s along the route again this year.  There is usually one set up at the registration area and one at a midway point. There will be smokies, hot dogs and drinks at both locations.

Our early bird special this weekend is Duck the Tax. You will get a discount equal to the taxes on all campsites this Friday and Saturday nights. Even though it is the offseason we have started our scheduled activities already. Last weekend was our first Saturday afternoon Ice Cream Social and it will also be Movie Night inside the Rec Building this Saturday. I will be firing up the waffle maker just in time for Mother’s Day. Why not treat Mom to a tasty waffle on Sunday morning or better yet, let her stay in bed and everybody else come for waffles 😉

It’s just a busy, busy weekend around the area. Scrapyard Paintball is opening for the season on Saturday. For the opening weekend specials they are offering 25% off regular rates.

Only 17 more sleeps and the May Long Weekend will be here. I still have a camping cabin and tenting sites left for anyone still making plans. If you are already planning on coming to the Duck I still have a hot tub available to rent at your campsite.

Part of my job description includes checking out other campground’s websites and Facebook pages to, yes I admit it,  steal ideas. I do find lots of good ideas this way.  But, sometimes I come across something that strikes me as odd and today was one of those times. Now I am not trying to bash this campground. I have never been there personally and it is not even in Canada. From all accounts it looks like a nice place to camp however this is the line that I found funny. “No walking (or carrying) of pets through the campground. Please visit our Pet Park located …. (pets must be transported in vehicle to …)” I am sure they have their reasons for putting this in their rules but I can’t imagine loading a dog up in a car to take it to a pet park in the same campground for a walk. Has anyone ever heard of a campground that wouldn’t let you walk your dog?

Everyone cross your fingers for better camping weather this weekend.

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Dealing with Mosquitos

Posted on April 22, 2011 by rubberduckyblog

Mosquitos are an unfortunate  fact of life for those of us that choose to live and visit Manitoba. But that doesn’t mean we have to like them or ever stop fighting them. I am always looking for a good way to get rid of them so that we can enjoy more camping time.  As I was strolling the net the other day  I came across a story that almost sounds too good to be true. Some of you may have heard this before, but it was new to me. Apparently Listerine will chase the mosquitos away. They say that if you put it in a spray bottle and spray the grass, doorways, tables, chairs etc it will keep them away for a couple days. I did a google seach and if you believe what you read on the internet it sounds as if it actually works. I am definately going to have to give it a whirl this summer and find out for myself. If  anyone has already tried this let me know your thoughts – did it actually work or just make things smell minty fresh? The story has even made it onto Ehow.com (http://www.ehow.com/how_5096300_repel-mosquitoes-listerine.html) where they tell you the super complicated directions.

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Wacky Quacks

Posted on April 16, 2011 by rubberduckyblog

Our ducks have developed a mischievious streak this spring. We think they have been led astray by their ‘wild’ friends. There is a drainage ditch beside the campground that is full of water in the spring, but empty for the rest of the year. Well, one day last week I go driving out the lane and don’t see any sign of the ducks, until I get to the drainage ditch where I find our ducks, two wild ducks and two wild Canada Geese. ??? So, now we start thinking about just how do you get ducks to stay in their own pond. They don’t really take well to leashes and an electric fence would likely cause a lawsuit. We spent the next couple days just watching them enjoy their freedom and doing regular beak counts, hoping that once the big pond melted and the ditch dried up they would come back. When Mother Nature through us the curve ball of -15C overnight it was apparently not much fun out in the field. We woke up to find them huddled in the small pond wondering what happened. So this was a good sign, at least they still knew where home was. In the last couple days the ditch has opened up and the water level has dropped significantly which seems to be spoiling their fun. This snow last night has also dampened their wandering spirits. We were sitting in the Rec Building last night and look outside to see the ducks come waddling back to home (literally all in a row which makes it even more amusing). I haven’t ventured out yet this morning, but I suspect they will be spending the weekend in their home pond. I would like to ground them for their mischeviousness, but they don’t seem to obey a curfew. Oh well, maybe the snow is enough of a punishment for them anyway.

Needless to say it is not a very lively opening weekend around here. It is just downright depressing. If we can believe the weather forecast the snow is supposed to stop and the sun possibly peak it’s nose out this afternoon. But, the way it looks right now I am not holding out much hope.  Global warming, ya right.

Thursday afternoon the power to all the campsites went on. Yesterday we opened all the roads up and were officially ready for camping. Now, we wait. On the upside there have at least been a lot of bookings coming for the summertime.  It has been a busy couple weeks of people planning their summer vacations. I have optimistically booked our pool opening inspection for May 2, so am now going on record as saying our tentative pool opening weekend will be May 6. It might be a lot of work to hit that deadline, but will be worth it in the end. The day of the first swim in the pool is one of the best of the whole year. Historically the latest we have opened was May 8 and that was a situation similiar to today. We had the pool ready to go on the 3rd, then we got snow and the inspection was pushed back a couple days. So, now we need positive, ice melting thoughts and at least a little bit of cooperation from that crazy Mother Nature. Once we get past this little blurb, the 14 day trend looks like the weather will get back on track.

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