Red Deer Log Cabins

Bumper crop.  Actually, that is a serious understatement.

Why is it that trespassers treat me like I am wrong?  Just had 2 ATVs in here, driving through. 
 The one driver waved me off when I approached to ask them what they are doing here.  He turned around on my flower bed.  The other ATV's passenger told me that she thought it was a campground, they didn't see a car, and didn't think anyone was around.  It IS a campground, but they drove past the stop sign, my car, and my front door.  I think the people camping here have paid to not be disturbed by ATVs, which are never allowed to drive through the park, even if registered here.
 
At no time did these people get off their machines.  They required me to come to them.
Why are so many people so ignorant?  I know, it is one of those questions that cannot be answered.  I have every right to question anyone trespassing, no matter what they think.

Or tiny house?  This house is about the same size as my smaller cabins.  I'll bet my kitchens are nicer...

Coming soon!  This will allow the sending of credit card information securely to make a reservation, making it easier to book your vacation.  No more needing to make telephone appointments to safely capture payment details for those without access to email transfer.

A lot of the business here is return clients, who have an obvious love for the place.  Then there are the new clients.  Sometimes I can tell I have the right people before they arrive.   It can be very subtle, but the signals are there.  Some people treat me as a friend, instead of a servant, before we have met.  This shows respect.  Some people ask all of the right questions.  This shows a consciousness of the world around them.  Some people indicate that their break from regular life is all about simple, real relaxation.  This shows wisdom.
 
There are also those who convince me that they want to be somewhere else while in the process of making the inquiry.  If the top things on their lists are discounts, big screen tvs and a shopping mall nearby, I realize they want this place to be just like every other place out there, that goes to great lengths to support the illusion that there is no difference between rural and urban places.
 
Why bother?
 
If you want this place to be Algonquin Park, don't come here, go to Algonquin.  If you want this place to be all inclusive, don't come here, go to an all-inclusive resort.  If you want this place to compete with places that do not offer space, cleanliness, and peace, why ask for a discount?
 
There are some things that money cannot buy. 
 
The cachet of Algonquin Park roofed accommodation is very expensive.  The cachet of Algonquin Park camping is very suburban (lots of cars passing your site).  For the better alternative, try Red Deer Log Cabins.  
 
It's not for everyone!  That would make it incredibly average.  Sort of like (gasp)  Holiday Inn.

This is a cautionary tale.

I have finally spoken with someone 'higher up' at Google about the recurring page suspension.  He won't put it in writing, but he 'assured' me that it won't happen again.  The claim is that I made changes to my address and type of business.  I agree that I made one change to my business 'introduction' just before the first suspension.  I added the word Kingston in speaking about this being the middle of nowhere (practically equidistant between Toronto, Ottawa, and North Bay).
He also stated that there were 'community reports' that my business was not as advertised.  I did not ask who, but when.  Due to privacy policy he would not disclose that information.

Who do you think is trying to sink me?  What new form of greed is this?

This just keeps getting funnier.

Now the TripAdvisor banner is asking 'What is the #1 Hotel in Madawaska?'  About #20 down the list is one Madawaska property, followed by the other that has subscribed to their plan.

Red Deer Log Cabins IS the #1 property in Madawaska Ontario, and they won't display it until I pay the ransom.  So much for 'free enterprise'.

The internet is becoming a very dangerous place.

Due to my displeasure with TripAdvisor and their multi-tiered payment system, I removed the 'widget' on my blogroll.  Today I noticed I was being followed by a TripAdvisor prompt for "Hotels in Madawaska".  So I clicked.  There are places in Deep River and Bancroft shown on the ensuing page, and 2 of the "competition" in Madawaska BUT NOT RED DEER LOG CABINS.  That, in spite of that I am rated the #1 property in Madawaska (yeah, big fish, little pond.  Originally I was #3 in the Algonquin Park region, but they killed that category).  I am not participating with the booking engines, and so my listing DOES NOT SHOW
!

So much for their insistence that rankings are governed by review ratings.

I am going to put the widget back up and see what happens next.

Lets just remember, they appropriated my property as inventory.

Revenge will be sweet when all of those listed properties get a tax bill from Obama.  I hope it happens soon.  According to the IRS rules, Canadians making money using US websites owe both countries tax.

It's been lovely lately.  I'd rather be swimming than working, but hey, the extension to summer is very welcome.
Any of you last minute people out there, I have vacancy this weekend due to a very strange set of circumstances.

There's a new road at the end of my driveway!  Hwy 523 has been resurfaced, like a real highway, with asphalt!
I didn't even notice, because I have been off my feet for a number of days with a serious 'cold'.  Couldn't nail a cabin booking either because I had to admit to everyone I spoke with on the phone that I am ill.   Doesn't make staying here seem appetizing...but this too shall pass.  I expect to be back to regular work tomorrow.

Funny thing I noticed though, while not being able to converse effectively.  People are very rude, especially when they believe they are anonymous.  It was a constant amazement how many people would speak over the answer I gave to a question they asked.  Also again I find it odd that people do NOT leave a message.  My outgoing answering machine message is polite.

It's fine though.  I really don't like assumptions (no one answered so I figured you were gone; I want a campsite out of the campground there's lots of room there; I paid to be here therefore I can smoke in the cabin even though I don't smoke indoors at home; big groups should get discounts and not need to follow the rules for getting along with the rest of the clientele; etc).  People who make assumptions can stay elsewhere.  My life doesn't get longer.  Quality is important. 

I prefer quality clients.

I don't think I have ever seen so many mushrooms.  Perennial pickers are very, very happy.

I hate them.  There is a new one on TripAdvisor (strangely it was posted by the last minute arrival who got lost on the way here AFTER I straightened out the Google misconception) and it is not kind.  Full of assumptions.  My response should be up in a day or so.

She must have got on the computer immediately to vent.  It was written Monday.  Guess she didn't want the experience to look better over time...
Once again, my kindness and inclusiveness has been rewarded with CRAP.  No other way to spell it.  Though I was not happy with the mob event, this is the only client out of an almost full premises who got on the high and mighty horse.  Not a word to me about her thoughts or feelings about the situation, except to say she didn't like reviews because of what reviews did to her workplace.  Not her business, her workplace!

I am sure the "walk in" campground possibility she refers to is the adjacent land, which I do NOT own.  Nice that she used a provincial park as a comparison for my 4.25 acres.  No wonder my place doesn't measure up.!

After all, this is a campground, not a library!  She didn't like the sounds of people talking at midnight, and the campfire smoke.  Unreasonable expectations are likely to be met with disappointment.

I am exhausted.  It was a tough weekend.  This review is the icing on the cake. 

On the bright side, all of the regulars had a regular fabulous time, in spite of the mob.  So did the other newbies.

Why anyone would want a folding chair from a cabin is beyond me.  I was warned, if I replaced the tubular steel chairs with folding ones, that this would happen.  This was the first time the cabin was occupied since the change.  No chair in the garbage, so obviously it was not broken while the occupant was here.

There is no Walmart in town.  There is where this person comes from though.

So this attempt at making more room in small buildings is a fail.  So sad...

As for the lying part, we won't even bother to unpack that one.  Same client smoked in the cabin, left bags of garbage outside the cabin door, littered the ground with cigarette butts.  Did not tip.  Seeing as people can rate my property and performance publicly, I am going to start doing client reviews.  No names of course.  Big difference is I understand people, and very well. 
Most review writers only (maybe) understand themselves when you look randomly across the industry.  It takes a special type to be inclusive of others, and to write with the public in mind.  Fortunately, most of those who have reviewed my place are, like most of my clients, a cut above.

There is no other way to say it.
I had a booking call early today, someone looking for a campsite.  I asked her when she expected to arrive.  Answer was around 6 pm.  Why?  Google maps and driving directions gave an estimated time of SEVEN HOURS to drive from Toronto to here.

Google is not my friend.

Driving the speed limit, it takes 3 1/2 hours to get from downtown Toronto to 6471 Highway 523.

It's too bad people don't use real maps any more.  Most of my Google problems would go away if people used real maps.

It's too bad the internet is an authority.  When I tell the truth, people question my information. 

I wish Google's stock would crash.

 The weather report is fabulous.  Only one site left with electricity, but a bunch of room yet for tent campers.  Cabins are full. 
Some blackberries and wild raisins are ripe.  The mushrooms are fruiting in a big way. 

I expect Algonquin will fill, so if you are making last minute plans, be sure to make a camping reservation.  It will likely be an Algonquin overflow type of weekend.

Fishing has been really good the last while.  Even newbies are catching some.  Perch have been abundant of late, along with the regular bass, bass, and bass.  Pike is a given too.

Every time I correct my Google Maps marker, Google suspends my page and map.  They keep moving me to Omaha, Wales, highway 60 just down the road from Riverland, at the post office.  I cannot get them to understand that a postal code in a rural location covers many many square miles.  Because our 911 numbers are not yet uploaded to the system, they cannot verify my physical address.

Too bad they don't treat all the local resorts the same way.  There would be a dozen of them on highway 60 IN the postal boxes.  I wonder where people are supposed to swim?
As my page is under suspension again, and has been intermittently for 2 weeks or so, PLEASE make sure you get proper driving instructions from my site.

My property is still 2 km south of hwy 60 on hwy 523, #6471.  The sign says Red Deer Campground.

Mushroom pickers rejoice!

That was an amazing downpour and lightning storm, right at sunset.  The sun setting through the rain was an eerie sight, and unusual.   Both of the weather reports I look at online completely missed the first bomb until AFTER if had passed through, THEN the warnings went up.

They smelled the fresh mown grass.  The game is on!
I really didn't want to cut the grass, because the whole waterfront area was full of wild flowers.  However, with the number of people expected this weekend, some would think ... things if I did not cut it.  Now that there has been a couple of good soaking rainfalls, lots of flowers have come into bloom.

Though the leaves are starting to change, I am predicting a couple more weeks of fabulous weather before a cool down happens.  I am still finding the occasional raspberry on a bush.  Nature seems to think it is early summer.

I just saw a black squirrel.  That doesn't seem like much to city folks, but they are not typical in this habitat.  Ours are red squirrels.  I haven't seen any of those for a while, thought there were lots at the beginning of the summer.
It was a very fat, glossy, big black squirrel.  Maybe it hitched a ride with a cottager?

I'm getting 5 or 6 a day.  Please don't suggest I should build more cabins!  There has been lots of availability throughout the last 3 summers, which does not indicate that more cabins are needed EXCEPT long weekends.  Long weekends are not enough to build and equip more units.
People have to start getting time off other than long weekends. 
There is still availability every day from now through Thanksgiving weekend EXCEPT September 4/5/6.  If you plan now, you may be able to get something yet this season.

Campsite, both with and without electricity are also still available for this weekend.